IPL: 5 uncapped Indians who single-handedly won a game for their side
Over the 12 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), we have seen various unknown players make a name for themselves and thereby earn a call-up to the national team. The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah all shot into national prominence as a result of their performances in the lucrative league.
However, some unlucky cricketers are yet to receive feature for India despite having engineered some famous victories for their respective franchises in the IPL.
Here are 5 uncapped Indian cricketers who single-handedly won a game for their side in IPL history.
#5 Shadab Jakati for CSK vs Deccan Chargers (IPL 2009)
Shadab Jakati is probably one of the Chennai Super Kings' most underrated players ever. The left-arm spinner shot into the spotlight with twin 5-wicket hauls in the 2009 edition of the IPL in South Africa, one of which was a match-winning spell of 4/22 against the Deccan Chargers.
CSK posted an imposing total of 178 on the back of captain MS Dhoni's 37-ball 58 and Suresh Raina's 19-ball 32. In reply, the Chargers recovered well after losing Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman and Herschelle Gibbs early, as Rohit Sharma and Dwayne Smith stitched together a 72-run partnership.
Needing a breakthrough, Dhoni turned to Jakati, who dismissed the two set batsmen, apart from picking up the wickets of Venugopal Rao and Ryan Harris to help CSK to a comprehensive 78-run win.
The Goa native retired last year without an India cap to his name.
#4 Rahul Tripathi for RPS vs Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL 2017)
In the 2017 edition of the IPL, Rahul Tripathi came into the Rising Pune Supergiant side as a complete unknown, but managed to make an opening slot his own and went on to score 391 runs in the campaign. The standout of the many positive innings he played was a stroke-filled 93 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
After Gautam Gambhir's side scored 155 in their 20 overs due a late blitz from Colin de Grandhomme, Tripathi attacked right from the outset, with the powerplay yielding 74 runs. The 29-year-old smashed 9 fours and 7 sixes en route to his career-best score, while the next highest score by an RPS player was 14 by Ben Stokes.
Tripathi fell in the penultimate over, but his team got over the line and he was the runaway Man of the Match winner.