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5 lowest totals defended in the IPL

Dale Steyn gifted the IPL one of his best spells in 2013 when he picked up three wickets for just 15 runs against Pune

KKR bowled out for 107 in the 19th  over of the second qualifier in IPL 2017 – not quite the script that Gautam Gambhir had hoped for. But it’s never over until the final run is scored.

Defending totals are not easy in T20 cricket, as India found out against West Indies in the T20 World Cup semi-finals. The biggest of targets are easily chased down in T20 given the pitch conditions across 40 overs do not matter as much as they do in the longer formats of the game.

Dew could be an issue but it generally helps the team batting second. Teams chasing have a clear sight of the target and no target seem unreachable these days. That is why low scores are very rarely defended in T20 cricket. Sample this – a score under 110 has never been defended in T20.

Just to give you an idea of how big or small that number is, the 50-over equivalent of that score (in terms of required run-rate) in ODIs is 275. It is hard to defend because a lot can happen over 50 overs but that scope reduces drastically for a 20-over game.

It doesn’t help that batsmen playing T20 cricket are generally less risk averse and hence play the game with greater braggadocio – a style that helps make the game exciting and flamboyant. Therefore, we dedicate this article to the lowest totals ever defended in T20 cricket – has to be a monumental effort. (Mind you we haven’t included matches like the one between RCB and CSK at Bangalore, 2013 when 106 was scored in just 8 overs and was defended by RCB).

#5A Sunrisers Hyderabad defending 126 against Pune Warriors, Hyderabad, 2013

Sunrisers have always been amongst the better bowling units in the IPL and they showed exactly why in the third match of the 2013 IPL. Batting first, they scored a paltry 126 on a decent batting strip with Thisara Perera top-scoring with 30 off just 18 balls. Bhuvneshwar Kumar once again was the pick of the bowlers for Pune with figures of 1/17, well supported by Rahul Sharma, who managed figures of 1/21 in his four.

Pune’s chase was, however, terrible. They got off the blocks slowly and then lost wickets in a hurry. After being steady at 36 for no loss in the 7th over, Pune dropped to 50 for 4 by the 12th.

A brief partnership later, the collapse started again as they went from 83 for 4 to 104 all out in the 19th over. Dale Steyn was sensational with a spell of 3/11 in his 3.5 overs cleaning up the Pune lower order over a span of four balls. Amit Mishra was also top class with figures of 3/19 in his 4 overs. Eventually, SRH won by a comfortable 22 runs.

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