It is indeed an unparalleled feeling to become the IPL champions for the third time. The journey was filled with so many memories that the players and the fans can look back and say, ‘We will remember this moment for years to come.’ It all began on April 6th when we played our first game and ended on 21st May, when we lifted the trophy after an inspired performance by our boys. Let’s revisit some of the moments, those we believe were the finest of our efficacious season.

6 balls, 28 runs

In our very first game of the season, we travelled to Pune. Batting first, we were looking for a big score, but could manage just 154/7 by the end of the 19th over. After losing wickets at regular intervals, we struggled for most of the death overs. However, a different script was to be written in the final over – by Hardik Pandya. This is how the script read – 6, 6, 6, 4, 6, 1WD, 1b. The man at the receiving end was Ashok Dinda. Hardik smashed 26 runs off the first 4 balls, and we got two more through extras that took the score to 184. It was the most expensive over of IPL 2017.

Polly-ed out of jail

We were reeling at 7/4 after a Badree hat-trick and then at 33/5 in the pursuit of 143. One man held his head high and got the chase back to stability. Kieron Pollard played a wel-controlled and a sensible knock with able support from Krunal Pandya. We romped home in the end, with 7 balls to spare.

Children’s day out

It was an auspicious day at the Wankhede when nearly 20,000 children benefited from Reliance Foundation’s ‘Education For All’ initiative. They came in large numbers and showered their support for our boys at the Wankhede Stadium. Nitish Rana’s half-century propelled our chase and we gave the children a treat they will cherish throughout their lives with our first ever victory over Gujarat Lions.

The cannon-chase

Hashim Amla took a special liking to some of our bowlers, as he scored his maiden IPL ton, against us. We were left with 199 to chase. We came out all guns blazing and didn’t hold ourselves back. Led by Jos Buttler’s 77 and Nitish Rana’s 62 which didn’t have a single four In it, we made easy work of the near-200 target. We got home with 27 balls to spare.

Boom roars at the Lions

Just when we thought we had the chase in our bag, wickets began tumbling and a series of run-outs saw us score exactly as much as Gujarat Lions did. It went down to the Super Over, and we lost both our wickets, managing just 11 runs off it. The task to defend those runs vested in Bumrah’s hands. The over didn’t begin on a good note. Bumrah bowled a no-ball and a wide off the second ball. He didn’t lose his composure and delivered 5 of his best to leave Aaron Finch & Brendon McCullum searching for the ball. Bumrah defended 11 runs and conceded just 6 runs off it.

Into the Playoffs, in style

It was like a game of chess at the Feroz Shah Kotla, where all our moves came with striking blows to Delhi Daredevils. Batting first, we amassed over 200 runs and weren’t satisfied with just that. Against a side that had chased two hefty scores in their past two games, our bowlers fired on all cylinders and shot the Delhi batsmen out for just 66 – claiming the highest victory margin, bowling second.

Karn’t get better

It was our second shot at the final in the Playoffs and we had been beaten by Pune in our first attempt. The defeat only got our bowlers hungrier for success. Karn Sharma pulled out a stellar performance with a 4-fer that helped us reduce Kolkata Knight Riders to just 107. We got over the line comfortably in the chase.

The final hurrah

We lost three games to Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, before the final. While this may have been at the back of our boys’ mind, they didn’t let the pressure of the final get to them when they had to defend just 129 runs. The batting order couldn’t put up a competitive total, but Krunal Pandya’s brilliance with the bat gave our bowlers something to bowl at. We couldn’t pick up wickets at regular intervals, but the bowlers and fielders ensured that runs weren’t given away on a platter. We took it down to the final few overs and some incredible death bowling got us the title, as we won by a run. It was perhaps the closest final in IPL history.

Our boys created and broke a few records in the season! We played together as a team, backed each other in tough times and kept the ‘never-say-die’ attitude alive throughout the season. While there were quite a few other moments that could make this list, the ones mentioned above gave us that added layer of satisfaction.