Leading his side from the front, skipper Rohit slammed a match-winning half-century as defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) thumped Delhi Capitals (DC) by five wickets at Dubai to clinch this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). Chasing a 156-run total, MI's run-flow was bolstered in the powerplay by Rohit and Quinton de Kock.
The duo stitched a quick-fire 45-run opening stand to lay the foundation for their side. After de Kock's departure, Rohit cruised to his half-century and ended up scoring 68 off 51, playing a crucial role in his side's title victory. Ishan Kishan also made a vital 19-ball 33 as MI cruised to the target with eight deliveries to spare, bagging their fifth IPL title.
MI also became the only team after MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to successfully defend their IPL trophy. After an emphatic title victory on Tuesday, MI have now pocketed the IPL trophy on five occasions -- 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. With their win over DC, the Mumbai side also broke the jinx of winning the IPL trophy only during odd years.
Krunal Pandya took the winning single as the MI camp burst into celebrations at Dubai International Stadium. Twitter erupted with wishes for the five-time champions as all cameras panned to an ecstatic MI camp.
Following their title win, several MI players gave on-field interviews to host broadcaster Star Sports. The trio of Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan was the first one to share its thoughts, followed by the overseas pair of Quinton de Kock and Nathan Coulter-Nile.
The whole MI contingent was on cloud nine and amid all the excitement and victory celebration, Nita Ambani, owner of the franchise, didn't realize that de Kock was in the middle of the interview. The Protea was answering a question asked by Simon Doull when she crashed the interview. However, she soon realized it after spotting the mic. "Quinton!!! Oh, are you giving an interview?” she said before walking away.
