MI pip RR in title clash

In a clash of two living legends, Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians emerged triumphant powering their way to the Champions League T20 title in an exhilarating final at the Kotla here on Sunday night. They got the better of a battling Rajasthan Royals — led by the retiring Rahul Dravid — by 33 runs. For much of the chase, the Royals looked like they had it under control till Harbhajan Singh turned things around in one over. With his final six balls of the match, he scalped Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny and Kevon Cooper to effectively spike the chase for good. The Royals were bowled out for 169 in 18.5 overs. Mumbai became the second team after Chennai Super Kings, to complete the double of winning the Indian Premier League and the CLT20 in the same year. CSK had achieved the feat in 2010. Tendulkar and Dravid may not have played significant parts in their final T20 outings, scoring 15 and 1 respectively, but the final clash lived up to expectations. A target of 203 was never going to be easy and given that it was the biggest stage, the job was even tougher for the Royals, who rode on an unbeaten streak into the finals. Dravid’s team took to the task beautifully — young Sanju Samson (60, 33 balls, 4x4, 4x6) and Ajinkya Rahane (65, 47 balls, 4x4, 4x6) standing up to the challenge. The duo’s 109-run second-wicket partnership (67 balls) brought to the fore what makes Rajasthan team they are — unassuming, calm under pressure and always up for the challenge. Despite needing 10 per over, and sixes and fours flowing at ease, the duo laid emphasis on rotating the strike and kept it simple. But the task at hand was a tough one. And once Samson departed, it all fell apart. Harbhajan (4/32) cleaned up the middle order in the span of six balls, while Pragyan Ojha had 1/26. Earlier, Dwayne Smith (44, 39 balls, 4x5, 1x6) and Rohit Sharma (33, 14 balls, 3x4, 2x6) took centrestage in Tendulkar’s T20 swansong, guiding Mumbai Indians to a massive 202/6. The packed Kotla crowd came expecting fireworks from Tendulkar, but it was Smith once again who laid the groundwork for Mumbai’s innings, while fiery cameos from skipper Sharma and million dollar man Glenn Maxwell (37, 14 balls, 4x4, 2x6) kept them entertained. Mumbai’s batsman collected a whopping 98 runs in the last six overs to ensure a huge score.