The world’s most prominent and widely watched T20 league is the Indian Premier League (IPL). In its brief history, the 12-year-old league has witnessed some of the most thrilling finals. In light of this, let’s examine the three IPL championship games whose outcomes depended on the game’s final pitch.
IPL 2019: MI defeated CSK by one run with 149/8.
At Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, MI, CSK squared off in the 2019 IPL championship game. After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma, the MI captain, decided to bat.
The Mumbai team got off to an aggressive start thanks to Quinton de Kock, who destroyed the Chennai attack all over the field. The team scored 45 when the two openers, De Kock and Rohit Sharma, bowled out. The new batters, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, attempted to reinvigorate the innings, which assisted the CSK spinners in controlling the run rate.
Yadav, Krunal Pandya, and Kishan all fell in short succession just as the MI innings appeared to be getting back on track, putting the club in peril. The powerful pair of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya was now on the field, though. When MI was given 20 overs, they managed a respectable total of 149/8 thanks to the pair’s 39 runs off 22 deliveries.
IPL 2017: MI (129/8) defeated RPS (128/6) by one run.
The MI captain, Rohit Sharma, chose to bat after winning the toss against RPS.
With only eight runs on the board, the Mumbai-based squad got off to a bad start when both its openers, Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel, were lost. MI fell to 79/7 in the 15th over once Hardik Pandya and Karn Sharma were back in the dugout. RPS got off to a sluggish but steady start, knowing they only needed 130 runs to win.
Christian has dropped off the previous delivery by Hardik Pandya, allowing the Australian player to pick up a few. Christian failed to hit the boundary at deep mid-wicket with the final ball, needing four runs to win. The team scored two, but Sundar was chased out for attempting to smuggle in an illegitimate third. To assist MI in reaching a total they could contend with, Krunal Pandya pitched a valiant inning, earning him the title of Man of the Match.
IPL 2008: RR defeated CSK by three wickets (164/7 to 163/5).
The RR captain, Shane Warne, won the toss and decided to field. CSK made a strong start, reaching 42/1 after six powerplay overs.
As soon as Morkel’s wicket fell, MS Dhoni teamed up with Raina. CSK scored 163/5 in their allowed 20 overs thanks to the captain’s knock of 29 runs off 17 balls, which gave them the necessary impetus after the innings. With only 19 runs on the board in response, RR could not get off to a good start, losing their first wicket in the fourth over. However, eight runs off the final, thanks to Captain Warne and Sohail Tanvir. With Tanvir on strike and RR needing three runs in 2 balls, Warne took a single from the subsequent delivery. Later, Tanvir flicked a full toss from Balaji to fine-leg for a couple of runs to draw the game. Tanvir completed the game’s final delivery through midfield, giving RR a dramatic victory.
