On one side of the spectrum there is JaspritBumrah, who has been labeled as the yorker specialist and has been Mumbai Indians’ go to man. On the other end, there is one tattooed Aussie who has the reputation of snaring pace and bowling cannons at the batsmen - be it in Aussie colours or in the Mumbai Indians blues. Given the scenario and given the moment – these two pacers stood up to the occasion helping their side defend a low total of 129. Few would have given them a chance to clinch the title with that score on the board.But that is what champion sides are made of – grit and determination and a never say die attitude, which the Mumbai Indians displayed on

Bumrah clinched 2 in his four overs, which included the priced wicket of MS Dhoni, while Mitchell Johnson had big boysAjinkyaRahane and Steve Smith – who had almost helped Rising Pune Supergiant through to a maiden IPL title – amongst his three. There were anxious moments towards the end of the innings with Bumrah walking to bowl the 19th and Johnson being given the onus of the 20th. Bumrah gave away 12 in the penultimate over and agreed there were some anxious moments after he had given that many with 11 left for Johnson to defend in the final over. Bumrah though was confident his bowling partner would seal the deal for their side.

“In the second last over I gave a six and I was a little worried if we could still come back,” Bumrah said while speaking to iplt20.com. “But the way Mitchell Johnson bowled that last over was unbelievable. It is during situations like these that experience matters and it helped us.

“I backed Mitchell to defend it in the final over. He is a legend and you always back a legend to come good during such crunch times. He has so much of experience and has faced such situations before. I knew Mitch would get us home.”

But did the side back itself to defend such a modest total given the magnitude of the occasion? “We wanted to keep on fighting till the end, till the last over and the last ball was bowled. You always try to back yourself to come back into the game, come what may. We were always behind the eight ball from the start but we never gave up. The way the boys bowled was excellent. It was a brilliant game. We kept on fighting and that is the mark of a champion side. We are proud of the way we played the final and this year. I am very happy.”

Happy he was, this afterall being his maiden IPL title. “It is a brilliant feeling to be crowned champions. This was my first final and to contribute and end up on the winning side is always brilliant.”