3 IPL finals that were decided on the final ball
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most prestigious and keenly-followed T20 league in the world. The T20 format brings thrill-a-minute action with nail-biting finishes, and the IPL is no different.
The 12-year-old competition has seen some of the most exciting finals in its short history. Other than a few occasions, most of the IPL finals have gone down to the wire. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) needed last-over victories to win both their IPL titles, while three-time IPL winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have lost three finals in the last over, two of them off the last ball.
On that note, let us have a look at the 3 IPL finals that were decided on the final delivery of the game.
# 1: IPL 2008 - RR: 164/7 beat CSK: 163/5 by 3 wickets
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Rajasthan Royals (RR) took on CSK in the final of the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008, at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Shane Warne, the RR skipper, won the toss and elected to field.
CSK got off to a steady start, getting to 42/1 after six overs of powerplay. Suresh Raina, who joined Parthiv Patel at the loss of the first wicket, continued with his good form through the season. The duo took the score to 64 after 9 overs when Patel was dismissed. Albie Morkel, promoted up the order to accelerate the scoring, contributed only 16.
MS Dhoni joined Raina at the fall of Morkel's wicket. The pair added a quickfire 33 runs off just 22 deliveries before Raina fell for 43.The captain's innings of 29 runs off 17 balls provided the required acceleration at the end of the innings as CSK put up 163/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Yusuf Pathan was the star performer for RR with the ball, accounting for 3 wickets in his quota of 4 overs, while conceding 22 runs.
In response, RR did not get off to a good start, losing their first wicket in the 4th over, with only 19 runs on the board. Although Swapnil Asnodkar (26) struck a few boundaries, but was dismissed immediately after the power play. Asnodkar was quickly followed to the hut by Kamran Akmal, as RR were left reeling at 42/3 in the seventh over.
Pathan and Shane Watson then resurrected the innings by stitching together a partnership of 65 runs off 45 deliveries. When Watson was bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan, RR required a stiff 57 runs in 35 deliveries. Pathan, deciding to take the attack to the CSK bowlers, was particularly severe on Muralitharan and Laxmipathy Balaji. Although Mohammad Kaif and Ravindra Jadeja fell at the other end, the required run rate stayed within manageable proportions.
The Baroda player, after making 56 off 39 balls courtesy 3 fours and 4 sixes, was eventually run out by a direct throw from Raina. The equation for RR was: 21 runs off 14 deliveries. Captain Warne and Sohail Tanvir brought the equation down to 8 runs off the final over.
Balaji, who was entrusted with the responsibility for the final over, started well, and conceded 2 runs off the first 3 deliveries. With 6 runs required off 3 balls, Balaji bowled a wide, and the batsmen sneaked a bye in the same delivery to bring the target to 4 runs off 3 balls.
Warne took a single off the next delivery that left RR needing 3 runs of 2 balls, with Tanvir on strike. Balaji then dished out a full-toss that Tanvir flicked to fine-leg for a couple to tie the scores. Tanvir pulled the final delivery of the game through mid-on, as RR sealed a thrilling win.
Pathan was deservedly awarded the Man of the Match for his all-round performance on the day. Warne admitted that he was nervous during the final stages and was happy that Tanvir was on strike on the final delivery.
"As soon as Tanvir hit the ball I was ready to tear my hamstrings running for the single."
# 2: IPL 2017 - MI: 129/8 beat RPS: 128/6 by 1 run
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Mumbai Indian took on Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the final of IPL 2017, played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma, the MI captain, won the toss and elected to bat.
The Mumbai-based team was off to a poor start, losing both its openers, Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel, with just 8 runs on the board. Ambati Rayudu steadied the ship along with Sharma, but the former was run out in the 8th over at the team score of 41. The MI captain was joined in the middle by the aggressive Kieron Pollard, but a flurry of wickets meant that the team were reeling at 65/5 after 11 overs.
Krunal Pandya kept the fight going at one end even as wickets continued to tumble at the other. After Hardik Pandya and Karn Sharma were back in the dug-out, MI slumped to 79/7 in the 15th over. The elder Pandya then found an able ally in Mitchell Johnson. The duo took the team to 129/8 in their allotted 20 overs, as Krunal Pandya was out off the final ball for a well-made 47 runs off 38 deliveries, a knock studded with 3 fours and 2 sixes.
Needing a modest 130 runs for victory, RPS were off to a slow but steady start. After Rahul Tripathi fell cheaply, Ajinkya Rahane and captain Steve Smith stitched together a 54 run partnership. At the fall of Rahane' wicket, MS Dhoni joined ranks with Smith before the former's scratchy innings was cut short by Jasprit Bumrah.
The equation petered down to RPS needing 23 runs off the last two overs, with Smith and Manoj Tiwary in the middle. Smith struck a much-needed six of the fifth ball of the penultimate over bowled by Bumrah, that left RPS needing 11 runs off the final over.
Tiwary struck a boundary of the 1st ball delivered by Johnson. With 7 runs required off 5 deliveries and 7 wickets in hand, RPS looked like the favourites for the title. But Tiwary and Smith fell off consecutive balls, with Rayudu taking a screamer at sweeper cover to get rid of the latter.
