Mumbai Indians thank 'Nani' for the prayers during the nail-biting finish in the final

The big screen at Hyderabad kept flashing images of an elderly lady, who was praying during the IPL final between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant. As the match ensued into a final over thriller, the lady was seen praying hard, without as much as looking at the proceedings on the field.

Since she was surrounded by a sea of blue jerseys, it became quite clear that she was, of course, supporting the Mumbai Indians. Eventually, as it turned out, her prayers were indeed answered as Mumbai won the game by the skin of their teeth. As a result, the Mumbai Indians became the first team to have won the IPL a record three times.

Abhishek Bachchan reveals Nani’s identity

As has been the trend, Twitter erupted and heaped praises for the old lady, saying that she was the driving force behind Mumbai’s thrilling victory. Meanwhile, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan took to Twitter to reveal the identity of the lady. He tweeted, “That is Mrs. Ambani’s mother. Popularly referred to as “nani”. The lucky charm.”

The lady whose ardent prayers brought the trophy home to Mumbai for the third time is Mrs. Purnimaben Dalal, the mother of Mumbai Indians owner Mrs. Nita Ambani. She is fondly referred to as ‘Nani’ by the Mumbai Indians players and staff and is also considered to be a ‘lucky charm’ by the team.

The Mumbai Indians tweet, thanking ‘Nani’

The Mumbai Indians then sent out a tweet from their official Twitter handle duly thanking Mrs. Dalal for her prayers. They were pleased to see an elderly lady support the team with such dedication. Their tweet read, “Certified Mumbai Indians fan and Mrs. Nita Ambani’s mother, Purnimaben Dalal did all she could to bring the IPL trophy home. #ThankYouNani”

Needing 13 runs off the final over, the Rising Pune Supergiant faltered to hand Mumbai a 1-run victory, in what was without a doubt the most thrilling finals in IPL history.