IPL 2021: 3 times Mumbai Indians defeated their opponents by 1 run in tournament's history
Mumbai Indians are among the most decorated teams in franchise cricket history. The Mumbai-based franchise came into existence in 2008. In the last 13 years, they have won five IPL championships and two Champions League T20 trophies.
The Mumbai Indians initially struggled in the IPL. They did not qualify for the semifinals in the 2008 and 2009 editions. In 2010, Mumbai reached the summit clash under Sachin Tendulkar's leadership, where they fell short against the Chennai Super Kings.
MI finally ended their IPL title drought by winning the trophy in 2013. Since then, they have been almost unstoppable in the league. The fact that they have won three out of the last four IPL seasons highlights their dominance in the league.
Speaking of MI, a team cannot achieve success in a tournament like the IPL if the players do not have the ability to perform their best in crunch situations.
Fans have witnessed many games in the IPL that have been decided in the final over. Sometimes, even one or two runs make a big difference in a match.
Over the years, the Mumbai Indians have shown how to remain calm and perform well in tense situations. They jointly hold the record for the most number wins by one run in IPL history.
Mumbai and Royal Challengers Bangalore have recorded three wins each by the narrowest of the margins while defending a total in the IPL.
In this listicle today, we will look at the three instances when the Mumbai Indians won an IPL game by one run.
1. Mumbai Indians vs. Pune Warriors, IPL 2012
In 2011, Maharashtra became the first state to have two IPL teams since the Pune Warriors entered the competition. Unfortunately, the Pune-based franchise did not achieve much success, but fans enjoyed their 'Maha-derby' matches against the Mumbai Indians.
The two Maharashtra-based franchises clashed in Match 45 of IPL 2012 at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The visitors batted first and managed only 120/9 in their 20 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a magical spell of 2/9 for Pune.
Chasing 121 to win, Pune slumped to 47/4. Captain Sourav Ganguly tried to take the team closer to the target, but his 24-ball 16 put pressure on other batters. Mithun Manhas (42* off 34) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10* off 6) took the game to the final over.
Munaf Patel had to defend 12 runs off the last six. He conceded four off the first four balls but a boundary from Kumar on the fifth ball kept Pune's hopes alive.
With four needed off the final ball, Bhuvneshwar failed to hit another boundary. Kumar and Manhas managed only two as Mumbai sneaked away with a one-run victory.
2. Mumbai Indians vs. Rising Pune Supergiant, IPL 2017
Five years later, the Mumbai Indians faced another Pune-based franchise in a last-ball thriller. This time, the stakes were the highest as the IPL 2017 championship was on the line.
MI won the toss and opted to bat first against Rising Pune Supergiant in Hyderabad. However, they got off to a horrible start as Jaydev Unadkat sent openers Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons back to the pavilion before the third over ended.
MI kept losing wickets at regular intervals, but a 38-ball 47 from Krunal Pandya helped Mumbai score 129 runs in the first innings.
RPS required 130 to win their maiden IPL title, and it seemed like they would win comfortably when Steve Smith (51) and Ajinkya Rahane (44) were batting in the middle. But their slow strike rate took the game to the final overs. MS Dhoni's 13-ball 10 did not help Pune either.
Mitchell Johnson had to defend 11 runs off the last over, with Manoj Tiwary and Steve Smith batting for Pune. Tiwary smashed a four on the first ball but lost his wicket on the next. Smith joined him in the dressing room on the next ball.
Two new batters, Washington Sundar and Daniel Christian, had to score seven off the last three balls. The two all-rounders tried their best but could only manage five runs. Mumbai Indians became the first team to win an IPL Final by one run that night.
3. Mumbai Indians vs. Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2019
The Mumbai Indians failed to defend their IPL title in 2018. The Chennai Super Kings matched their tally of three title wins by emerging victorious in 2018.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings reached the IPL 2019 Final, with the winner set to become the first team to win four IPL seasons.
Hyderabad hosted this high-stakes match. Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat.
Quinton de Kock provided a dream start to MI, smashing four sixes in his 17-ball 29. However, CSK bounced back after dismissing de Kock. They reduced MI from 45/0 to 101/5.
Kieron Pollard played a game-changing innings of 41 runs to take the Mumbai Indians closer to 150. MI finished with 149/8 in 20 overs.
In reply, CSK got off to a good start as well, thanks to Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson. The latter carried the innings and played until the last over, scoring 80 runs off 59 deliveries.
Watson's innings kept CSK's hopes alive, although the other batters could not contribute much. Watson was in the middle with Ravindra Jadeja in the final over.
CSK needed nine to win their fourth title. Lasith Malinga, who had conceded 42 runs in his first three overs that night, came in to bowl the final over.
The Sri Lankan star bowled well and gave away four runs off the first three balls. Shane Watson hit the fourth ball towards the deep point region. A confusion between the two batters led to Watson's dismissal.
Shardul Thakur was the new batter in. He took two runs off the first ball, taking the equation down to two off one.
With two to defend off the final ball, Lasith Malinga deceived Thakur with a slow off-cutter. The ball hit him on the pads, and the umpire raised his finger, declaring Thakur out LBW as the Mumbai Indians won another IPL Final by just one run.
The delivery proved to be Malinga's last in IPL history.