Only two IPL finals in history have been decided by a single run. Mumbai Indians won both of them — in 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiant, and two years later in 2019 against Chennai Super Kings. No other franchise has ever won a final by the slimmest possible margin. MI have done it twice.
But the 2017 edition carries a weight the 2019 classic doesn't. Because the team that lost by that solitary run ceased to exist weeks later. Rising Pune Supergiant was dissolved after the season, replaced by the returning Chennai Super Kings. They never got a second chance. That single run became their epitaph.
Born from Controversy, Built for Battle
Rising Pune Supergiant existed because of scandal. When the BCCI suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years following the 2015 spot-fixing investigation, two replacement franchises were created — Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions. Their mandate was simple: fill the gap for 2016 and 2017, then step aside.
The first season under MS Dhoni's captaincy was a disaster. Pune finished seventh with 5 wins from 14 matches. For 2017, the franchise made the boldest move in IPL history at that point — they replaced Dhoni as captain with Steve Smith, the Australian run-machine. Dhoni stayed in the squad as a player, a decision that would have buried lesser dressing rooms in ego.
Then came the auction. Pune spent a then-record INR 14.5 crore on Ben Stokes, the English all-rounder who had just torched India in the Rajkot Test with a devastating 128. They also picked up a 17-year-old off-spinner from Chennai named Washington Sundar, a selection that seemed almost whimsical at the time. By May, he would be the most talked-about teenager in Indian cricket.
The Season: Pune's Quiet Dominance
Rising Pune Supergiant finished the 2017 league stage with 9 wins and 5 losses — good enough for a top-four finish. But the narrative that mattered was their record against one specific opponent.
Pune beat Mumbai Indians three times out of four meetings in 2017:
| Date | Match | Result | Player of Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 6 | RPS vs MI (League) | RPS won by 7 wkts | Steve Smith |
| April 24 | MI vs RPS (League) | RPS won (Stokes heroics) | Ben Stokes |
| May 16 | MI vs RPS (Qualifier 1) | RPS won by 20 runs | Washington Sundar |
| May 21 | MI vs RPS (Final) | MI won by 1 run | Krunal Pandya |
The Qualifier 1 result was particularly devastating for Mumbai. Playing at the Wankhede — their fortress — MI were bowled out for 142/9 chasing 163. Washington Sundar, all of 17 years and 194 days old, dismantled Mumbai's middle order to earn the Player of the Match award. RPS marched straight to the final. MI had to take the longer route through Qualifier 2, where they beat Kolkata Knight Riders to earn a rematch.
Three times Pune had beaten Mumbai that season. Three times they had found a way. The final, on May 21 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, was supposed to be the coronation.
The Final: 129 All They Had
Mumbai Indians batted first and stumbled. Rohit Sharma made 24 off 23 balls — composed but constrained. Lendl Simmons departed early. The RPS bowling attack, disciplined and relentless, squeezed MI throughout the middle overs.
The turning point of the first innings came from an unlikely source. Krunal Pandya, batting at number six, counter-attacked with calculated aggression. His 47 off 38 balls — including 4 sixes — was the only innings of genuine authority in MI's card. Without it, Mumbai might not have crossed 100.
Washington Sundar once again proved his value, bowling 4 tight overs in conditions that offered nothing. Dan Christian picked up 3 wickets. Shardul Thakur was economical. RPS restricted MI to 129/8 — a total that, at the time, was the lowest first-innings score in any IPL final.
| MI Innings | Score | Strike Rate | Key Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 129/8 (20 ov) | 6.45 RPO | Lowest IPL final score at the time |
| Krunal Pandya | 47 (38) | 123.68 | 4 sixes, highest individual score |
| Rohit Sharma | 24 (23) | 104.35 | Steadied the innings early |
| Extras | 8 | — | Significant contribution to total |
Chasing 130 to win the IPL should have been straightforward. In the history of the tournament, teams chasing sub-130 totals in finals had an overwhelming success rate. The Hyderabad crowd, largely neutral, sensed an upset was not needed — Pune were already the better side.
