IPL 6 Final: CSK vs MI - Heroes of the day

Amidst all the hullabaloo surrounding the Yellow Brigade from Chennai on spot-fixing and betting, the final of the sixth Indian Premier League tournament witnessed a rather riveting game of cricket between the almost-perennial finalists Chennai Super Kings and the star-studded Mumbai Indians. The Men in Blue finally triumphed over the Southern contenders to claim their maiden IPL title – a fitting farewell to the great man himself: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Here are the heroes that emerged from the IPL final:

Dwayne Bravo (4/42 in 4 overs; 15 runs off 16 balls; 3 fours)

West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo ensured that the Purple Cap stayed put on his head by grabbing a record 32 wickets in this IPL. He broke the blossoming stand between Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard with a lovely yorker to dismiss the former. Notwithstanding the three cheeky boundaries struck by the feisty Harbhajan, Bravo promptly sent him and the two other tailenders – Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga packing. But countryman Pollard put him in his place by walloping two huge sixes off the last 2 balls of MI’s innings – an ultimately decisive blow in Mumbai’s favour.

Albie Morkel (2/12 in 3 overs; 10 runs off 10 balls; 1 six)

SA all-rounder Albie Morkel rattled MI early in their innings when he castled opener Aditya Tare with his first ball. He followed that up with the wicket of skipper Rohit Sharma, deceived by a full delivery around middle and off. Although he couldn’t do much with the bat during the chase, he did manage to keep things tight, and in hindsight, should have bowled the final over.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2 catches; 63 n.o. off 45 balls; 3 fours, 5 sixes)

CSK’s Captain Cool MS Dhoni was absolutely spot-on with his strategies as his side was able to keep the MI batsmen on a tight leash for most part of the game. He pouched two catches off Dwayne Bravo, and stood tall amidst the ruins in the chase with a typical belligerent knock. The highlights of his innings were the three monstrous sixes he clouted off Man-of-the-Match Kieron Pollard – displaying brute force even though the game had already slipped out of his team’s reach. Though falling short yesterday, he’s definitely a crisis man for any side he plays for!

Lasith Malinga (2/22 in 4 overs)

The Sri Lankan slinger found his rhythm and pace back in equal measure after a disastrous showing in the second qualifier against the Rajasthan Royals. Bowling with venom, he sent Orange Cap holder Mike Hussey back with a searing yorker on leg stump before sending the in-form Suresh Raina back to the dugout with a well-delivered short-pitched ball on the next delivery. He has been a very shrewd purchase for the RIL-owned franchise.

Ambati Rayudu (37 runs off 36 balls; 4 fours)

Hyderabad’s wicket-keeper batsman Ambati Rayudu hasn’t quite been able to repeat his pyrotechnics of last season. Coming in with Mumbai struggling at 8/2, he first stitched together a crucial 36-run stand with fellow wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik and then added an extremely vital 48 runs with Pollard to help Mumbai inch closer to the 150-run mark. His solid efforts, along with some big hits from Pollard and Harbhajan at the end helped his side secure their first IPL title.

Kieron Pollard (60 n.o. off 32 balls; 7 fours, 3 sixes; 1/34 off 4 overs; 1 catch)

I probably should have put this guy’s name right at the top, but it’s best to save the star act till the end. The big Trinidadian played a very sedate game to begin with, given the fact that MI were already 3 down with next to nothing on the board when he came to the crease. He showed he could graft and play the waiting game too before going berserk. A composed innings that featured 3 huge hits – two of which came in the last over – enabled MI to post a very competitive 148. With the ball, Pollard dismissed the struggling R Ashwin and also took a smart catch to remove Sir Ravindra Jadeja. All in all, it was his night!