IPL Final | Player Ratings: Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga overcome Shane Watson scare to help MI lift record fourth title

Rohit Sharma (2/10): After opting to bat first, the onus of posting a massive target was on Rohit Sharma’s shoulders. He got a much-needed fifty against the same opposition to regain some rhythm and was expected to go big in an all-important match, but it wasn’t to be. Rohit fell prey to Deepak Chahar’s knuckle-ball and his dismissal pushed MI on the backfoot. Perhaps, he could have waited for a couple of more overs before shifting gears.  

Ishan Kishan (3/10): In such a high-voltage game, nothing seemed to have gone the young Ishan Kishan’s way. He struggled to rotate the strike initially, which only created additional pressure. Although he played few beautiful strokes here and there to break the shackles, there was nothing of substance in between. His 26-ball stay out in the middle could only garner 23 runs, which is by no means substantial in a final. After enduring so much of time in the middle, Ishan had to make up for the dot deliveries with some big strokes against the leg-spinner Tahir, but that remained beyond the realms of expectations. 

Kieron Pollard: (8/10): This is exactly why you keep persisting with player like Kieron Pollard, who is a big match player. Pollard is like a rescue man, the moment MI find themselves in hot water, Pollard is the lifeguard. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Pollard stuck to his guns and played a gem of an innings to help MI post a respectable total. Although his drama, where he walked off while facing Bravo, halted the game for a minute, it only adds to the theatre. Nevertheless, Pollard engineered MI’s innings with some astuteness and justified his elevation ahead of Hardik Pandya.    

Hardik Pandya: (5.5/10): The stage was perfectly set for another Hardik blitzkrieg, but one cannot expect someone to fire every single time. Hardik was lucky to have been dropped by Raina earlier, but didn’t quite manage to capitalise on it. He smashed a massive six in the same over, but fell prey to Chahar’s persistence in the next over. Hardik’s 16 off 10 gave MI the much-needed impetus, but the situation demanded a lot more. With the ball, it was surprising to see Hardik bowling just a solitary over where he conceded just three runs.   

Mitchell McClenaghan (7/10): The left-arm pacer bowled with some heart and of course, raw pace. His first two overs were economical and almost got the wicket of Shane Watson in his third over, but Malinga’s misjudgement denied a wicket. After an erratic third one, McClenaghan bounced back in the fourth to finish with 24 for no loss.  

Lasith Malinga (8.5/10): In a format like T20, small moments change the course of the game and Lasith Malinga would vouch for it. He only leaked runs in his entire spell, but when MI had just 9 runs to fight for in the final over, Malinga came out in flying colours. This was his experience that rescued the MI ship from choppy waters and handed them record fourth IPL title. 2 needed off the final ball, Malinga kept his composure and delivered a perfect slower one, when not many expected him to do so.   

Cricket FootBall Kabaddi

Basketball Hockey

SportsCafe