The Chase: How 130 Became Unconquerable
Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi gave RPS a solid start. Steve Smith, the captain, walked in and played the responsible anchor innings the situation demanded. At the halfway mark — after 10 overs — Pune were cruising. The required rate was well under 7 an over. Smith was set, batting with the composure of a man who had done this a hundred times in Test cricket.
Then Mumbai Indians did what Mumbai Indians do in finals — they found another gear.
Mitchell Johnson, the 35-year-old Australian left-arm quick who had terrorized batting lineups across continents, produced a hostile spell that changed the complexion of the match. His bouncers were sharp, his yorkers unpredictable. The pressure he created at one end allowed Jasprit Bumrah to operate with surgical precision at the other.
Bumrah's death-overs bowling in that final remains one of the finest individual performances in IPL playoff history. His ability to consistently nail yorkers at 145 kph, mixed with slower balls that deceived batsmen searching for pace, turned a comfortable chase into a crisis.
Smith fought. He reached his fifty — 51 off 44 balls — carrying the innings on his shoulders while wickets tumbled around him. But when he fell, the equation was still gettable but the belief was gone. The required rate had climbed from 6.5 to over 10 in the span of three overs.
| RPS Chase | Score | Overs | Required Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| After 10 overs | Cruising | 10 | ~6.5 RPO |
| After 15 overs | Under pressure | 15 | ~9.5 RPO |
| After 18 overs | Desperate | 18 | 11+ RPO |
| Final | 128/6 | 20 | Fell 1 run short |
RPS finished on 128/6. One run short. 20 overs used. No balls remaining. No second chances.
The ground fell silent. Steve Smith stood at the non-striker's end, helmet off, staring at the pitch. MS Dhoni, who had been dismissed cheaply, sat in the dugout with his head bowed. Ben Stokes, the season's talisman, had been neutered in the final.
Mumbai Indians celebrated their third IPL title. Krunal Pandya was named Player of the Match — his 47 with the bat had proven to be the difference in a match where every run was a battlefield.
The Numbers That Haunt
The statistical portrait of this final reveals just how fine the margins were:
| Stat | MI | RPS |
|---|---|---|
| Total Runs | 129/8 | 128/6 |
| Overs Faced | 20 | 20 |
| Extras | 8 | 9 |
| Boundaries (4s+6s) | — | — |
| Dot Ball % | High | Rose sharply after over 15 |
RPS actually conceded more extras (9) than MI (8). Had a single wide not been bowled, or a single leg-bye not conceded, the result might have been different. In cricket, the margins are always cruel, but in this match they were microscopic.
Across IPL history, only 15 matches have been decided by exactly 1 run out of over 1,100 contests played — a rate of roughly 1.3%. Two of those 15 are IPL finals. Mumbai Indians won both.
| Season | Final | Margin | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | MI vs RPS | 1 run | Mumbai Indians |
| 2019 | MI vs CSK | 1 run | Mumbai Indians |
No other franchise has won even one IPL final by 1 run. MI have done it twice in three seasons. Whether you call it composure, process, or sheer nerve, this is the statistical fingerprint of a winning DNA that separates Mumbai from every other franchise in the tournament's history.
A Franchise Erased
Weeks after the final, Rising Pune Supergiant was formally dissolved. The two-year licence expired, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals returned, and the replacement franchises — Pune and Gujarat Lions — vanished from the IPL landscape.
Gujatat Lions had already been eliminated in the league stage. They left no mark. But Pune — Pune left a scar. A team that finished runner-up, that dominated the eventual champions in 3 of 4 meetings, that produced a 17-year-old match-winner and gave Steve Smith a captaincy canvas — that team deserved better than dissolution.
The players scattered. Smith returned to Australia and the ball-tampering scandal the following year. Stokes moved to Rajasthan Royals. Washington Sundar went to Royal Challengers Bangalore and then Sunrisers Hyderabad. MS Dhoni went home to Chennai, where he belonged. Krunal Pandya stayed at Mumbai, the man whose 47 had cost Pune everything.
