5 interesting facts about the Indian Premier League that you didn't know
The Indian Premier League is in its eleventh edition and has established itself as the best among the various T20 leagues around the world. The glamour and the entertainment that is on display provide the league a big brand value.
Over the past decade, there have been a lot of close matches, Super Overs, Hat-tricks, attacking knocks, awesome catches, outstanding tactical decisions which have reaped high rewards. Some players have surprisingly excelled in their secondary department of the game like Yuvraj Singh’s two hat-tricks and Rohit Sharma’s hat-trick in 2009; Sunil Narine’s fifty in just 15 deliveries in 2017.
The comeback story of Mumbai Indians in the 2015 edition of the IPL is one of the highlights of the tournament history so far. Several players have achieved incredible feats which are very difficult to emulate and will be remembered by the audience.
However, there are a few remarkable facts which even ardent fans would not know. Here are five interesting things about the Indian Premier League.
#5 Chasing team has won the IPL Final only when Yusuf Pathan was a part of the team
In the ten seasons of the IPL so far, the sides batting first in the final have been more successful, emerging victorious seven times. Putting runs on the board in the final has proven to be important with teams defending below-par totals on quite a few occasions. However, in the three finals won by the chasing side, Yusuf Pathan has been a common factor.
Yusuf played a key role in Rajasthan Royals’ triumph in the inaugural final in 2008 with an all-round show of 3-22 and a brisk knock of 56. He won the Man of the Match award as the Royals chased down the target of 164 runs set by the Chennai Super Kings.
Representing Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012, Yusuf could not contribute much in the final falling for just 1 and gave away 17 runs in the solitary over he bowled. Knight Riders chased down CSK’s daunting total of 190 with Manvinder Bisla smashing 89 runs in just 48 deliveries.
Again, playing for KKR in the 2014 final against Kings XI Punjab, Yusuf forged an important 71-run partnership with Manish Pandey for the third wicket as they chased down the target of 200.