(ESPNcricinfo) – IN a deeply tactical and wildly chaotic final, Lasith Malinga turned around a horror night in an exceptional final over to hand Mumbai Indians their fourth IPL title.

The match went this way and that — both batting sides arguably underperformed, technology gave the third umpire a nightmare, catches went down and run-outs were missed — before it came down to Chennai Super Kings needing nine to win off the final over.

Malinga — three overs for 42 until then, a dropped catch, ordinary fielding and a missed run-out to his name — turned up one final time with creaky joints to concede just seven.
With two required off the last ball, he bowled the most magical slower-ball to win it for Mumbai, when most bowlers would have been happy to bowl a slower wide ball to try to ensure the tie first.

On a night when experience came to the fore, Shane Watson nearly enjoyed a similar fairy-tale.

Trusted through what can conventionally be seen as a horror run, Watson carried Super Kings into the final with 80 off 59, twice undoing Mumbai’s good work with his targeted assault of Mumbai bowlers, but his physical struggles got the better of him in the last over.

With five required off three balls and with Malinga nailing his yorkers, Watson set off for a suicidal second, not only running himself out, but also leaving Ravindra Jadeja stranded at the non-striker’s end. It was perhaps time for Jadeja to say no to that second.

Winning the toss and deciding to bat because of the pressure of the final, Mumbai came out full of intent to not let Super Kings bowl Deepak Chahar for three straight overs in the Powerplay. Quinton de Kock went after Deepak in the third over, hitting him for three sixes, and MS Dhoni was forced to go to Shardul Thakur in the fifth over.

De Kock hit him for a six fourth ball of the over. Now Mumbai were close to pushing Deepak and Super Kings out of their comfort zone; all they needed was to not lose a wicket in the next two balls.

De Kock didn’t pay much mind to this by-play, and went for another six, gloving the ball to Dhoni.

This allowed Deepak to come back in the sixth over, and he responded beautifully with a knuckle ball that got the wicket of Rohit Sharma for 15.

What’s more, he made that sixth over — usually the most difficult in the Powerplay — a maiden. From 45 for 0 in 4.4, Mumbai went to 45 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay.