There are still several concerns surrounding the return of sports. Sports around the world are tailoring their return in different phases depending on numerous safety protocol. Amid this situation, let us take you back to relive some of the finest matches of Indian Premier League. This is the second part of the five part- IPL’s Closest Encounters series.
Here is a list of 3 more exhilarating IPL’s Closest Encounters from its 12 successful seasons.
IPL’s Closest Encounters
1. Mumbai Indians(MI) v Chennai Super Kings(CSK)- 2012
Mumbai Indians were given a target of 174 to chase at home. The team seemed to be cruising to the victory after a 126 run partnership, but soon followed a middle-order implosion with next seven wickets falling in just 35 runs.
The score was now 159/8 with 4 balls to go and 15 runs required to win. Hilfenhaus was handed the responsibility of bowling CSK’s last over. In his 3.2 overs till now, he had given away just 19 runs and taken 2 wickets.
Harbhajan Singh took a quick single off third ball to get Dwayne Smith on strike. This was it, 14 runs needed from 3 balls, what followed was one of the most thrilling last ball finishes of this season.
Dwayne Smith pummelled a six off the fourth delivery to keep the match alive. With 2 balls and eight runs needed, Hilfenhaus went for a delivery that any bowler would. But unfortunately for CSK, he missed the toe-crusher.
Fifth ball, a full low toss was smashed back over the bowler’s head for a boundary. Last ball, not the length CSK were hoping for as Hilfenhaus missed another yorker under pressure. The ball was then muscled over long-off and Dwayne Smith mobbed CSK of a win and saved MI from a certain final over choke.
2. Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) v Chennai Super Kings(CSK)- 2019
Playing the IPL derby at home, Royal Challengers Bangalore were defending a target of 162 runs with their IPL campaign hanging by the last thread. Thanks to Chennai Super Kings skipper and his stormy 84 off 48, this match went down to the absolute wire.
CSK needed 26 runs from their last 6 balls with Umesh Yadav bowling to MS Dhoni. Believe it or not, the odds were in CSK’s favor. His performance in this match was exceptional and he had managed to pull off such a miracle in the past.
There are very few batsman one would back to come through in this situation and Dhoni makes to that elite list. MS Dhoni hit the first ball for a four towards deep square. On the second ball, we witnessed the shot of the season as Dhoni smashed that ball into outer space with all his might and it went out of the stadium for a mega maximum.
Dhoni had already taken off and followed with another six over long on. After a double on the fourth ball, CSK now needed 8 runs from last 2 balls. Things went bad to worse for RCB as Yadav bowled a full toss on the fifth delivery and we saw a very identifiable flying object sailing over the fence once again.
As Umesh Yadav walked back to his run up with a wry smile, he was surely under formidable pressure. The home crowd was not able to fathom a loss from such a strong position and Captain Kohli clearly looking disappointed at the turntables. A ball to go, two to win for CSK, one for a super over and a dot for RCB’s win.
On the last ball almost all of us expected another powerful skier, but to everyone’s surprise, Dhoni looked to guide this ball towards the point fielder, and somehow missed the ball as batsmen sprinted to complete a single. Parthiv Patel managed to hit the stump directly and Shardul’s dive failed to crossover the crease.
Shardul Thakur failed to make it to the crease as RCB won the match with just a one run to spare. Dhoni almost managed to pull of the heist of the tournament but unfortunately missed out on the last ball.
3. Mumbai Indians (MI) v Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)- 2011
In this clash between the east and the west, KKR scored a total of 175 runs. Chasing a target of 176, Mumbai Indians were marching towards a win but some quick middle-order wickets slowed down their scoring rate.
To win this match, MI needed 21 runs from the last 6 balls. The ball was handed to Balaji with Franklin on strike and Rayudu on the other end. Franklin showed some serious class and good luck. First ball took an outside edge and raced to the boundary before third man could cut it off.
Second ball, Franklin went for a mighty pull over square leg, but again managed an edge and the ball flew over wicket-keeper’s head for a four.
Franklin found the middle of his bat on third delivery as he creamed the ball past extra cover fielder for third boundary in a row. The gods of fortune were showering on Franklin as fourth ball took another outside edge and crossed the third-man boundary.
After four consecutive boundaries, Franklin could manage only a single on the fifth ball. This meant that Rayudu had to score another boundary off the last ball to win it for Mumbai Indians.
Balaji missed his yorker length and Rayudu made the most of that full toss by dispatching it over deep square leg for a maximum. Mumbai Indians left the home crowd stunned as they scored 23 runs off last over to snatch their victory from the Knight Riders.
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