CHENNAI: Here we are, after seven weeks of enthralling mid-table churn. Many would say that the league-stage jostle this season was the most intense ever. Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants typify that intensity.
Both teams have galloped and tumbled sinusoidally. Both were uncertain of a place in the playoffs going into their final league games. Both got in by the skin of their teeth. While LSG sealed the deal with the narrowest of margins against the Kolkata Knight Riders, MI had to bank on a Shubman Gill masterclass that stole Virat Kohli's thunder and nudged Rohit Sharma's men into the top four.
