I am usually late. For everything. I just could not be late on Sunday the 21st though. I could not be late for the IPL finals.
We had been warned of a traffic snarl near the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad. What we hadn’t been told was that we might have to rappel (!) down a mini sand-and-dust mountain and then walk… and trek for what seemed like eternity before reaching the South Pavilion West, ground floor, BCCI Lounge.
Most men, women and kids around me were in Dhoni jerseys… happy faces glistening in anticipation of a Dhoni diwas! A bus with Team Mumbai rolled in and the all-too-familiar ‘SAAACHINNNNNN, SACHINNNNN’ cry rent the air.
That would be echoed inside the stadium too. Yes, till date, the Little Big Man has probably competition only in MSD on any cricket ground in India. Remember this was a neutral ground where Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) would soon lock horns to for the IPL 10 trophy.
As I crossed the fancy lounge and stepped out into the seating area where Team RPS was supposed to cheer from, within touching distance of the players, Main toh Superman Salman ka fan got me grooving instantly. The stadium was starting to fill to the brim. There was a nervous energy in both the camps. And, yes, there was Hyderabadi biryani for dinner — not a patch on our good ol’ Calcutta biryani.
Sanjiv and Shashwat Goenka would soon sort out their seats. Yes, where you are sitting is really important in any match and this was the final! While Sanjiv would take his place right at the front, on the sofa, Shashwat would seat himself with wife Shivika and friends in the third row. That wouldn’t change through the 40 overs. “You might have to go out if wickets don’t fall!” Shashwat told Shivika, who had stepped out for a cola when Mumbai Indians lost a wicket, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first.
Just an aisle separated the RPS and MI supporters. ‘All izz well’ was the mantra when Akash Ambani would thumbs up an ‘all the best’ to the Goenkas before taking his place on the special sofa near the boundary. Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika felt anything but well though, with Rohit going early, the scoreboard reading 56-4 and Team RPS jubilant.
Dhoni on the field and Dhoni in the audience too. Wizardry? No, Sushant Singh Rajput, silly. He cheered for “good cricket and Dhoni” with Raabta co-star Kriti Sanon, leaning on her just slightly, as Lean On played!
At the half-way mark, it seemed Pune didn’t have to ‘lean on’ the much-fancied luck factor. With just 130 to get, Sanjiv’s thumbs up said it all. A party at Park Hyatt beckoned. Rohit Sharma seemed to have ‘picture abhi baaki hai mere dost’ in mind. Wife Ritika couldn’t sit still. Neither could I. I stopped taking notes. I forgot I was working. Then Washington Sundar was run out off the last ball and the MI box erupted.
Sanjiv and Shashwat managed wry smiles. Dwayne Bravo’s Champion started playing. What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?
Text: Saionee Chakraborty
Pictures: Pabitra Das
AFTER AN UNFORGETTABLE IPL 10 FINAL, WE LOOK AT THE TOP MOMENTS FROM THE MUMBAI INDIANS AND RISING PUNE SUPERGIANT’S SEASON
MUMBAI INDIANS
BOOM-RAH!
Jasprit Bumrah showed why he’s the best in the death business when he made Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum look like two tailenders in the season’s first super over. With 11 to get off 6 balls, the Gujarat Lions batsmen failed to judge Bumrah’s change of pace and put bat to ball. He gave away only six runs, of which, three came off the bat. And then, in the final, the 17th over saw him scalp MSD and give away just three runs.
AGE IS SECONDARY, CLASS IS EVERYTHING
Mitchell Johnson might not be the same fiery customer who once terrorised batsmen all around the globe, but he showed class is permanent when he bowled the last over... in the final! MJ successfully defended 11 runs, backed by some good fielding, winning Mumbai their third trophy by a run.
SWIRLING SHARMA
Many thought Karn Sharma would be the weak link in the Mumbai bowling, when they took on KKR in the Qualifier 2. Instead, it was his spell that took the game away from KKR early in the innings. He first dismissed Sunil Narine. Next in his hit list was captain Gautam Gambhir... followed by Colin de Grandhomme off the very next ball. He finished with four for 16 runs, and KKR were bundled out for 107. And in the final, he kept it tight with figures of 4-0-18-0.
RO-HIT SHARMA
He had an ordinary season with the bat, but was spot-on with his captaincy. There were two moments that stand out. At first slip, he took an outstanding one-handed catch to dismiss Delhi’s Marlon Samuels. And then the enduring image of the final: the jubilant skipper racing in from the boundary line to join the team huddle on the pitch. Three IPL trophies in five years as MI captain. Take a bow, Hit man.
