5 best knocks in T20 league finals ft. Nicholas Pooran
It turned out to be an incredible knock of clinical hitting from MI New York skipper Nicholas Pooran as he led his side to an incredible victory in the final of the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Pooran blazed his way to a 55-ball 137, which included 10 fours and as many as 13 sixes. Chasing a target of 184 is never easy, especially when it's a tournament final, but Pooran seemed to be in his zone as everything he touched turned to gold.
There was nothing ugly about his batting. It was just sheer class and confidence from the man, who didn't play a single mistimed shot throughout his unbeaten knock.
The Seattle Orcas had batted well to post a competitive score of 183, but what transpired in the second half of the match left the opposition bowlers scratching their heads for answers.
After the loss of Steven Taylor in the first over, Pooran came out with a counter-attacking approach and greeted Imad Wasim with a couple of straight sixes. It was just the start of the carnage as he literally toyed with the bowlers, hitting them in all corners of the park.
Dwaine Pretorius was clobbered for 28 runs in his very first over, as Pooran hit everything that came his way. It was staggering strokeplay, which ensured MI didn't have to break a sweat while chasing it.
The blitzkrieg finally came to an end in the 16th over when Pooran smashed three consecutive sixes off Harmeet Singh to seal the deal for MI New York. Pooran's knock should rank as one of the greatest T20 knocks of all time, but what makes it even more special is the timing of the knock.
That said, let us have a look at the five best knocks in T20 league finals all across the globe.
#5 Sai Sudarshan - 96 off 47 in IPL final 2023
While the innings came in a losing cause, you cannot take anything away from the young Turk, who was unfazed by the occasion and smashed a scintillating 96 for the Gujarat Titans against the Chennai Super Kings during the 2023 IPL final.
Sai Sudarshan, who was part of the Gujarat Titans outfit in the 2023 season, didn't get enough chances in the first season, but everyone was convinced about his talent.
Sudarshan lived up to the expectations and batted like someone who has already made his international debut. The wide range of shots made the CSK bowlers look clueless in front of his onslaught. Sudarshan was unlucky to miss out on a century.
His knock of 96 was studded with 8 fours and 6 sixes, but it was CSK who prevailed in the end via the D/L method.
#4 Wriddhiman Saha - 115 off 55 in IPL final 2014
Wriddhiman Saha's blistering century for the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 IPL final remains one of the finest T20 knocks of all time, albeit in a losing cause.
Saha tormented the KKR bowlers, a franchise where he started his IPL career. Batting first, Punjab were jolted early, losing the wickets of Virender Sehwag and George Bailey in quick succession.
Saha came in at No. 4 and held the fort with Manan Vohra. There was no respite for magicians Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, and Piyush Chawla. They were thrashed all over the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and none of them had any answers.
Saha eventually remained unbeaten on 115, which came in a mere 55 deliveries and was laced with 10 fours and 8 sixes. Unfortunately for Punjab, it was Manish Pandey's superb knock and some useful contributions from the rest of the batters that helped KKR win their second IPL title.
#3 Tamim Iqbal - 141 off 61 in BPL final 2019
The Bangladesh white ball skipper has been an integral member of the Tigers ever since making his debut way back in 2007.
While Tamim has become circumspect with age and has been often criticized for his below-par strike rate, this was one occasion when the Southpaw literally smashed every bowler to different corners of the ground.
Plying his trade for the Comilla Victorians, Tamim looked in ominous touch right from ball one. The Dhaka Dynamites bowlers found their rhythm against the other batters, but it looked like Tamim was out there to murder each one of them.
It was carnage on display as his partners kept watching his blitzkrieg from the other end. The next highest score of the innings was 24, which goes on to prove how well Tamim batted on that day.
He smashed 10 fours and 11 sixes during his unbeaten knock and took their side to a score of 199 in their allotted 20 overs. Powered by an impressive half-century from Rony Talukdar, the Dhaka Dynamites fought hard but eventually fell short by 17 runs.
#2 Chris Gayle - 146 off 69 deliveries in BPL final 2017
Arguably the greatest T20 batter to have graced the game, Chris Gayle has shown his prowess all across the globe. Back in 2017, the Universe Boss lit up the Bangladesh Premier League with a scintillating knock in the final.
Gayle, who was playing for the Rangpur Riders, opened the inning with his Caribbean teammate Johnson Charles and made his intentions clear from the word go. He took a bit of time initially, but once he got his eyes in, it was sheer carnage on display.
He kept clobbering the Dhaka Dynamites bowlers over the fence, and none of them found a way to breach his defense. It was a colossal show of big hitting from the big man from Jamaica.
His knock of 146 came in just 69 deliveries and was studded with five fours and as many as 18 sixes. The score of 206 proved to be more than enough in the end, as the Rangpur Riders won by 57 runs.
#1 Shane Watson - 117 off 57 balls in the 2018 IPL final
Now many would question the reason behind Shane Watson's occupying the top spot in the charts despite bigger knocks from Gayle and Tamim in the BPL finals. However, in this case, CSK were chasing a challenging score and needed someone to bat through the innings.
A target of 179 was never going to be a straightforward ask for the Chennai Super Kings. The Sunrisers Hyderabad had a great bowling lineup and had the upper hand at the halfway stage.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's opening spell made Watson look foolish out in the middle. He kept missing deliveries one after the other but didn't throw his wicket away. After the first few overs, he slowly started gaining confidence, and there was no looking back from there.
With a solid base, Watson kept swinging at everything and managed to connect. He raced away to a century and eventually remained unbeaten on 117 off 57 deliveries, an innings that was studded with 11 fours and 8 sixes as CSK won by 8 wickets.