Ricky Ponting lauds superlative effort of Mitchell Johnson in the IPL final

The Mumbai Indians cruised to their third title win in the Indian Premier League. They beat their Maharashtra neighbors Rising Pune Supergiant in the high-adrenaline final. A thrilling one run win was on the cards for the Rohit Sharma-led side. Former Australian cricketer and former Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting looked delighted to see the MI camp register a thrilling win.

In a conversation with cricket.com.au, Ricky Ponting spoke at length about the final over of the match. He noted that he had his reservations when he saw Mitchell Johnson taking the ball in his hands in the final over. Also, his questions were quite broad when Johnson was drafted in the playing eleven earlier in the game. Ponting wondered what made the team management pick Johnson over Mitch McClenaghan in the big final.

“I must admit when I saw Johnson picked for the last couple of games ahead of someone like McClenaghan, I wondered what was going on. McClenaghan and Malinga that have done exceptionally well for the last … well Malinga forever, and McClenaghan the last couple of years. Once the squad was put together everyone would have felt – and Mitch Johnson himself – he was going to be behind those guys in the pecking order,” he quoted.

Happy for Johnson

However, the former Australian skipper was happy for his former national teammate. He cited that Johnson has really been successful to have been hitting the straps right in the T20 leagues after having retired from international cricket. The way Johnson bowled magnificently well in the final over to defend 11 in the final over showed his experience with the ball.

“(But) I’m rapt for him. To have retired from cricket when he did, got an opportunity with the (Perth) Scorchers, did a great job with them and was one of the major reasons they won the final this year in the BBL. To go back to the IPL, go back to a team where he’s tasted success before at the Mumbai Indians, to be the man who has to stand up and take that last over says a lot about his experience and skill,” quoted Ricky Ponting.

He further added that the stage that Johnson chose to perform well was perhaps the ideal one. Doing well in the big finals is something all players wish to do and Johnson repaid the faith that his franchise showed in him. Johnson dismissed the set batsmen Manoj Tiwary and Steve Smith to seal the game for his team.

“(There’s) no bigger stage to do that than a final. For Mitch, that’s the icing on the cake for him. To stand up like that and deliver when it matters most, win an IPL for his franchise is probably the reason the Mumbai Indians got him back this season,” quipped Ricky Ponting.