Momentum with Mumbai Indians for IPL title clash

There have been many highs during my career and I am grateful for every one of them. Unfortunately there have been a few lows, too, and the end of my first IPL as a coach will count amongst them.

It was more of a shock than a disappointment. With two games to go, we could have finished top of the league and had two chances to reach the final. We were playing well, confidence was high and I must confess I couldn’t help feeling confident about retaining the title.

I couldn’t imagine that we would lose the final two games — and none of us imagined the scenario of not reaching the play-offs. Many times I have found myself telling friends and teammates to ‘learn’ from defeat and I suppose this, too, must be put down to experience.

Kolkata supporters will inevitably ask whether the players were overconfident. I do not believe they were, but only they will know. Anyway, I’ve never been sure about controlling confidence. If you are playing well, both individually and as a team, then you are confident — very confident. When does it tip over into ‘over-confidence’?

Hopefully, we can all stick together and make amends for this aberration next year. It is a very fine squad and perfectly capable of winning the title again next year. I’m still not over the shock of our sudden exit, but I’m already looking forward to doing it all again next year.

But Sunday belongs to the most consistent team in IPL history, Chennai, and the best story of the year, Mumbai.

Midway through the tournament Mumbai were in danger of being the laughing stock of the competition. Unable to win a game, they weren’t even being competitive. Then just as we did last year, they embarked on a winning run, which took them from the bottom of the table to the top — and a place in the final.

There are many players who stand out as potential matchwinners in both teams, so it’s hard to pick a favourite. I have heard people say that personalities are as likely to win big matches as cricketers, but I’m not convinced. Still, they don’t come much bigger than Harbhajan and ‘MS’ (Dhoni)!

Purely because the momentum is with them and they are on a flying roll, I would say that Mumbai are favourites. Chennai were well beaten in the first qualifier and only just scraped past an unfortunate Bangalore in the second, so I would say they are second favourites. But their history suggests otherwise, so I would suggest you keep your money in your pocket!

— Gameplan