A win at last for resilient Mumbai Indians

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Question marks over the legality of Mumbai Indians fielding five overseas players will continue for a while, but no credit can be taken away from the combative effort from the young side that culminated with a glorious win on Sunday.

The Champions League Trophy sitting proudly at the Nariman Point office is tribute to a firm that reportedly lets their players go out and enjoy their game.

If Lasith Malinga was the talisman who covered all bases, Harbhajan Singh's astute leadership had pivotal role to play as well. With most big names ruled out on injury the youngsters stood up to be counted.

“We could not have asked for more from the youngsters. I ensured they never felt left out. They raised the bar as well and hopefully most of them should go on to play a higher grade of cricket,” said Harbhajan. Captaincy is all about man management and getting the best out of players and Harbhajan made every player in the side realise his role.

The off-spinner was only ready to accept his side was 20 runs short in the final. Any total against RCB can be little but Mumbai displayed good spirit in the field.

“To not make more runs was disappointing. We lost our way in the middle, played a few bad shots and a couple of run outs didn't help either,” explained Harbhajan.

The stand out performer Lasith Malinga was rightly adjudged man of the series.

The Sri Lankan downplayed his own role and credited the team instead. “It was a fantastic effort by the boys. Bhajji led well and more importantly the players responded and as we know the captain is only as good as his team. I am happy to have played a role in Mumbai winning, a team i have enjoyed being a part of,” said Malinga.

Sachin Tendulkar’s support and guidance went a long way according to Harbhajan. “He was involved in every decision. His inputs helped a great deal. We owe our success to him,” added Harbhajan.

CL in numbers

*The maximum number of sixes was hit by Jamaican Chris Gayle who sent the ball over the ropes a mind boggling 24 times in six innings.

*Owais Shah (Cape Cobras) and AV Suppiah (Somerset) both finished with six catches in the tournament.

*Michael Bates (Auckland) had the best economy rate in the league. The Kiwi’s economy rate after eight overs was 3.25

*David warner became the first batsman in T20 history to score back to back hundreds. He followed his ton against Chennai super Kings with another swashbuckling innings against RCB.

*RCB took the honour of being the first team to chase in excess of 200 successfully in successive games. The runners achieved the rare feat against the South Australian Red Backs and New South Wales.