1) Rohit’s final act

50 (26 balls, 6×4, 2×6) by Rohit Sharma in Kolkata on May 24, 2015

Rohit Sharma capped off a brilliant season with a game-changing knock in the final. That MI were languishing at the bottom of the table for the first two weeks was merely academic now. The final was a repeat of the 2013 season but MI had it much easier because of the rollicking partnership between Sharma and Lendl Simmons. Sharma’s knock was especially brutal. Walking in at the fall of Parthiv Patel in the first over, Sharma started things off with an upper cut over the third-man boundary. It was unbridled aggression at its very best as Sharma then stepped out and launched a flighted delivery from R Ashwin over mid-wicket. Mumbai were cruising at over 10 an over by now. In the 12th over bowled by Dwayne Bravo, Sharma hit two exquisite boundaries — one along the ground — to bring up his fifty. Bravo then claimed him with a slower one but by then the damage was done. MI had the momentum and they piled on 202/5. Sharma rotated his bowlers well and they didn’t disappoint. Soon, Sharma would loft the trophy for the second time in three years. He also took home the Man of the Match award.

2) Jaya Ho!

114* (48 balls, 9×4, 11×6) by Sanath Jayasuriya in Mumbai on May 14, 2008

After missing MI’s first six games due to a groin injury, Sachin Tendulkar finally made his IPL debut. He made a gamely 12, including a six over third man, but that was that. The remainder of the evening belonged to Sanath Jayasuriya. Chasing 157 for their fourth straight win, MI were very determined to put it past CSK. After all, they had lost the ‘away’ leg by only five runs. There was no appetite for another heart-stopper. The conditions assisted the bowlers, especially those with the ability to generate swing. None of that mattered to Jayasuriya, who turned back the clock in audacious style. He had blasted 151 against India at the same ground some 11 years earlier, only this time the Wankhede faithful were on his side. Jayasuriya scored an eye-popping 102 of his 114 runs off boundaries. Nine fours and — hold your breath — 11 sixes! A flurry of short-arm jabs, fierce slashes and purposeful lofts later, MI were home. Never mind the nine wickets in hand or the 37 balls rendered useless. Oh, and yes, Robin Uthappa made a quiet unbeaten 16. Jayasuriya took Albie Morkel and MS Gony to the cleaners early on, hitting the duo for seven sixes in all. With only 25 needed off 42 balls, Jayasuriya decided to finish things off quickly. And it so happened that MS Dhoni asked Chamara Kapugedara to bowl. What followed was mayhem: 6, 6, 6, 4 and 4. Match over! The second six in that over took him to the three-figure mark (off just 45 balls), which he celebrated like a little boy. It was as though we were back in the 1990s. Ah, those days!

3) Bhajji floors CSK with a five-for

5/18 by Harbhajan Singh in Mumbai on April 22, 2011

Just 20 days after he hit that epoch-defining six in the final of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, MS Dhoni couldn’t quite inspire CSK to victory against MI at the Wankhede. It was the turn of his India teammate, Harbhajan Singh, to perform the star turn. Defending MI’s 164/4, fashioned by skipper Rohit Sharma’s buccaneering 87 off 48, Harbhajan played his role as lead spinner to perfection. He had Suresh Raina caught and bowled with a loopy delivery that drifted a great deal. CSK continued to be in the game thanks to S Badrinath, whose unbeaten 71, off 48, scored a tad more than Sharma’s on the elegance aspect. CSK were left needing 42 off four overs after Harbhajan claimed his second of the night. It was a nothing ball, so to speak, but all S Aniruda could do was direct the full toss to deep mid-wicket. In his next over, Harbhajan sealed the contest for all practical purposes with a triple strike. He had Albie Morkel bowled, then got R Ashwin to hit out to long-on and finally induced a top-edge off Joginder Sharma’s bat to complete a neat catch himself. Badrinath soldiered on, but it was Harbhajan’s day as MI won by eight runs.

4) Haydos calls the shots

81 (46 balls, 12×4, 2×6) by Matthew Hayden in Chennai on April 23, 2008

In the first game of this amazing rivalry, Matthew Hayden scored a blistering 81 to power CSK to 208/5 at Chepauk. MI’s fightback was no less stunning but the hosts had the last laugh with last-over hero Joginder Sharma denying Abhishek Nayar as CSK won by just six runs. Hayden collected 14 runs off the third over, bowled Shaun Pollock, and this included a huge six which landed on top of the Madras Cricket Club’s roof. He lost both Parthiv Patel and Michael Hussey inside the first five overs but found an able ally in Suresh Raina, with whom he added a match-defining 104 for the third wicket. Hayden raced to his fifty with a huge six over long-on. He took just 33 balls to get to the landmark. The highlight of his knock was that he almost carried the bat. Openers don’t last 19 overs in a Twenty20 game, but Hayden did that. His 102-minute effort (marathon in 20-over parlance) was a perfect blend of caution, aggression and presence of mind. The humble man that he is, Hayden said this after winning the Man of the Match award: “Suresh Raina really played a better innings (53 off 37) than me. A lot of effort and skill are needed to play like that.”

5) Dhoni does the star turn

51* (20 balls, 6×4, 2×6) by MS Dhoni in Bengaluru on May 23, 2012

At one point in the season, it seemed CSK wouldn’t even make the playoffs. And here they were — just two wins away from a third straight title. Dhawal Kulkarni couldn’t have done any better for MI in the all-important Eliminator. He removed M Vijay and Suresh Raina off consecutive deliveries as CSK were reduced to 2/1 in 1.2 overs. A 93-run stand between Michael Hussey and S Badrinath spared CSK the blushes, but the Yellow Army hadn’t crossed the 100-run mark even in the 14th over. Dhoni flicked the first ball he faced to mid-wicket for a boundary before depositing a James Franklin delivery on the roof of the Chinnaswamy. In the next over, he hit Kulkarni for three consecutive fours to race to 25 off just nine balls. Dhoni unleashed the helicopter shot in the 19th over bowled by Lasith Malinga. The awesome power of his bottom hand took the full-ish delivery flat over the mid-wicket boundary. Dhoni went into the last over with 46 off 19 to his name. Dwayne Bravo, who was in a similar mood, kept Dhoni waiting but the skipper eventually got to his half-century with a sprint double off the last ball. CSK’s 187/5 was more than enough and they won by 38 runs. Dhoni was rightly adjudged Man of the Match.