On a night brimming with anxiety, Mumbai Indians kept their wits about themselves to squeeze in an unprecedented win at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium.
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Sluggish pitch, nervous individuals and palpable tension took centre stage in the IPL 10 Final. Batsmen found it hard to get the ball away, bowlers exploited the conditions to perfection, Krunal Pandya conquered his nerves to give Mumbai a second life, Smith threatened to snatch the game away from MI and then finally Mitch Johnson dished out a supreme final over to gift the Mumbai Indians their 3rd IPL title.
The big day has never been about skill, it’s always been about taking care of your anxieties. The nature of the format is bound to take the game right down to the fire, testing your ‘anxiety handling’ abilities a bit more, and on the big day, it was Mumbai who were a tad bit better in those tight situations.
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When Mumbai posted just 130 on the board, it seemed like it would be a walk in the park for the experienced Pune batting unit. Rahane was all set to play his traditional anchor role, but got dismissed to piece of brilliance from Lasith Malinga. Out came Dhoni and it looked to be a very similar script for him. And he approached it in his usual style, taking some time initially and looking to launch towards the end, only this time, he couldn’t get the better of Jasprit Bumrah.
Steve Smith was there all along, soaking in the pressure, plying his trade, waiting for that one big over, to help take his team over the line. When he hit that six over long off against Bumrah, it almost seemed as if he had sealed the deal for his franchise.
Johnson was trusted with the the last over, and despite getting smacked for a boundary of the first ball, he kept his anxiety under check to knock over Smith and then seal the deal for Mumbai Indians.
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