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The 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been one of the most exciting ones since the inception of the tournament.
The grand finale of IPL 2023 promises to be a scintillating one because the top two teams during the league stage will battle it out for ultimate glory.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have won the IPL trophy on four occasions and the Gujarat Titans (GT) are the defending champions. In IPL 2023, both the teams have played against each other twice with both winning a game apiece.
Over the years, fans have witnessed many thrilling contests in IPL finals and the action has been of high voltage. On that note, here is a look at the three most iconic moments in IPL finals.
#1. IPL 2019 - Lasith Malinga's heroics in the last over
The finals of the 2019 IPL at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad between CSK and Mumbai Indians (MI) proved to be one of the most closely-contested encounters in the history of the tournament. Batting first, MI scored 149 runs in 20 overs with Kieron Pollard being the top scorer. The West Indies all-rounder played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 41 runs from 25 balls that included three boundaries and three maximums.
CSK kept losing wickets at regular intervals during the chase but were always in the hunt courtesy of Shane Watson. CSK were favorites going into the final over requiring nine runs for victory. Lasith Malinga, who till then had a torrid time with the ball - having conceded 42 runs from three overs, was entrusted with the responsibility of defending the target.
Shane Watson took a single on the first ball and thereafter Ravindra Jadeja took another single on the second and Watson managed to sneak two runs on the third. CSK now required five runs from three balls and Watson was run-out on the fourth ball after taking a single and attempting to take the second run. Shardul Thakur scored a couple of runs of the fifth ball and CSK needed two runs to win from the final ball. Malinga's last delivery was a slow off-cutter and he had Thakur trapped leg before wicket. MI won the final by the narrowest margin of one run.
The final over of Malinga in the IPL 2019 finals is one of the most iconic movements in the history of the tournament.
#2. IPL 2012 - Manvinder Bisla blows CSK in the final
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) battled it out with CSK in the final of the 2012 edition of the IPL. CSK were on a roll in IPL, having won the previous two editions.
The IPL 2012 final was played in Chennai and the Men in Yellow were the favourites to bag their third consective IPL trophy. Batting first, CSK piled on a mammoth total of 190 for the loss of three wickets in 20 overs. Michael Hussey (54) and Suresh Raina (73) starred with the bat.
KKR lost the wicket of their skipper Gautam Gambhir in the very first over of the chase. Jacques Kallis joined Manvinder Bisla at the crease and the duo added 136 runs in 82 balls for the second wicket to put their team on top. Bisla played the role of the aggressor and smashed 89 runs from just 48 balls at an astounding strike rate of 185.42, including eight boundaries and five maximums.
CSK were taken aback by the onslaught by Bisla and none of the bowling attack, comprising Ben Hilfenhaus, Albie Morkel, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shadab Jakati, were spared. By the time Bisla was dismissed, KKR were in a winning position and thereafter the likes of Jacques Kallis, Shakib Al Hasan and Manoj Tiwari guided KKR to their first-ever IPL trophy.
But the real star on the night of the IPL 2012 final was Manvinder Bisla, who had an ordinary IPL till then - scoring just 124 runs in six matches. However, he became a hero overnight and his knock of 89 is one of the best in IPL finals.
#3. IPL 2008 - Match-winning partnership between Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir, Yusuf Pathan's aggressive knock
The first-ever edition of the IPL witnessed a cliffhanger of a final. Batting first at the DY Patil Stadium, CSK scored 163 and a target of 164 was a stiff one for the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Yusuf Pathan smashed 56 runs from just 39 balls and his knock included three boundaries and four maximums. He almost single-handedly guided RR to the traget before he was run out. When Pathan was dismissed, RR still needed 21 runs to win from 14 balls with just tthree wickets in hand. Sohail Tanvir joined Shane Warne at the crease.
The 19th over of the innings was bowled by the experinced Makhaya Ntini and the duo of Warne and Tanvir scored 10 from the said over and RR were left to chase eight runs from the final over.
MS Dhoni entrusted L. Balaji to bowl the final over and the pacer just conceeded two runs from his first three balls. The fourth ball was a wide outside off stump and the batmen also ran a single. Warne took a single on the next ball and threafter Tanvir took two from the next ball and the scores were level. RR required a solitary run from the final over, which they scored to become the first-ever IPL champions.
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Poll : Was the IPL 2019 finals the most exciting finals in the history of the tournament?
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