SINGH IS KING
A fan favourite, who’s been a brilliant entertainer for years, which is why we couldn’t be happier to see Harbhajan Singh get his 200th T20 wicket, when he castled Pune captain Steve Smith with a half-tracker in the group stages. But so strong was the MI bench that Bhajji failed to make the team in the knockouts.
ASHOKE DINDA’S TRIP TO MARS
6, 6, 6, 4, 6... Hardik Pandya had a new number for Pune’s Ashoke Dinda, when the sides met for the first time this season. It was a day when Dinda left his line and length back home on the Bypass and bowled full tosses and length balls. Pandya power took 28 off an over. Hardik finished with 35, Dinda made a quick half-century... with the ball!
A PIECE OF DADA IN THE MUMBAI DUGOUT
When Kings XI Punjab have hit you for 230 runs, it’s understandable for the shoulders and team spirit to drop. But that’s when Rohit Sharma took a leaf out of Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy book and called for a team huddle. Some words of encouragement later, MI came out as bundle of energy and almost chased down Punjab’s total.
K-RUN-AL PANDYA
His innings in the final encounter wasn’t about flashy drives and big hits, but instead calm and calculated batting. His gritty knock of 47 runs off 28 deliveries, at a time when wickets fell quicker than our hopes for a downpour in the Calcutta summer, Krunal held his ground. From reeling at 79/7, he took his side to 128 at the end of 20 overs. An underrated innings on a difficult wicket was crucial and gave Mumbai bowlers a fighting chance... one they grabbed with both hands... and feet!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GOD!
What’s not to love about Sachin Tendulkar cutting his birthday cake with Matthew Hayden and a packed Wankhede singing ‘Happy Birthday...’ during an IPL game? Pure magic!
WHEN DD STOOD FOR DEMOLISHED DELHI
After scoring 216 by destroying the bowling, Mumbai Indians went on to dismantle Delhi’s batting, bundling them out for 66 , winning by a margin of 140 runs. In a T20 match that isn’t just a win... it’s a thumping statement.
RISING PUNE SUPERGIANT
SUPERB STOKES
His 12 wickets and 316 runs, which also had a match-winning 103 not out against Gujarat Lions, made his
Rs 14.5 crore price tag look like a bargain. And when the Most Valuable Player of IPL 10 wasn’t scoring or taking wickets, he was electric on the field. Our favourite was when he timed his jump to perfection, took Mohd Shami’s catch, lifted it back up as his feet touched the boundary ropes and coolly regained his balance, came back into the field of play and collected the catch, making Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box go ‘Wow, wow… wow’. Our thoughts exactly!
THE BOSS
A vintage Dhoni performance saw him make balls disappear quicker than his critics could swallow their words. Coming in to bat at number four he took his time. But when the team required 47 off the last three, he took off the helmet and delivered an onslaught that saw him finish with 61 off 34. Pune beat Sunrisers Hyderabad off the very last ball.
And when he wasn’t smashing it with the bat, he was scoring with his wit, with a little help from Pune teammate Manoj Tiwary, who was on the mic. When Kevin Pietersen asked Tiwary to let Dhoni know that he’s a better golfer, Dhoni’s reply with a smile was a vintage helicopter shot: “But he is still my first Test wicket’. Pietersen 0, Dhoni 1.
UNADKAT’S HAT-TRICK
Defending 12 runs in the last over against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jaydev Unadkat bowled the best over of his life. A triple-wicket maiden! The over saw him pick up a hat-trick and finish with figures of 5/30.
THE GENTLEMAN
Ajinkya Rahane showed why cricket is called the gentleman’s game. In a high-intensity Qualifier 1 game against Mumbai Indians, Rahane pulled off a brilliant ‘catch’ on attempt on the boundary, but then his feet touched the rope. Instead of hoping that the on-field and third umpires would miss it, the 28-year-old straightaway signalled saying it was a six... 10 points for fairplay!
FATE HAD THE FINAL WORD
He had played a captain’s knock in the all-important final and looked set to get Pune home off the last over. He struck Johnson’s third ball right off the sweet spot, on the off side, with nobody except Ambati Rayudu manning the fence. But as fate would have it, it went straight to Rayudu who cupped it near his neck! A few inches either way, and the trophy would have gone to a different Maharashtra city.
Text: Rwitoban Deb
