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Five Greatest Matches in the history of IPL

24th January 2022


Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

As we look forward to the thrilling IPL season ahead (Covid-19 willing), we wanted to reflect on previous years' play to find some of the greatest and nail-biting matches that this superb sporting tournament has delivered to fans.

2012 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings

The final of the 2012 tournament delivered one of the most memorable matches in the history of the league. Played in Chennai, Kolkata Knight Riders were undoubtedly the underdogs. It was their first final and Chennai Super Kings were defending their twice won title.

CSK batted first and posted a massive score of 190 for four in their twenty overs. It seemed like an impossible mountain to climb for KKR after they lost their skipper early. They steadily built their way back from this early disappointment and required nine runs to their two last overs when Manoj Tiwary hit two boundaries and sealed KKR's first IPL trophy.

2014 Mumbai Indian vs Rajasthan Royals

This match played in Mumbai had the RRs as the bookies favourite to progress to the playoffs. They had chalked up seven wins against MI's six. The RRs batted first and closed with 189 on the board.

The home crowd was thrilled when the MIs hit an improbable six at the very end of the game to make them the winners after one of the very best IPL games ever.

2014 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings

Was it possible that there could be a more thrilling match than the one above in the 2014 season? The final took place in Bengaluru and was the Punjab Kings' first final. They batted first and scored 199, losing only four wickets in their twenty overs. They were looking really strong particularly after Wriddhiman Saha's century.

In reply, KKR had a shaky start when they lost the early wicket of their leading batsman. They then went on to hit ninety-four off fifty balls. When the batsman was dismissed for 115, they still needed twenty-one off three overs. KKR sealed their second IPL trophy in a thrilling finish when they hit two sixes in the closing wickets.

2019 Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings

The 2019 final that took place in Hyderabad was a huge and controversial match. Both teams had three wins to date.

MI went into bat first and scored 149 for the loss of eight wickets. Compared to usual scores a win for CSK seemed like it would be a walk in the park. However, the IPL can land some curved balls and it certainly did in this match.

CSK could not get into their flow and found themselves continuously losing wickets for low run totals at one end while Shane Watson held out for eighty off fifty-two balls at the other. Incredibly the match went right down to the last over with CSK needing two runs off the last ball. They were denied victory when the bowling veteran Lasith Malinga delivered a slow death ball that took the batsman LBW and gifted MI their fourth title.

2021 Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians

As illustrated above, these two teams had history and form. While last year was a difficult one for the sport, it was a busy one for the online cricket betting sites, especially when these two teams met in Delhi. They competed in one of the best matches played last year. It was the twenty-seventh of the season and saw CSK put a mammoth 218 runs on the scoreboard,

Surely this made them unassailable, particularly when MI only had eighty-one runs after ten overs. What betting person would have placed a wager on the outcome? MI's comeback to win the match included Keiron Pollard scoring 87 runs off just thirty-four balls. This demonstrates why he is regarded as one of the best finishers and one to look out for in 2022.