IPL final 2017: Mumbai Indians beat Rising Pune Supergiant; Dhoni defeated

Magnificent death bowling saw Mumbai Indians snatch an incredible one-run victory from the jaws of defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in a thrilling grand finale of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday.

This was Mumbai Indians' third IPL trophy in 10 editions and more special for their skipper Rohit Sharma, who is the only captain to win a hat-trick of titles. Rohit has in fact ow won four IPL titles (one for Deccan Chargers in 2009).

For Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it was yet another final that ended in a defeat -- fifth in seven summit clashes.

In one of the closest finals during the 10 editions, the trio of Jasprit Bumrah (2/26 in 4 overs), Mitchell Johnson (3/26 in 4 overs) and Lasith Malinga (0/21 in 4 overs) were brilliant at the death defending a lowly total of 129/8 as Supergiant were restricted to 128 for 6 at the end.

It was Johnson, who kept his nerve during the final over where 11 runs were needed. Manoj Tiwary smacked the first one to mid-wicket boundary bringing the eqaution down to 7 from 5 balls.

However the next two deliveries turned out to be disaster with both Tiwary and skipper Steve Smith (51, 50 balls) were caught in the deep.

With four required off final ball and 3 for a Super Over, Dan Christian went for an impossible 3rd run only to be run out as Mumbai players celebrated like never before.

Credit should also be given to Bumrah and Malinga for giving away only 10 runs between them in the 17th and 18th over which suddenly increased the pressure.

While the target was an easy one, it turned out to be tricky with 47 needed off the last five overs.

With Mahendra Singh Dhoni (10) at the crease in company of Smith, the Krunal Pandya over yielded 14 runs. Dhoni square cut Krunal and then Smith played a reverse pull for a six to get 14 runs off the over.
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IPL 2017 gets bigger with sponsors, key players missing in the 10th edition

Amid much fan-frenzy, and competition among sponsors and players, the Indian Premiere League turns 10 this season. And organisers are preparing for a big celebration for the landmark edition, which kicks off on Wednesday. Unlike past editions, the 10th season will host eight different opening ceremonies, one before the first home game of each franchise, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla announced on Monday.

After Pepsi terminated its contract with IPL, Vivo Electronics bagged the title sponsorship for two years in 2015. Business Standard had earlier reported that Vivo will pay Rs 100 crore a year, against the Rs 80 crore Pepsi was paying annually.

Broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has signed up 11 sponsors, including Amazon, and it is targeting over Rs 1,200 crore in advertisement revenue from the 10th season.

E-commerce major Amazon, mobile handset maker Vivo and telecom giant Vodafone will be the presenting sponsors, while Ceat, wire-maker Polycab, Yamaha Motorcycles, Vimal Pan Masala, MakeMytrip, Parle Agro's Frooti, Voltas and YES Bank are associate sponsors.

However, the only regret for some fans of the cricket extravaganza this year is going to be the absence of some blockbuster names in the game. Thanks to international cricketing calendar getting busier with every passing year, the players are getting more prone to injuries. Even before the start of the touranment, injuries have already started bothering the franchises as well. Many star players could give this year's IPL a complete or partial miss.

The biggest among missing names in IPL 2017 is Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli, who is out due to his shoulder injury. Kohli, however, is likely to return on the field by the second week of April.

K L Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mitchell Marsh, Murali Vijay will completely miss the tournament due to their respective injuries. While Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to regain fitness, they would be missing some of the initial matches. Lasith Malinga is on a national duty and might miss the first few matches, while J P Duminy pulled out of the tournamnet citing personal reasons. (READ MORE)