Mumbai Indians became the most successful team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after overcoming Chennai Super Kings by 1 run in a thrilling final at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. The win gave us a record fourth IPL title after CSK had taken the contest into the last ball of what was a tense and breathtaking final.

Shortly after the game, players, coaching staff and our owners shared some of their thoughts on our record-breaking season. Youngster Ishan Kishan lauded MI’s never say die spirit. “This is the best part of the T20 game and Mumbai Indians are known to come back. So, we did what we have done before. We lost a few overs in the game and then again coming back in the game with Malinga bowling a superb (last) over,” Kishan said.

Suryakumar Yadav explained the secret behind MI’s success. “The processes and the routines we follow before the start of the tournament when everyone meets (is important). What we share together is key to going ahead and winning championships and knowing each and every one and all the strong points and weaknesses of each and every player. I think that’s the most important thing that takes you forward and wins you titles,’ he opined.

Mitchell McClenaghan kept things tight by conceding just 24 runs from his four overs and spoke of how proud he was with everyone in the MI camp. “I’m just so proud of our whole squad, everyone who played and everyone who didn’t play. I think it was exceptional from the backroom staff, to Shane Bond and Mahela Jayawardene and all these boys were exceptional. All the boys who do the dirty work, day in and day out without complaining at all have been outstanding,” the New Zealander said.

His countryman and our bowling coach Shane Bond also elaborated on MI’s support staff. “We’ve got a large staff for coaching, we’ve got people who do our scouting, we’ve had players like Jason Behrendorff and Alzarri Joseph, who’ve all contributed and that’s the big thing. You talk about being family, the team aspect, everyone puts in a lot of hard work so it’s nice to get those rewards for it.”  

“Today was a culmination of a lot of hard work and I think over the course of the competition, we’ve got better and better with the ball. So, we knew 150 was below-par, but we also knew we had quality bowlers that can deliver under pressure and Malinga was sensational in that crunch moment,” he added.

Head coach Mahela Jayawardene stressed the importance of Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 41 from 25 balls and our bowlers’ roles in the win. “I think he batted beautifully and was hitting the ball really well. He took a lot of pressure off us and I think this is when big players come to the party, when it comes to big games. And I think Bumrah, Malinga and young Rahul Chahar bowled brilliantly as well. I think he’s come of age in this tournament and he held his nerve and was brilliant out there, especially on a wicket where there wasn’t much for him. But the pressure he created gave us a lot of opportunities.”

Our icon, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar was also full of praise for young Chahar. “We’ve got a terrific team with experience and youngsters. As Mahela put it correctly, Rahul Chahar stands out. The way he has bowled this season, even before he played the first game, I kind of shared my opinion on Rahul Chahar and I thought he was just fabulous. Today, he came and bowled at a critical time from the sixth over to the 11th or 12th over,” Sachin said. 

He continued: “He created that pressure and bowled with a slip there and beat the bat on a couple of occasions in every over. I thought it was quality bowling and that is why I think we’ve been able to perform consistently because spinners have come in and bowled well in the middle overs. Not to forget, Hardik Pandya’s special batting throughout the season. There were a number of games when we were pushed to the corner while challenged and Hardik came in and played some critical knocks for us.”

Sachin went on to speak about what he thought was the key moment in the final. “The key moment was to get Dhoni run-out, but also the patches where Bumrah came and bowled those critical overs after Malinga went for that expensive over. Bumrah came and kind of evened that out a bit. And then again Krunal gave away some runs but Bumrah came back very hard and then the last over I thought Malinga finished it off beautifully. So, all in all, terrific team performance and when it comes to finals, we were thinking of the last time we played here, when we defended 129. All the finals that we’ve played here have been a last ball finish and we’ve finished them beautifully,” he said.

MI’s owners Mrs. Nita Ambani congratulated skipper Rohit Sharma for being a fantastic leader and Akash Ambani hailed Malinga’s final over as well as the team culture. “Malinga has done it over the years for us. He is the highest wicket-taker (in IPL). We had faith in him. We are #OneFamily. We back everyone to the tee. Right from the players to the champions,” Akash added.