First team to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the third time, first player to win the IPL four times as a player, first captain to lift the IPL thrice! These are only some of the records that Mumbai Indians and Rohit Sharma claimed in Hyderabad in the 10th final of the coveted tournament. Our skipper was on top of the moon after a hard-fought victory. The chips were down for us half-way through the first innings, but we didn’t lose hope. Krunal Pandya took us to a respectable total and our determination and effective team-work got us through and over the finish line in the end. One thing remained constant throughout the league – our captain kept on believing in the team and the players’ abilities to pull anything off.

Rohit is a proud captain, after becoming the first one to lift three IPL titles. It was hard for him to choose one title as the closest to his heart, but this one will hold a special place for sure. “All three titles are special, like the first one in 2013 against a different opposition and 2015 again the same opposition we played in 2013. I personally feel it is all about how you prepare at the start of the tournament. Getting your combinations right before you take the field is also the key. I feel individual brilliance will win you a few games, but what you need to win the championship is belief in the team. If you look at all the three titles that we have won, we have one batsman in the top 5 and this time no batsman has been in the top 5. That is the hallmark of the team! We have a few guys who take up the challenge and deliver when we needed – today was the perfect example. The bowling unit came together at the right time. There are a few legends of the game in our bowling unit too. We gelled nicely and we mixed it up nicely on the field. On a wicket like this, you can defend any target when you are fielding. We came into the change-room, we discussed and spoke about that (how to go about it). In the last game we played against a good batting unit, against KKR and restricted them to under 110. So, we thought why not again!”

Our team has been buoyed by match-winning performances by a lot of players throughout the season. We can rely on almost everyone to take up the responsibility to take us home. “We have got some proven match-winners in our squad, when the team requires the most. McClenaghan was injured, but he played well throughout the season. But, we always knew we had a great backup and a proven match-winner In Mitchell Johnson. He has done it for Mumbai before in the past as well. I could happily rely on him. The last over was really crucial, Steven Smith was set. To have him throughout the season was fantastic. He has been talking to our younger bowlers regularly. If you’ll ask Bumrah in the future, he’ll be telling you how crucial Johnson was.”

Steven Smith’s wicket was something we were after right from the moment he came in to bat, knowing how dangerous he could be. Smith hung in there till the end, and it was Johnson who got him. Against a batsman like that, Rohit just wanted the bowlers to stick to basics. “There was no specific strategy, we just didn’t want to give him pace. He was trying to use the pace of the bowler. I discussed with Mitchell how to make it difficult for him. He came and bowled a not too perfect yorker, but it was almost there. That was a great catch by Rayudu, who probably wasn’t expecting the ball to come to him, but to take that catch under pressure was great.“

Rohit was ringing in the changes in the bowling, as we had a paltry total to defend. He trusted his instincts on the field and most of them worked for him. “Sometimes you have to go by your gut feeling! I wanted to use Bumrah to take wickets! When Malinga was bowling from the other side, he was bowling into the wind and i didn’t want that. It was always a gamble between him and Johnson. We knew his slower ones and off-cutters will be difficult. That was the plan and it worked! Sometimes, if it doesn’t work it looks bad.”

The pressure in the final is different from the league games. An average total can seem towering to a chasing team and Rohit emphasized the key to batting first in a final. “In big games, you have to put a good score on the board. In the first two finals we played, we batted first. The history at this venue is such that you can score big but if you don’t apply yourself to the conditions then you’ll struggle. We wanted around 140-160 on this wicket. We thought if we score 140 then we could score 160 as well. As you saw 160 was a match-winning total.”

We have some of the most experienced and renowned T20 players from around the world, in our squad. All that experience, according to Rohit came in handy at the toughest junctures in the season. “Cricket is all about experience! We have experienced and proven match winners in our squad. I felt at the start of the tournament to go use the 5-bowler strategy. Hardik has not bowled much in this tournament because our five bowlers in the tournament bowled really well. It’s always good to see that! Our preparation started before the tournament. We’ve always come out aggressively as a bowling unit. That’s what these guys are getting the reward for! It’s all about how we plan! A lot of credit goes to Shane Bond, he was talking to the guys on how to bowl and what not to bowl.”

Rohit Sharma is proud to captain champion bowlers like Malinga, Bumrah, Johnson, Bhajji to name a few. “Malinga and Bumrah are probably the two best death bowlers. Malinga, this year hasn’t found his way, but whenever we needed he bowled well for us. That’s what experience does and we knew somewhere down the line, experience counts. Not just for IPL teams, they have done it for their countries too. We discussed a lot in the last over! In the end, you have to execute whatever you discuss. It’s all about implementing them on the field.”

Rohit Sharma stressed on how vital fielding can get when a team defends a relatively slow score. He wasn’t too happy with the fielding initially, but lauded the fact that our boys stepped up later on. “When you are defending such a low target, it’s important for the fielders to try and create something and sto those crucial runs. We spoke about saving 20 runs! These things happen, when you are nervous you over-do it. In the break we had after 6 overs, we asked everyone to be calm and assured them that things will happen. On a wicket like this, something or the other keeps happening. You can’t just come and play your shots easily. We knew anything could happen! If they create a partnership for 10 overs, we still needed to stay in the game; and that is exactly what happened! We squeezed in, and our spinners bowled a lot of dot balls and that’s why they made mistakes.”

The brothers-in-arms, Hardik and Krunal have been key to our success in this season. Rohit Sharma is all praises for the duo and has reiterated how crucial they have been for the team. “Both the Pandya brothers are brilliant! When you see them on the field, you can see how they want to contribute in every way. In this age, fielding plays such an important part. You try and put in a lot of effort. Krunal was nervous to start with, now he knows he is the core member of the squad. He goes out and plays freely. He knows when you drop a catch there is always a chance of coming back. Exactly what he did in the end.”

We began preparing for the league well before our first game. The boys had ample time to gel with each other and the coaches had their share of time to assess the right combination for when it mattered. We had an explosive start to the league after we lost the first game. We won 9 of the next 11 games and got into the Playoffs in style. When things got tough after the first Qualifier, the boys got together and stepped up to win the second Qualifier and then the final too.