The franchise's combined record across two seasons: 14 wins, 16 losses, and one final they should have won.
What CricMind's Oracle Would Have Said
Had CricMind's Oracle engine existed in 2017, the pre-match prediction for that final would have been fascinating. The Macro model's 17-factor framework would have flagged multiple signals pointing to RPS:
- H2H dominance: 3-0 head-to-head that season (14% weight) — overwhelming edge to Pune
- Psychological momentum: RPS had just beaten MI five days earlier in Q1 (7% weight)
- Player form: Ben Stokes was POTM in 3 RPS matches that season, Steve Smith in 2
- EMA trend: RPS's Exponential Moving Average was rising through the back half of the league
But the Oracle would also have flagged MI's countervailing strengths — Bumrah's death-overs economy, Rohit Sharma's finals record, and the historical pattern that teams losing Q1 and winning through Q2 actually have a higher conversion rate in the final. The Monte Carlo simulation would likely have produced a tight 52-48 or 54-46 in RPS's favour — a genuine coin-flip masked by data.
The truth is, no model in the world can predict a 1-run margin. What models can do is identify matches where the margin is likely to be razor-thin — and 2017's final would have screamed that signal.
Three Takeaways
- Seasonal dominance means nothing in a final. RPS beat MI 3 times that season and still lost the only match that mattered. T20 cricket's inherent variance means a 75% win rate against an opponent can collapse to 0% on a single evening. The final is a separate tournament.
- Death bowling wins championships. MI's ability to defend 129 — a total most teams would concede in 16 overs — came down to Johnson and Bumrah producing one of the great final-over bowling partnerships. This is why MI's investment in pace depth across their five title campaigns has been the most underrated strategic decision in IPL history.
- Some franchises don't get second chances. The replacement model the BCCI used in 2016-17 was structurally unfair. Pune built a genuine contender in two years — an achievement that took most permanent franchises four or five seasons. But the clock was always ticking. In professional sport, the cruelest outcome isn't losing — it's losing your last game and knowing there will never be another.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2017 IPL final?
Mumbai Indians won the 2017 IPL final, beating Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on May 21, 2017. MI scored 129/8 batting first, and RPS could only manage 128/6 in their 20 overs. Krunal Pandya was named Player of the Match.
What happened to Rising Pune Supergiant after IPL 2017?
Rising Pune Supergiant was dissolved after the 2017 season. The franchise, along with Gujarat Lions, had been created as a two-year replacement while Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals served their BCCI suspensions. Both replacement franchises ceased operations after their licence expired, and CSK and RR returned for IPL 2018.
How many IPL finals have been decided by 1 run?
Exactly two IPL finals in history have been decided by a 1-run margin. Both were won by Mumbai Indians — in 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiant and in 2019 against Chennai Super Kings. Out of over 1,100 IPL matches played, only 15 total have been decided by exactly 1 run.
Who was the captain of Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017?
Steve Smith captained Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2017. He replaced MS Dhoni, who had been captain in 2016 when the team was known as Rising Pune Supergiants (plural). Dhoni remained in the squad as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
What was the lowest score in an IPL final before 2017?
MI's 129/8 was the lowest first-innings total posted in an IPL final at that time. Despite the modest total, Mumbai's bowling attack — led by Mitchell Johnson and Jasprit Bumrah — defended it successfully, restricting RPS to 128/6.
How many times did RPS beat MI in IPL 2017?
Rising Pune Supergiant beat Mumbai Indians 3 times out of 4 meetings in IPL 2017 — on April 6 (league stage, 7 wickets), April 24 (league stage), and May 16 (Qualifier 1, 20 runs). MI's only victory came in the final on May 21, when it mattered most.
How old was Washington Sundar in IPL 2017?
Washington Sundar was 17 years old during IPL 2017, making him one of the youngest players in the tournament. He was Player of the Match in the Qualifier 1 against MI, dismantling their middle order with his off-spin. He went on to become an India international across all formats.