Meet the lady to whom the Twitterati credited Mumbai Indians’ third IPL trophy
The grand finale of IPL 10 between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant was both nerve-wracking and heartbreaking. In a contest that went down to the wire, the two-time champions went on to win their third IPL title by beating RPS by a solitary run. And one couldn’t help but feel bad for Steven Smith who was sent back in the final over by Mitchell Johnson after almost winning the game for his side.
Chasing 130 to win, Pune looked set for their maiden IPL title with skipper Smith leading the charge and the team requiring 11 runs off the final over with seven wickets in hand. Australia’s former Ashes star, Johnson, dismissed Manoj Tiwary and Smith off successive deliveries while Washington Sundar ran himself out in the final ball of the over which yielded nine runs.
The match was such that it made sure everyone sat on the edge of their seats and no one took their eyes off the match. One such person who was lost in deep prayers was caught by the camera. Clad in a blue-green saree, the elderly woman was seen praying earnestly as the match headed towards a close finish, but was more in favour of the Supergiant.
Surrounded by blue jerseys, it wasn't a tough task to figure out as to which team the lady was praying for. Eventually, she had her prayers answered as the Mumbai Indians clinched victory by a solitary run to become the first team to win the IPL thrice. The old lady soon went viral on social media with tweets pouring in about how she was the reason behind the 'Blue Brigade' stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.
We Indians are accustomed to seeing fans bite their fingernails in such high-tension games but this elderly woman had her priorities sorted – it was all about her and the almighty as Johnson bowled the last over. With eyes closed and hands folded, she had left it to the Almighty to bring victory to Mumbai. She was none other than Purnima Dalal, the mother of Mrs Nita Ambani.
Twitterati attributed Mumbai Indians’ win to her prayers and speculations were rife about the identity of the woman. But soon later, it was Abhishek Bachchan who laid to rest all the speculation when he took to Twitter and identified her through a tweet saying, “That is Mrs Ambani’s mother. Popularly referred to as “nani”. The lucky charm.”
Soon, the Mumbai Indians franchise tweeted from their official handle thanking MI’s lucky charm for her relentless prayers in support of the team. The tweet said, "Certified Mumbai Indians fan and Mrs Nita Ambani’s mother, Purnimaben Dalal did all she could to bring the IPL trophy home. #ThankYouNani"
Here is how rest of Twitter reacted to the same:
But news on the now favourite aunty of Mumbai was not restricted to thankful Tweets alone. The aunty now inspires memes on social media, and AIB took a lead and shared a couple of funny pictures.