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KOLKATA: Bowlers barged tellingly into what was to be a battle between two good batting sides as Mumbai Indians won the world's richest T20 league for the first time on Sunday. Playing their second final, Rohit Sharma & Co. tamed Chennai Super Kings, the team that had denied them three years ago, with a 23-run victory at a packed Eden Gardens.

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It was the lusty hitting by Kieron Pollard that had given Mumbai a competitive total to defend. The West Indian, who sent the last two deliveries of the innings soaring for sixes, remained unbeaten on a 32-ball 60 as Mumbai reached 148 for 9. Two-time champions Super Kings never quite recovered from early jolts and finished on 125 for 9.

Skipper MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on a 45-ball 63 that had three fours and three sixes. But all that was only stats in the end.

In fact, early wickets had seriously set back both lineups. If the Super Kings forced their opponents to recover from 16 for three in the fourth over, Mumbai did one better, knocking down two in the very first over of the chase and then reducing the five-time finalists to three for three in the second and then 39 for 6 in the eighth.

Lasith Malinga, not quite himself in Season Six, found his form when it really mattered for Mumbai. Knocking off the dangerous Mike Hussey, the top run-getter of the tournament, with a signature toe-cruncher, the Sri Lankan 'Slinger' sent back Suresh Raina with a rising ball that the southpaw turned straight to square-leg. S Badrinath kept away another yorker to deny a first-over hat-trick but the tone had been set. Badrinath didn't linger long, chasing Mitchel Johnson into the gloves of Dinesh Karthik.

Rishi Dhawan came on for one over to break the fledgling fourth-wicket partnership by gobbling up Bravo. Then, Harbhajan Singh, who too has found form late in the tournament, soon got into the act to pick up a couple of wickets.

Doni refused to give in but when, with 50 needed off the last two overs, he refused singles to shield No.11 Mohit Sharma, the writing was on the wall.

Earlier, winning a good toss on a wicket that lends itself nicely to slow bowlers in the second session, Mumbai saw that advantage wrested away in the first few overs as the CSK new-ball bowlers made the most of the early movement the wicket accorded.

Mohit Sharma, who has certainly held his own among the big names this season, had one nipping back to trap the dangerous Dwayne Smith in the very first over. Albie Morkel then yorked the in-form Aditya Tare with his first ball of the match and then had Rohit Sharma playing early and into his follow-through in his second over.

Mumbai were dangerously pegged back. Karthik and Ambati Rayudu added 36 for the fourth wicket at just under six-an-over but it was after the former left that new-man Kieron Pollard pushed things.

He has been performing with the ball for the Rajasthan Royals, but in the Eliminator of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013, James Faulkner’s batting skills were called upon against Sunrisers Hyderabad. And the young Aussie came out trumps in that tense situation. With six wickets down and 31 runs required to win off 25 balls, Faulkner joined Brad Hodge (54 off 29) at the crease and helped take the team across the line with four balls to spare.

While speaking to IPLT20.com later, Faulkner who has, on occasions found himself at the receiving end of Hodge’s batting prowess in his country’s domestic circuit said that, he was glad to be on the same side at the senior Pro.

Excerpts from the interview:

On whether the similar conditions when they beat SRH at Sawai Mansingh Stadium were at the back of the mind Yes, but it wasn’t at the back of the mind. It has obviously been a tough week for everyone involved but to get over the line there was an amazing feeling. Brad Hodge was the man of the moment and he thoroughly deserves it.

On his batting and playing a supporting role to Hodge

It is pretty much the bat and the ball in the end. At the end of the innings there is always going to be pressure and it is a matter of how you cope with it. The partnership (33 runs) was obviously good on Wednesday night. Brad Hodge pretty much sealed it for us. His innings was unbelievable. I have, at the other end, myself been playing domestic cricket against him but it is good to be at the same end this time.

On the partnership

It was just a matter of getting bat on ball. I didn’t get off to the best start on my first three. After I struck my first boundary my confidence grew a little bit but it was all about getting Hodgey on strike. At the end of the day he hit over the fence two times in a row and we won the game so it was a good feeling.

On the crucial wicket of Shikhar Dhawan and his plans for the SRH opener

I wouldn’t want to give too much away from our plans. It was pretty much about the basics in the end. To change the pace, back of length Yorkers is pretty much what every other death bowler tries to do.

On being in contention for the Purple Cap

I am not really fussed about that. It is all about the franchise and I am lucky enough to get an opportunity this year and play some games of cricket for the Royals. I am really enjoying my time here so far and hopefully will continue for a few more days.

When Dwayne Smith was scoring runs at will, one almost got the feeling that a target of 193 set by Chennai Super Kings would be chased down in less than twenty overs. The ball was dispatched to all parts of the ground, some sixes were towering, some flat on the boundary ropes while some of them was left for the crowd to do the catching.

For a moment even CSK captain MS Dhoni would have had second thoughts about the daunting target when Smith was treating every CSK bowler with disdain.

Smith was scoring at a strike-rate of over two hundred and when he was out caught by Suresh Raina off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling in the ninth over, Smith had already scored 68 off 28 balls with five sixes and six fours. Mumbai Indians were in a position of control even after Smith’s departure purely because of the start given by the West Indian opener. To MI’s dismay the team could not capitalize on Smith’s blitzkrieg as they fell short of the target by 49 runs. Smith was gutted with the team’s loss as he quietly sat in a corner after watching his team go down.

