Top 3 catches in the history of IPL finals

Chennai Super Kings will be up against the Gujarat Titans in the IPL final in Ahmedabad this season. Both teams have performed brilliantly with both bat and ball throughout the season.

Fielding is one of the most important aspects of the sport. Players are expected to make the most of every opportunity that comes their way, particularly in big games.

One missed chance, and the game can run away in the opposition's favor real quick. And this makes even more sense for a volatile format like T20.

We look at three brilliant catches taken in finals over the years.

#1 Manish Pandey vs DC, 2009

Manish Pandey has been one of the best fielders of this generation. Although he has not been very impressive with the bat in the IPL and international cricket, he has taken some blinders on the field for various teams across the competition.

Pandey was the first RCB and Indian player to score a hundred in the IPL. He was an integral part of his home-state franchise that season. RCB bowled first in the final against the Deccan Chargers at Johannesburg.

Anil Kumble dismissed Rohit Sharma for 24 runs as Pandey took an exceptional catch, covering a lot of ground from the long-off boundary.

Rohit tried to step out and hit a six, but Pandey's brilliance meant that he had to walk back to the pavilion. However, the Deccan Chargers won the closely fought final by just six runs.

#2 Matthew Hayden vs MI, 2010

Haydos is a #superfan himself! The Dharamshala innings and the incredible low catch of his to dismiss Pollard to win 2010 @IPL are his favorites. What are yours? #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 twitter.com/HaydosTweets/s…

CSK batted first and scored 168/5 at the DY Patil Stadium, as Suresh Raina top-scored with an impactful 57* off just 35 deliveries.

In response, none of the Mumbai batters could seem to get going. Sachin Tendulkar scored 48 runs, but it took him 45 deliveries to get there.

Kieron Pollard's late onslaught meant that they were still in the game with an outside chance.

However, Matthew Hayden picked up a brilliant catch at the edge of the circle at mid-off off Albie Morkel. They needed 27 runs off seven deliveries at that point in the IPL final.

#3 Rohit Sharma vs CSK, 2015

The Mumbai Indians were up against their arch-rivals, the Chennai Super Kings, at the Eden Gardens. They batted first and put up a highly competitive total of 202/5 in the first innings. Lendl Simmons, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, and Ambati Rayudu all stepped up in their respective roles.

In response, the CSK batters failed to keep up with the required run rate. Dwayne Smith scored 57 runs off 48 deliveries, leaving too much work to be done by the rest of the team.

Captain Rohit Sharma plucked an outstanding catch at extra cover, dismissing Faf du Plessis off Vinay Kumar's bowling.

However, the game was already in Mumbai's bag by then, as CSK needed another 78 runs off the last 23 balls. MI won the match by 41 runs, winning their second IPL title.