IPL 2018: 5 Greatest innings in IPL history

was exactly decade ago when Indian Premier League(IPL) started off which has revolutionized the Indian cricket completely. It has given the platform for young players to showcase their talent and play with the international players.

A bunch of talented players from IPL have represented Indian team and performed exceedingly well. Not just from India but players from other countries have done well in this tournament and represented their national team based on the performance.

IPL has just got bigger and bigger with every season. In 10 years, there have been many incredible innings or bowling spells which have remained in the minds of the cricket lovers.

With IPL entering its second decade, let us re-visit best knocks played by batsmen in this league.

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#5 Brendon McCullum 158*(73) (KKR vs RCB)

It was the inaugural match of IPL season one, where Brendon McCullum gave the perfect start with his incredible batting display. He scored the first century of IPL in no time and reached the milestone off 53 deliveries.

McCullum hammered the RCB bowlers all over the ground and played some amazing shots in the process. He remained unbeaten on 158 off 73 balls with 13 towering sixes and 10 boundaries to his name.

In the end, it was too easy for KKR bowlers and bundled the RCB batsmen to mere 80 runs. KKR won the match by whopping 142 runs but the innings played by McCullum was one of the memorable knocks in years to come.

#4 Yusuf Pathan 100(37) (RR vs MI)

This knock was one of the Yusuf Pathan specials

It was the match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, where Mumbai posted a daunting total of 212 runs in 20 overs. Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu scored brilliant half-centuries for Mumbai.

Rajasthan did not start well and was struggling at 66-4 off 9.2 overs. With 146 runs required off 64 balls, the target seemed impossible to chase. But Yusuf Pathan had different ideas and started hammering Mumbai bowlers.

Yusuf changed the course of the game with his batting prowess and played an incredible knock. He scored the century in 37 balls with 9 fours and 8 sixes. At one point, it looked liked Rajasthan would chase the target but then he got run out by Sathish.

Rajasthan came close to total but eventually lost the match by 4 runs only. Yusuf was adjudged as the Man of the Match despite losing the match.

# 3 David Miller 101*(38) (KXIP vs RCB)

David Miller blasted RCB bowlers to all corners of the ground

RCB posted a big score of 190 in 20 overs against KXIP in Mohali. While chasing the total, KXIP kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The chasing team was struggling at 64-4 in 10 overs.

With require rate of almost 13, KXIP needed a cameo from someone and Miller was the one who played blazing knock. He scored an incredible century off 38 deliveries at an amazing strike rate of 265.78. He made most of the dropped catch when he was at 0 and chased the RCB target with two overs to spare.

Miller's knock included 8 boundaries and 7 sixes, which showed his batting prowess. This inning was special in many ways, as it came under pressure situation.

#2 Suresh Raina 87(25) (CSK VS KXIP)

Raina played a fighting knock of 87 runs off 25 balls.

This was the qualifier match between CSK and KXIP at Wankhede stadium. Virender Sehwag scored a mesmerizing century and helped Punjab in putting a mammoth score of 226 for 6 in 20 overs.

With the required run rate of 11 at the start of innings, CSK needed to score runs at brisk pace. To make it worse CSK lost their first wicket in the first over. In came Raina, who looked determined right from the start and wanted to score big runs for the team.

Raina scored an incredible 87 runs off 25 balls in the first six overs of innings. This inning included 12 fours and 6 sixes at a strike rate of 348. In the power play, CSK scored 100 runs for 2 wickets.

The target all of sudden looked easy to chase and the required run-rate came down to 9. Raina got run out as soon as the power play got finished and thereafter CSK never recovered.

Eventually, they fell short of KXIP target by 24 runs but Raina's batting was class apart and will be remembered for a long time.

#1 Chris Gayle 175*(66) (RCB vs Pune)

Gayle broke several T20 records during his sublime knock

Chris Gayle played an incredible knock in the history of IPL and scored the century in just 30 deliveries. RCB had opted to bat first and posted 263/5 in 20 overs.

Gayle blasted off Pune bowlers to all parts of the ground and looked in destruction mode right from the first over. He scored unbeaten 175 runs off 66 balls at an amazing strike rate of 265.15. During his knock, he broke numerous record in the process.

Gayle made the highest individual T20 score and scored the fastest T20 century. This knock included 17 towering sixes and 13 fours. Pune fell short of the target by a huge margin of 130 runs.