Lasith Malinga, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, RCB, IPL 2017
Malinga's last over won Mumbai the gameIANS

When the two best teams in the IPL met for the title in the grand finale, it was bound to be a thriller and that's what it turned out to be. In a match that tested the fortitude of the weak-hearted, the decision of Rohit Sharma to give the ball to Krunal Pandya against a well set Shane Watson seemed to be the decisive move.

In what would be considered one of the biggest blunders in the history of the league, the Mumbai Indians captain ignored Hardik Pandya who had just bowled one over at that time and instead gave the ball to his spin-bowling brother for the crucial 18th over. The result was 20 runs, almost all hit by the retired Aussie.

But it's not just Rohit and Krunal are to blame. Watson offered three chances to the Mumbai team but they dropped all of them. If Watson had been removed earlier, things might have turned out in a completely different manner. Despite Bumrah conceding just 5 runs off the first five balls of the next over, four byes off the last ball brought the game within CSK's reach.

The last over went to Malinga, whose previous one had already been taken for plenty of runs. This meant that Hardik ended up bowling just one over in the entire match – conceding just  three in that. But Malinga, who seems to be well past his prime redeemed himself with a brilliant over that sealed the fourth title for the Rohit Sharma-led side. It was truly a final to remember.

As expected Twitter exploded with reactions. Here is a snapshot.