On this day in 2013: Mumbai Indians beat CSK to lift their first IPL trophy

Rohit Sharma led MI to their first title in IPL 2013.

It has been 12 years since Mumbai Indians (MI) won their first trophy in the IPL, which came in 2013. The Hardik Pandya-led side is the joint-most successful team in the league with five trophies in their kitty. Their dominance commenced in 2013 when they won their first title under skipper Rohit Sharma, who took charge of the team from Ricky Pointing mid-season.

Ahead of IPL 2013, MI reached the playoffs in three seasons, however, they could not clinch the trophy. They ended up as runners-up in the 2010 edition, and failed to bag a berth in the finals in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

After the 2013 season, MI turned into the most dominant side in the league. Under Rohit Sharma, they won four more titles in the next seven years. Till the 2020 season, MI had the most number of five titles in their kitty.

Mumbai Indians’ journey to the IPL 2013 final

In the 2013 edition, Ricky Ponting captained MI for the first six games, and then the baton was passed to young Rohit Sharma. They commenced the tournament with a two-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a nail-biting clash.

However, they bounced back with three consecutive victories against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), and the now-defunct Pune Warriors India. In their next five matches, MI lost two games and won three encounters.

At the end of the league stage, MI won 11 games and lost five clashes out of 16 matches. They finished in the second spot in the points table after CSK, who also won an equal number of games. Both teams had 22 points, with the latter having a slightly better Net Run Rate (NRR).

In the playoffs, MI faced a big setback in the Qualifier 1 match. They suffered a huge defeat of 48 runs against MS Dhoni-led CSK. With the help of heroic knocks by Mitchell Hussey (86) and Suresh Raina (82), CSK piled up a mammoth 192/1 in the match. Later, they bundled out Rohit Sharma & Co. for 144 runs.

However, MI bounced back in the Qualifier 2 match, defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by four wickets. They halted RR to a low total of 165/6 in the first innings. Later, MI opener Dwayne Smith slammed 62 runs to drive MI to victory in the final over.

The final triumph against CSK

Ahead of the IPL 2013 final, CSK were undoubtedly the favourites to win the title due to their experience and two back-to-back IPL wins in 2010 and 2011. Moreover, they topped the points table after the league stage and also registered a big win against Mumbai in Qualifier 1.

However, Rohit Sharma & Co. stunned everyone to outplay CSK in the match. Interestingly, the Mumbai Indians failed to bat strongly in this match. They lost openers Dwayne Smith (4) and Aditya Tare (0) cheaply.

However, lower-order batter Kieron Pollard scored an unbeaten 60 runs off 32 balls to propel the scoreboard to a respectable 148/9. Ambati Rayudu also added crucial 37 runs. CSK pacer Dwayne Bravo picked up a wonderful four-wicket haul.

CSK were expected to chase down the target easily, due to their strong batting line-up. However, they faced a batting collapse at the top. With 39 runs on the scoreboard, Super Kings had already lost six wickets.

Skipper Dhoni kept the winning hopes alive with his unbeaten 63 runs, however, CSK remained short of 23 runs in the end. MI showed wonderful teamwork in bowling. Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, and Harbhajan Singh captured two wickets each to restrict CSK to 125/9.

After defeating CSK by 23 runs at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, MI scripted their name in IPL record books. The change in the captaincy did wonders for them as skipper Sharma proved to be a powerful leader for the side, and the management retained him as skipper till the 2023 season. Notably, under his leadership, MI won titles in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

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