A life-changing shot, and Mumbai's new dawn

In this new Cricbuzz series - Once upon an IPL final - we get some of the younger cricketers to retell tales of an IPL final they were part of. In this edition, Rishi Dhawan reminisces the life-changing IPL campaign of 2013, Tendulkar's farewell, Rohit Sharma's captaincy and much more, in a chat with Pratyush Sinha.

That final was the most important day of my life. That's where my career was going to be decided. I had been playing Ranji Trophy for some years but I wasn't quite getting my break in IPL. I started in 2008 when I was picked by KXIP but couldn't get any match. I was only an U19 cricketer then, so I didn't get much preference anyway. Mumbai Indians picked me in 2013 and I finally played an IPL game. And when I knew I was going to play in a final, I told myself there's no stage bigger than this to show my worth.

It was an important final for Mumbai Indians too. If we won, we were going to be the first team to win a final for the franchise. Also, it was Sachin paaji's last season, so everyone was talking about winning the trophy for him and giving him a tribute. That was the motivation for us as a team. The same continued in the Champions League, which we also went on to win.

Rishi finally got his chances in IPL 2013, even though they were few and far in between. In his own assessment, the turning point of his season came in Mumbai's last league match at his home ground in Dharamsala. But a loss there meant that Rishi had to wait some more to win the belief from his team management.

The last league match in Dharamsala was the turning point for me. I got opportunities before in the season but they were on and off. In my first ever IPL game, I didn't get to bat or bowl. In the first game that I actually got to bat, Rajasthan had put on a lot of runs and our top order failed. Myself, I got a first-ball duck. Because it was a star-studded team full of international players and I was the only domestic player, they dropped me in the next match.

I still used to impress them in the nets, and to be honest, that was all I had to impress for a while. But nobody could judge my match temperament from that. John Wright (head coach) used to be very impressed with me in the nets. When I batted, he used to tell me that I can hit the big shots. Sachin paaji had told me, in Delhi, how I will be a great fit in the Indian team in overseas conditions: the way I swing the ball and bat down the order. Those things used to boost me right through that season.

I then played the last game of the league stage in Dharamsala. Luckily the wicket had a bit in it for the bowlers and it's also my home ground, so they preferred me. I bowled four overs and even got a chance to bat. It was a well-timed opportunity for me but unfortunately we lost that game.

Mumbai, having won both league games against Chennai Super Kings earlier in the season, lost Qualifier 1 to them by a big margin of 48 runs. Rishi, limited to watching that loss from the sidelines, was summoned again for Qualifier 2, a match where he'd finally nullify all the doubts around his ability with one memorable shot.

The match after Dharamsala was the Qualifier against Chennai and the management was tense about that game. It was a big game. They were in two minds about whether I'll be able to handle the pressure of that game. I didn't get a chance finally and Munaf bhai, who was a big player with much more experience, played ahead of me. I then got my opportunity again in Qualifier 2. I even opened the bowling with the new ball and bowled my full quota of overs. More memorably, I came in to bat when 6 runs were needed off 4 balls and hit my first delivery for a boundary, a paddle-scoop against Shane Watson.

There's a nice backstory to that boundary actually. When I used to practise with John Wright in the nets, I tried to hit straight over the bowler's head. He used to like that a lot, used to encourage me all the time. When I was going to bat in Qualifier 2, he came to me and reminded me about that shot and told me how my pet shot could come in handy in a pressure situation. But I went to the middle, paddle-scooped my first-ball and won us the game. There were a lot of jokes about that later in the dressing room.

Mumbai's Qualifier loss to Chennai wasn't their only motivator for the final. They, in fact, had never been able to beat Chennai in a play-off match until then. The overall record stood 3-0 in Chennai's favour. In the 2013 final, Mumbai ended with 148/9 after opting to bat. Even on a slow wicket, it wasn't regarded as a safe total. As no total could be, against a side featuring Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina in peak batting form.

We didn't focus much on the fact that we were playing Chennai in the final. Yes, we had lost the Qualifier to them but once we did very well in Qualifier 2, our confidence was back up again. Also, we had beaten Chennai twice in the league stage, so we weren't too focused on them and weren't trying to play a different brand of cricket.