Now, with 7 runs required off 3 deliveries, and two new players at the crease, the balance tilted back in favour of MI. Washington Sundar sneaked a bye to leave RPS needing 6 runs of the last 2 deliveries with Dan Christian on strike.
Hardik Pandya dropped Christian off the penultimate delivery, allowing the Australian player to collect a couple. Needing 4 runs to win off the last ball, Christian could not find the boundary at deep mid-wicket. The duo collected a couple but Sundar was run out trying to sneak in a non-existent third.
Krunal Pandya was awarded the Man of the Match for his fighting innings that helped MI put up a total they could fight with. The all-rounder acknowleded the importance of his innings during the post match presentation when he said:
"When the wickets were falling, I wanted to play 20 overs because I was the only batsman. I knew if I stayed till the 19th-20th over I could attack. The pitch was gripping sometimes, and skidding at other times. Just wanted to make sure I was there till the end and give our bowlers a chance. In the end, it comes down to preparation. I prepared well before the tournament, and the results came. I want to thank Nitin Patel who helped me out when I got injured 5-6 games ago. It's a dream come true to be the Man of the Match in the final."
The MI captain was also delighted at successfully defending a small score, acknowledging that his belief in his team-mates got the team through.
"I'm calm now. It was a great game of cricket. I'm sure the spectators enjoyed it. To be able to defend a score like this was a brilliant effort, I couldn't have asked for more. Whenever you're defending a total like that, the first thing you've to do is believe. I told the boys if we could do it against KKR (105) there was no way we couldn't do it here. There was assistance from the pitch too so it was a matter of exploiting the conditions. When three overs were left, I had confidence in the bowlers. They've always done the job wherever they've played. It was about giving freedom to them because they're the masters and they've done it before. I just told them to do whatever they want and set the field accordingly."
# 3: IPL 2019 - MI: 149/8 beat CSK: 148/7 by 1 run
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MI faced CSK in the final of the 2019 IPL played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma, the MI captain, won the toss and elected to bat.
The Mumbai team were off to an aggressive start, with Quinton de Kock, in particular, flaying the Chennai attack all over the park. But both the openers, De Kock and Rohit Sharma, were dismissed at the team score at 45. This helped the CSK bowlers keep a check on the run rate as the new batsmen, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, attempted to resurrect the innings.
Just when it looked like the MI innings was back on track, Yadav, Krunal Pandya, and Kishan fell in quick succession to plunge the team into trouble. However, this brought the dynamic duo of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya at the crease. The duo smashed 39 runs off 22 deliveries as MI put up a fighting total of 149/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Pollard was the top-scorer for MI, with an unbeaten 41 runs scored off 25 deliveries.
CSK were off to a blazing start, with Faf du Plessis leading the charge. After Du Plessis was dismissed in the 4th over, Shane Watson took over the aggressor's role. The Chennai team seemed to be on course for a comfortable win after reaching 70/1 after 9 overs, needing a manageable-looking 80 runs in 11 overs with 9 wickets in hand.
MI struck back by claiming 3 quick wickets, as Raina, Rayudu, and Dhoni were sent back to the hut. Watson shared a vital 51-run partnership with Dwayne Bravo to take CSK closer to victory. The equation came down to CSK needing 18 runs off the last 2 overs with 6 wickets in hand. Bumrah bowled a fine penultimate over, dismissing Bravo with his second delivery, but CSK managed to score 9 runs, as De Kock let through 4 byes off the final delivery.
With 9 runs required off the final over, the experienced Lasith Malinga was entrusted with the responsibility to take MI through. Watson and Ravindra Jadeja managed to score 4 runs off the first 3 deliveries to leave CSK needing 5 runs of the final 3 deliveries. An injured Watson played the 4th delivery to the deep point boundary, but was run out while attempting to take a non-existent second run. The Australian's fighting innings of 80 had almost single-handedly brought CSK to the doorstep of victory, but couldn't quite take the team across the finishing line.
The pressure was now on Shardul Thakur, as 4 runs were required off the final 2 deliveries. He managed to scrape through for 2 runs of the penultimate delivery to leave the IPL final tantalisingly poised. With CSK needing 2 runs off the final delivery, Malinga held his nerve to deliver a perfect slower one to catch Thakur plumb in front of the wicket. This helped MI win a record fourth IPL title, and their second in three years.
Although Malinga bowled a fabulous last over, Bumrah was awarded the Man of the Match for his excellent 4-over spell in which he picked up 2 wickets and conceded just 14 runs. Bumrah defended De Kock for the 4 byes he had conceded and added that the similar experience of the 2017 IPL final had helped the team in maintaining their belief.
"The ball was reversing when de Kock missed the ball, but we wanted to stay calm since similar things happened against Pune in 2017 as well. We always believed in our team this season. We have confidence in each and every individual. On their given day, any of our players can be match winners."
Captain Rohit Sharma also emphasised that confidence played a big role in the team's success, and opined that Malinga's experience that made him give the final over to the latter.
"I had confidence in him despite a poor third over. He also had confidence he could do it. I thought we could use Hardik for the 20th, but wanted to back someone who has done it for us. Malinga has done it many times in the past, so not a very difficult decision. As a captain, I am learning every game and every tournament. But need to give credit to the team. Firmly believe captain is representative of this team. Players make the captain look good."