IPL: 5 best last over finishes from IPL 2008
Inaugural edition of the IPL was a huge hit among the cricket fans worldwide, right from the first match of the IPL between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, when Brendon McCullum smashed hapless RCB bowlers to all corners of the stadium, and scored 158 runs off just 73 balls consisting of 10 fours and 13 sixes.
The inaugural edition of the IPL was won by underdogs Rajasthan Royals, who were considered the weakest team in the IPL 2008.
The inaugural edition of IPL also saw the rise of domestic Indian talents such as Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja etc., who were major contributors in Rajasthan Royals's victorious campaign of IPL 2008.
IPL 2008, witnessed many great matches between the IPL franchises, that went down to the last over. So, in this article we look at five of those best last over finishes in IPL 2008:
#5 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab (25 May 2008)
Kolkata Knight Riders, who were already eliminated from playoffs race in IPL 2008 after a washout against Delhi Daredevils in their previous game, were playing for pride against Kings XI Punjab in their home ground at Eden Gardens on 25 May 2008.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh won the toss and chose to bat. Batting first Kings XI Punjab scored 174/6 in their 20 overs, on the back of Kumar Sangakkara's 64 runs off 45 balls and 40 runs off 31 balls by Shaun Marsh. For Kolkata Knight Riders, Pakistani pacer Umar Gul was the most successful bowler as he picked up 4 wickets for just 23 runs in 4 overs.
While chasing the target of 175, Kolkata Knight Rider's batsmen let their team down, as Knight Riders were reduced to 106/6 in 15.3 overs with skipper Sourav Ganguly fighting a lone battle. Kolkata Knight Rider's hero with the ball, Umar Gul, joined Ganguly with Knight Riders needing to score 69 runs off 27 balls to win the match.
The Prince of Kolkata, in the company of Umar Gul, then launched a stunning counter-attack on Kings XI Punjab's bowlers by adding 49 runs off just 18 balls for the 7th wicket. The partnership was finally broken when Gul was dismissed for 24 runs in 11 balls which included one four and 3 sixes, by VRV Singh in the penultimate over.
Gul's dismissal in the penultimate over meant that Knight Riders required 15 runs in the final over to win the match, to be bowled by one of the best death bowlers of IPL 2008 Irfan Pathan, with Ganguly on strike.
The first ball of the final over from Irfan Pathan was smashed for a six by Ganguly over the square-leg boundary, thereby reducing the equation to 9 off 5. Ganguly then scored a couple off Irfan Pathan's 2nd bowl and followed it up with a straight six down the ground to tie the score before scoring a single off the 4th ball to win the match for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Brief Scores:
KXIP – 174/6 (20) – Kumar Sangakkara 64(45), Shaun Marsh 40(31), Umar Gul 4/23(4)
KKR – 175/7 (19.4) – Saurav Ganguly 86*(53), Umar Gul 24(11), VRV Singh 2/28(4)
Man of the Match – Umar Gul