We went into the finals thinking about wickets. Which is why we started off bowling Malinga with the new ball and had very attacking fields. We had slips for Hussey and a short square leg for Raina, and Malinga was attacking with full inswinging yorkers. For Raina, we wanted to swing a few balls and then bowl a surprise bouncer. Luckily it all went as planned. I remember Malinga nailing yorkers in the first over itself. We knew that if we got their top order, the rest of the match would be easy.

For Hussey and Raina, my plan was to bowl short of good length and try and bowl my normal outswing. Raina bhai is very good off the pads or if you give him width. But I didn't get a chance because Malinga got him early on. When you get late inswing with a side-arm action, left-handers find it very difficult to play. Luckily, the ball swung that day at the Eden.

Actually the way their top order got out in a hurry, it was a bit surreal and surprising. They were out as soon as they walked in, so we didn't even get a chance to think about what needed to be done. We were pumped up at the start of the innings and everything happened so quickly. Three wickets fell in no time and we were on top suddenly.

Rishi bowled only one over in the final, albeit the crucial last over of the powerplay. But that's all he had. While batting, he was involved in a chaotic run-out with Kieron Pollard, for whom he "sacrificed" his wicket and the rest is history. Pollard was the Player of the Match with 60*(32)

When I came to bat, my role was to give the strike back to Pollard. He, though, asked me to go for my shots if the ball was "hittable". Unfortunately, it ended in a run-out off an overthrow. Both of us were standing on the same side, so I sacrificed my wicket. Pollard went on to hit two sixes in the last over, so it was all for the best.

While bowling, I was asked to bowl the three-quarters length and hit good areas. I had a feeling they were going to attack me in the last over of the powerplay and exactly that happened. Bravo hit me for a four and I knew he's going to take more chances against me. So I bowled my slower ball, my best at the time, and got him caught at mid-on. After that wicket, we knew it won't be too difficult. Ojha and Bhajji bhai then took over and they were getting help on a two-paced pitch. Pollard got a couple of overs in the middle and I could only bowl one over. I was such a young player that I didn't go and ask. It was enough that we were on course to win the final.

The preparation for this final wasn't all from the players. The management had made efforts to ensure the team felt motivated for the big day. And once the trophy was home, it was a different mood altogether.

I was speaking to my elder brother, Raghav, before the final and he told me that he had a surprise waiting for me. I had no idea; I was trying to focus on the match. When we went to the team meeting before the final, we came to know that our family members had sent video messages for us. It was very motivating for me personally. My confidence had doubled after seeing the message.

Immediately after our win, we were shouting around in the dressing room. Mumbai have a team song which we sang. Next day, we flew to Mumbai with the trophy. It was a little emotional because of Sachin paaji's retirement but it wasn't very tense. The Ambanis couldn't attend the final but they threw us a party at Antilla. All of us went there for dinner and it was quite overwhelming. A lot of big celebrities and film stars had turned up.

2013 was also the first season that witnessed Rohit Sharma, the captain, up close. He took over the charge from Ricky Ponting midway through the season and has delivered three trophies for Mumbai Indians till date.

Rohit bhai is a very cool captain. He doesn't take any pressure and doesn't put any pressure either. He is clear with his plans all the time and gives us the fields we want as bowlers. He didn't chop and change the bowlers around a lot, replacing us after one over, so that helped.

Ricky Ponting, in comparison, is a lot more aggressive when it comes to his team. Rohit is calm, doesn't talk a lot and handles things with a lot of patience. And the results are in front of you. He's won two more finals for Mumbai after 2013.

Rishi's life changed after that IPL final. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab next season for INR 3 crores and remained with them for three years.

Once you do well in the IPL, the world remembers you. After 2013, I knew I would get a good team and, more importantly, many more opportunities during the season. As a youngster, even if you go for a good price, you want to play the matches. I played for KXIP next season and even played in the final for them. I then went on to become the highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy soon after. Spending my time with big players in the IPL really helped me become a different cricketer.

As told to Pratyush Sinha