Mumbai Indians batsman Kieran Pollard felt that the team showed a lot of character at key moments and played as an unit as they got the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad by one run to win their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title here on Sunday.
Opting to bat, Mumbai were left reeling at 79/7 in the 15th over, but Krunal Pandya's 47 off 38 deliveries helped them reach 129/8. During the chase, Pune kept wickets at hand but took it deep as they found it tough in the final five overs.
Mumbai had finished first in the round-robin stage but then lost the first qualifier to Pune before coming back to hunt down Kolkta Knight Riders in the second qualifier.
Coming into the final, Pune had defeated Mumbai thrice this edition but the latter managed to get the better of their Maharashtra rivals at the big match.
"The team has come together many times and that's what happened tonight. Big up to this man here, Krunal, he batted nicely and kept us in the game," Pollard said after the game.
"The boys showed a lot of character and belief during difficult moments, like today. but we have managed to come out on top," the West Indian batsman added.
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His compatriot, Lendl Simmons said that Mumbai have big match-winners that help them win their third title.
"Our team has several match-winners and big match players, so it helped. They have the experience of winning the finals and did that today," Simmons said.
Krunal said that his idea was to bat till the 20 overs as he shared a 50-run stand for the eighth wicket with Mitchell Johnson (13).
"When the wicket were falling, I wanted to play 20 overs because I was the only batsman. I knew if I stayed till the 19th-20th over I could attack," he said.
--IANS
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