Mumbai Indians defeat Chennai Super Kings by 1 run in IPL 2019 Final, win record fourth IPL crown

Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 1 run to win their record fourth IPL title. Mumbai thus became the first side to win more than three IPL titles and now they are also the tournament's most successful team. It was a thrilling encounter that went right down to the wire and kept everyone on the edge of their seats. 

Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock got Mumbai off to a brisk start. The duo added 45 runs for the first wicket but were dismissed in quick succession as both the CSK skipper as well as the wicket-keeper batsmen were caught by Dhoni. Deepak Chahar who was hit for 20 runs in his previous over lived up to Dhoni's faith by accounting for skipper Rohit Sharma as MI were on the backfoot. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan then rebuilt Mumbai's innings but could not hang around for too long and suddenly, MI started losing wickets at regular intervals. 

West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard played a stellar cameo of an unbeaten 25-ball 41 at a strike rate of 164 which included three boundaries and three maximums. His blistering knock helped MI get to a respectable total of 148/8 in their 20 overs.

WATCH: Here's the point Kieron Pollard was trying to prove and what happened next

In reply, CSK openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson ensured a good start as the two put on 33 runs for the first wicket. Things started getting more difficult for Chennai after Dhoni's run out. With CSK having lost their top order, Watson took the responsibility to anchor the run chase. The former Australian all-rounder brought the pressure back on Mumbai as he smashed Lasith Malinga for 20 runs along with Dwayne Bravo.

Watson and Bravo stitched in a 51-run stand for the fifth wicket which took CSK to the cusp of victory. Watson played an outstanding knock of a 59-ball 80 at a strike rate of 135.59 including eight fours and four sixes. He played an anchor's role to near perfection but was unfortunately run out in the final over with CSK needing four runs to win with two balls to spare. Shardul Thakur then ran two off the penultimate delivery as CSK needed 2 to win and 1 to tie. Malinga held his nerves as he bowled a good slower ball on the middle and leg stump as Thakur missed the ball and the ball hit his pads. The umpire raised his finger as the Mumbai Indians players erupted in celebrations.  

WATCH: Sprinting full tilt, Shardul Thakur fights against gravity and time to take a stunner. But the ball doesn't stick...