An insatiable hunger to succeed, the willingness to put in the extra yards and extensive work on the nitty-gritties were among the facets that players attributed Mumbai Indians’ unprecedented success to after clinching their record-extending fifth Indian Premier League title on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma and Co defended their title in style with a clinical demolition of Delhi Capitals in the final. If last year’s one-run win over Chennai Super Kings was an absolute cliffhanger, skipper Rohit Sharma’s fluent 68 made it a walk in the park this year for Mumbai as they chased down the target of 157 in 18.4 overs with five wickets in hand.
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It was a memorable win in a tough year marred by the pandemic which delayed the tournament. The entire event was played within a bio-bubble after being moved to United Arab Emirates.
Here’s what the players had to say about the process and success of IPL’s most prolific franchise:
Rohit Sharma
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“We couldn’t have asked for anything more, right on the money from ball one and we never looked back. I think a lot of credit goes to the people who worked behind the scenes - often they go unnoticed. Our work started long before the IPL started, and we wanted to make sure we filled the gaps of the previous seasons.”
Jasprit Bumrah
“...we have worked very hard, we started preparing much earlier before other teams, we worked through the process, all of which has got us a lot of results. We wanted to break the jinx of winning every alternative years - the goal has been achieved now.
“It means a great deal (about playing the IPL), the pandemic has been such a shock, everyone have been stuck at home.”
Suryakumar Yadav
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“Preparations, processes and routine is important. the team just said one thing - we’ll take care of this. You go and express yourself.”
Quinton de Kock
“Mumbai have a great set up, so we’ve been able to move with the gym work and training and stuff. We’re reaping the rewards today for it. It’s a great feeling.”
“I think this year because there were so many questions around Mumbai in general, whether we can win back to back, we put in the extra effort. You can see it’s paid off. We worked extra hard on the nitty gritties.”
Kieron Pollard
“It’s a great feeling. I’ve been here 11 years, fifth trophy. No one sees the planning and training, it’s pressure playing for a franchise like this,” the MI veteran said.
The West Indian swashbuckler added: “The amount of trophies, the amount of work, the amount of players who go on to play for their countries, I think we’ll have to say so (that this is the best T20 franchise).”
Krunal Pandya
“It’s the hunger. The way we went about the games, there was always 100 percent. A lot of credit goes to how we prepared. One month before we came, everyone knew their roles. Everyone was in good shape, just executing what they were doing in the nets.”
With PTI Inputs