McClenaghan’s an IPL winner

BLACKCAPS strike bowler Mitch McClenaghan has made a big impression on this year’s Indian Premier League — now he’s cemented it by helping the Mumbai Indians win the coveted Twenty20 title.

The pick of the bowlers in a super-charged Final in Kolkata this morning, the left-arm strike man took 3-25 from his four overs and conceded just four boundaries to ensure his IPL team surged to a 41-run win over the Chennai Super Kings.

It was a feather in the cap not only for McClenaghan, but his fellow New Zealanders in the Mumbai camp: former BLACKCAPS bowling coach Shane Bond, in his maiden season in the IPL as a bowling coach; and McClenaghan’s Mondiale Auckland Aces teammate Colin Munro, who enjoyed the spectacle from the bench.

New Zealand could claim the opposing coach in the Final, too: the Kings are coached by former BLACKCAPS captain Stephen Fleming.

The Kings were chasing 202-5 when McClenaghan made the initial breakthrough, getting Australian “Mr Cricket” Mike Hussey snaffled for four in the fifth over. Returning mid-innings, he claimed the big wicket of Dwayne Bravo for just nine, the West Indian star caught by his international teammate Lendl Simmons.
 
In his last over, it was Kiwi gold once more as Ravichandran Ashwin found himself caught cheaply off McClenaghan as well, as the Kings’ hopes quickly died out.

McClenaghan had made a regular impact for the side in his maiden IPL season, taking 15 wickets at a strike rate of 17.20. He now heads to England to join up with the BLACKCAPS, where his confidence and form bodes well for the forthcoming ODI Series and the Twenty20 International that completes the England tour.