IPL: Second innings knocks that had more impact than a century
It has been 7 days since the season of nonstop cricket began with a bang, and, if the first week is a hint of things to come in the future, we are in for one of the most memorable seasons of IPL. While senior players like Shikhar Dhawan and AB de Villiers have continued to dominate the early goings in the batting department, youngster Mayank Markande has emerged as the surprise package in the bowling department. CSK and SRH are leading the points table once again, whereas MI and DD have again made slow starts to their campaign.
However, the silver lining of the first week has been the lightening and aggressive knocks by the players that changed the direction of the match momentarily. The innings by the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Sam Billings, and Dhawan not only won matches for their teams, but they were so stunning that the players deserved a hundred. Over the years, several players have changed the landscape of a game with their knock in the 2nd innings but couldn't reach the 3-figure mark that they deserved. Here are 10 of those that had more impact than a century.
#10 Manvinder Bisla (89 vs Chennai Super Kings)
Kolkata Knight Riders' first IPL title win in 2012 was nothing short of a dream come true, and Manvinder Bisla was one of the main architects of that memorable victory. It was his innings in the final at Chennai that not only robbed CSK of their 3rd consecutive title, but also gave KKR a long-due IPL title.
Batting first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the home team posted a mammoth 190 on the board, courtesy some brilliant batting by Suresh Raina. Chasing 191, KKR got off to the worst possible start as they lost their captain in the first over. Joined by Jacques Kallis in the middle, Bisla launched a counter-attack on the CSK bowler, bashing them all around the park.
Scoring 89 runs from just 48 balls, which included 8 fours and 5 sixes, Bisla guided KKR to 139 from just 14.3 overs before he was dismissed by some good bowling by Albie Morkel. Although he missed a well deserved century by 11 runs, his innings was enough to lay the foundation for a memorable title win for the Knight Riders.