IPL Rewind: 2017 – Mumbai Indians complete ‘odd’ hat-trick
After clinching IPL titles in 2013 and 2015, it was a memorable year for Mumbai Indians in 2017 as well as they added the third title in their trophy cabinet. Mumbai Indians’ fate changed when they made Rohit Sharma as skipper in the 2013 edition after Ricky Ponting decided to step out.
The thrilling journey
Mumbai Indians started the tournament with the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. Unfortunately, Rohit-led franchise couldn’t start the season on a high note as they lost the opener by seven wickets. They next took on KKR and registered their first victory of the season.
What followed was the series of victories as Mumbai Indians bagged six back to back wins which helped them to stay on top of the table for most of the season. It was RPS franchise that applied brakes to MI’s winning streak. Later, MI took on Gujarat Lions, which was a tied game (MI won in the super over).
Mumbai went on to win next three out of five league games and ended up as table topper at the end of the league stage with 20 valuable points. RPS, SRH, KKR were the other three teams that reached to the playoffs alongside Mumbai franchise.
In the Qualifier 1, it was Mumbai Indians vs RPS. Steve Smith-led side continued their dominance in this crucial game as well after losing the toss. It was almost a one-sided encounter for RPS as they registered a 20-run victory to reach the final. For MI, the path to the grand finale turned out to be tough as they had to play against KKR in the Qualifier 2.
Mumbai won the toss and elected to bowl in the 2nd qualifier. It was a low-scoring thriller, KKR went on to score just 108 runs in 18.5 overs. MI lost three quick wickets in the run-chase but Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 45 helped the franchise to chase the total in just 14.3 overs. The stage was set for the grand finale between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant.
The final
MI Paltan went on to win the toss in the final and elected to bat first. Krunal Pandya shone yet again with a crucial 47-run knock in the low-scoring encounter. RPS was cruising towards the target but MS Dhoni’s dismissal in the 17th over changed the game upside down. Four runs were needed off the last ball where Daniel Christian was on strike but the Aussie managed just two runs and MI ended up winning the third IPL title by just one run.
On this day in 2017, @mipaltan secured their 3rd IPL title by defending just 129 runs in a high-voltage final. pic.twitter.com/cSHWjSBRR1
— 100MB (@100MasterBlastr) May 21, 2020
