Best IPL finals: Memories that don't fade away

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.