Best IPL finals: Memories that don't fade away

Rajasthan Royals were the worthy winners of the first IPL in 2008

Chennai Super Kings have booked their place in the finals of IPL 8, which will be the sixth time they will be contending for the championship. They will have another shot at Mumbai Indians, the same team that defeated them in the first qualifier.

Mumbai Indians have had time to rest and adapt to the conditions at Eden Gardens while it will be hectic for CSK, as they played the second qualifier on Friday against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Ranchi. In spite of MI’s freshness, CSK will hope their momentum is intact and hasn’t faded away.

The IPL final at Eden Gardens might favour Chennai, as they have a better team for slower conditions than Mumbai. But, over the years, the IPL Final has always dished out surprises. Very rarely has the team that was expected to win, picked up the trophy. Let us look at three such unforgettable finals that are fresh in the minds of all the followers –

Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2008

Years later, this match might be seen as the ultimate heist pulled off by Rajasthan Royals, yet anyone who had watched the Royals under Shane Warne steamroll richer teams, knew they were the favourites even against the class of the Chennai Super Kings. It was a battle between two cricketing masterminds in Dhoni and Warne. The match which was played in Mumbai, saw CSK choosing to bat first, and they were making steady progress.

Their innings though was given a boost by Suresh Raina, who grabbed the opportunity on the big day. He made 43 off just 30 balls and was supported by cameos from Parthiv Patel and MS Dhoni. The latter gave the final push to the score with a 17-ball 29 to take the total to 163, which was a good score, considering it was the first IPL.

The T20 world didn’t have half the strategies, shots or bravado that it now possesses. Neither Sohail Tanvir nor Shane Watson did a lot of damage with the ball, but it was Yusuf Pathan who shone and did the star turn for the Royals, with his figures of 3-22 in four overs the highlight.

During the chase, Rajasthan didn’t have the best of starts and slumped to 42 for three after seven overs. Once again, it was Yusuf Pathan who came to the rescue, adding 65 runs for the fourth wicket with Shane Watson and then another 32 with Mohammad Kaif.

Asnodkar and Watson played cameos that took RR close but not over the line. Eventually, they needed 25 runs from the last three overs.

Although they had to overcome the dismissals of both Ravindra Jadeja and Pathan, the Royals held off the Chennai bowlers, with Tanvir and skipper Shane Warne taking them to victory off the last ball to win the inaugural IPL in a thriller of a match. Pathan scored 56 off 39 balls and was the only half-centurion on either side in the final.

Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2012

Kolkata Knight Riders won their maiden IPL trophy in 2012

It was no mystery that KKR owner Shahrukh Khan wouldn’t give up on his dream of winning the IPL and in 2012, he did put together a team that was the most balanced in the tournament. The Knight Riders under Gautam Gambhir knew how to fight and had a penchant for finding unlikely heroes.

In one of the most memorable IPL finals, Chennai batted first and posted a colossal 190 in 20 overs, playing on their home turf. Michael Hussey scored a half-century, but it was Suresh Raina’s breath-taking 73 off just 38 balls that put KKR in the back seat. Their bowlers had no effect at all, and Rajat Bhatia was the only one to go under eight runs per over.

Kolkata didn’t start well and lost their skipper in the very first over. But Manvinder Bisla proved to be their unlikely hero of the day as he scored 89 off just 48 balls with eight fours and five sixes.

Jacques Kallis, who played way quicker than his career T20 strike-rate, scored 69 off 49 balls, and added 136 for the second wicket in just 85 balls, with Bisla. The swashbuckling innings from Bisla then came to an end, with KKR needing 52 off 32 balls at that stage.

The match swung again in CSK’s favour as the away side lost Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Yusuf Pathan quickly. Kallis, calm until then, was dismissed by Hilfenhaus, with Dhoni’s CSK now on the brink of victory.

KKR still needed 16 from just seven balls and it looked unlikely that they would be able to win. However, Hilfenhaus overstepped on the last delivery of the over, to add insult to injury, Shakib Al Hasan was caught off the ball. The Gambhir-led side managed to run two and the free hit went for a four, leaving them with just nine to score in the final over.

The match was finished off by Manoj Tiwary, who slammed two fours off Dwayne Bravo’s bowling, to ensure that the Knight Riders won their maiden IPL title.

Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab, 2014

KKR had been there, done that. Kings XI Punjab didn’t know how to win and their inexperience could have worked against them. But they had an amazing IPL 7, as they went top of the table by beating big teams like CSK consistently. Their cricket was aggressive and entertaining.

Batting first in the final though, they were reduced to 30 for two, as Sehwag and skipper Bailey fell early. However, Manan Vohra and Wriddhiman Saha added 129 for the third wicket in just 12 overs. While Vohra scored 67 at a strike-rate of 129, Saha played a blinder, scoring 115 off just 55 deliveries at a strike-rate of 209 on a good batting track at the Chinnaswamy.

Saha was unbeaten as KXIP scored 199 in their 20 overs, almost enough for an IPL Final. But, KKR knew how to chase, and they had shown the same earlier in 2012, against Chennai, on the latter’s home turf.

This time, their hero was Manish Pandey, who arrived in the first over after their best player of the tournament, Robin Uthappa, departed early. Pandey added 53 with Gambhir and another 71 with Yusuf Pathan who played a wonderful cameo of 36 from 22 balls.

There was a wobble towards the end as Kolkata lost both Shakib Al Hasan and Ryan ten Doeschate very quickly. When Pandey fell, they needed just 21 runs off 18 balls though and the match got even more thrilling when they lost their seventh wicket, Suryakumar Yadav with 13 needed off 10 balls.

However, Piyush Chawla’s 5-ball 13 ensured that they reached 200 with three balls to spare, thus ending Punjab’s dream and making the Knight Riders the second team after CSK to win the IPL twice.