IPL 2017: Top 5 knocks during run chases in IPL history that went in vain

Sunrisers Hyderabad was at the receiving end of Pollard’s smashing

Cricket, being a team game, requires collective efforts and it’s unfair to pin hopes on a player to single-handedly pull off something miraculous. Quite often things don’t pan out as per plan or in other words, brilliant performances don’t replicate into the desired results.

The Indian Premier League has thrown up several such instances when a stupendous show, either with the bat or with the ball, failed to shoulder a team to victory. However, even after the team’s defeat, the player’s efforts are deservingly awarded and recognised appropriately.

We took a look some of the scintillating knocks from the erstwhile editions of the IPL, which couldn’t end up as a part of the winning team, but are etched poignantly in the memories.

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#5 Kieron Pollard – 78 (64) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2014

When Kieron Pollard is plying his trade in the cricketing arena, a slight moment of complacency can turn fatal for any opposition team. In the clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, the man from Trinidad & Tobago took the onus upon himself to get Mumbai Indians over the finishing line.

Hyderabad, courtesy to a blistering half-century by David Warner, presented Mumbai Indians with a daunting target of 172 runs. It was imperative for Mumbai to get off to a healthy start, but instead they lost wickets in heaps during the power-play with not many runs on the board.

With the required rate above 10 after the first six overs, Pollard started taking the Hyderabad bowlers to the cleaners. He brought up his fifty in 37 balls and muscled another 28 runs in the next nine balls. The first ball of the 20^th over saw Irfan Pathan rattle Pollard’s stumps, which demolished Mumbai’s chances of a win in the game.