“It is unfortunate to end up on the losing side. I love to win,” said Smith after the match in a quick chat with IPLT20.com.

Saddening it was to be as Smith was going great guns having blasted Chris Morris and R Ashwin for sixes until CSK decided to take the strategic time-out before the seventh over of the match. Smith was dismissed an over after the time-out and from then on it was CSK all the way.

When asked if the time-out broke the momentum of his knock, Smith said “I do not think that the time-out broke the momentum of the game. At some point of time it always had to happen and I was ready to regroup my innings after the short break. If I had been there for a little more time, we could have probably gone on to win the game.”

Chasing 193 was never meant to be easy and Smith’s message from the dressing room before the run chase was clear. “For me it was just to make sure we got some quick runs on the board and as many as possible so that we could have ourselves in a good position. We were going on well and always felt we were in the game. The wicket got better in the second innings. There was more even bounce and it was lovely to bat on which made us confident of achieving the target,” said Smith.

Smith also felt there were several turning points to the game. “I think myself getting out and the two quick wickets of Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma to fall later were the turning points of the game. “There was a ray of hope when Kieron Pollard was going well, but wickets falling at regular intervals did not help our cause,” he added. With one more shot for the spot, Smith said the side will be more eager to perform in their next game.

“We still have another chance. We have to regroup and comeback strong in the next game to get a chance to play in the final. We are still in the competition and our confidence will not drop,” said the opener.

In the quest for their third title the Chennai Super Kings will take on the Mumbai Indians at the Feroze Shah Kotla on Tuesday evening. Table-toppers on the basis of their run-rate in the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013, the MS Dhoni-led side are keen to win the battle and take the field again only on May 26 in the final at the Eden Gardens.

While speaking to the media ahead of the much awaited contest between the top two teams, CSK coach Stephen Fleming said, “CSK have been very good this year. To motivate the players to win another IPL, with a big semi-final against Mumbai Indians, is our main focus.”

“The group of guys that I have got, are focused on playing the best that we can play. And, as I say, hopefully itss two games away - beat Mumbai and then have another final. And really we are trying to let nothing else creep into the dressing room”.

Discussing the importance of the game heading in the final stages of the tournament he said, “It’s a big game, isn’t it? And certainly, Chennai (Super Kings) –Mumbai (Indians) makes the mouth water. We came close last year taking the long way.

Sometimes it can help if you continually play because you get to good form. We just came up short against a great performance by Kolkata (Knight Riders). But certainly the advantage of playing well on Tuesday and having two or three days off at this point of the tournament is very appealing, rather than travel and play which can tax the players. So, we would love to win on Tuesday and book our place in the final and then work out a good programme.”

Beaten on both occasions by the Mumbai Indians, CSK will be keen to reverse the results when they take the field. Speaking about the opponents he said, “Obviously we got thumped in the last match. So we didn’t just lose, we got absolutely thumped. And that’s down to a good performance by MI. You look at CSK and when we’ve played away in the finals, we’ve started our way through qualifying games and once we get to the finals we’ve been excellent. So, there’s a lot of focus on stepping up that performance. Some of the players we have in our side are big-match players. Our skipper, MS Dhoni, is probably number one in the world, in terms of producing performances when they matter. We turn to those types of players in these situations, whether it’s the Rainas or Dhonis or the overseas players.

Asked if MI have an advantage over them given the record, Fleming said, “Probably, yeah, they’ve beaten us twice this year. They are a team that has beaten us probably more than anyone else. But does it count for anything on the day? I don’t think so.”

Asked if there is too much dependence on Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina the coach said that given their position in the line-up and their roles he is pleased with the way things are turning out. He elaborated, “You depend a lot on your top three or four, that’s a fact. Teams that don’t do well have their top three-four batsmen not playing that well. The fact we have had Raina, Hussey, and (Murali) Vijay is starting to come into form, has allowed the Bravos, the Dhonis, the Jadejas to play cameos. So while Hussey has been fantastic, Raina’s also had a good period of play. If they all combine, it’s good for us. The guys are ready to go. I am more than comfortable with the team dynamics.”

While discussing the importance of mental strength towards the business end of the competition he said, “There’s a lot more pressure, isn’t it? The finals and the last couple of games and the round robins are usually full of pressure. You look at the Hyderabad game and the pressure towards the end of the game they felt. The semi-finals (Playoffs) are no different. It is the team that handles it the best that usually wins the competition. It takes one or two players for your game. You look at MI, they’ve got the players all the way through their side that can do it. And so do we. We are very excited. That’s the other point. We’re excited about being here again. We are proud of our consistency to make another final. We would certainly love to win it again, that’s for sure.”

The former New Zealand captain who has witnessed the competition and the game evolve said of the IPL, “I think this year has been very good.Cricket-wise, forget the rubbish that’s going on, but the cricket I’ve seen has been excellent. Some of the games have been close. A lot more tactics have been put in place. Looking at next year, the auction and how teams are bought and squads are changed I think you will see it will get better as the years go on.

“Talking from a coaching point of view, I am learning all the time. So, I think we’re being quite smart this year. And some of the things we have done, we have learnt from previous years. We like to think our performances our getting better.”

“The standard of cricket, I think, helps some of the skills that are now being put into play at the international level. I think it has improved the game. You look at some of the one-day games, the scores and some of the shots being now played. The pace in Test match cricket has improved. The skill-set of batsmen and bowlers, I think, is on the up. That’s due to T20 cricket and players being able to try new things and learn new skills,” he added.