IPL: 5 best last over finishes from IPL 2008

Inaugural edition of the IPL was a huge hit among the cricket fans worldwide, right from the first match of the IPL between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, when Brendon McCullum smashed hapless RCB bowlers to all corners of the stadium, and scored 158 runs off just 73 balls consisting of 10 fours and 13 sixes.

The inaugural edition of the IPL was won by underdogs Rajasthan Royals, who were considered the weakest team in the IPL 2008.

The inaugural edition of IPL also saw the rise of domestic Indian talents such as Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja etc., who were major contributors in Rajasthan Royals's victorious campaign of IPL 2008.

IPL 2008, witnessed many great matches between the IPL franchises, that went down to the last over. So, in this article we look at five of those best last over finishes in IPL 2008:

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#5 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab (25 May 2008)

Sourav Ganguly's 86 runs off 53 balls stunned Kings XI Punjab

Kolkata Knight Riders, who were already eliminated from playoffs race in IPL 2008 after a washout against Delhi Daredevils in their previous game, were playing for pride against Kings XI Punjab in their home ground at Eden Gardens on 25 May 2008.

Kings XI Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh won the toss and chose to bat. Batting first Kings XI Punjab scored 174/6 in their 20 overs, on the back of Kumar Sangakkara's 64 runs off 45 balls and 40 runs off 31 balls by Shaun Marsh. For Kolkata Knight Riders, Pakistani pacer Umar Gul was the most successful bowler as he picked up 4 wickets for just 23 runs in 4 overs.

While chasing the target of 175, Kolkata Knight Rider's batsmen let their team down, as Knight Riders were reduced to 106/6 in 15.3 overs with skipper Sourav Ganguly fighting a lone battle. Kolkata Knight Rider's hero with the ball, Umar Gul, joined Ganguly with Knight Riders needing to score 69 runs off 27 balls to win the match.

The Prince of Kolkata, in the company of Umar Gul, then launched a stunning counter-attack on Kings XI Punjab's bowlers by adding 49 runs off just 18 balls for the 7th wicket. The partnership was finally broken when Gul was dismissed for 24 runs in 11 balls which included one four and 3 sixes, by VRV Singh in the penultimate over.

Gul's dismissal in the penultimate over meant that Knight Riders required 15 runs in the final over to win the match, to be bowled by one of the best death bowlers of IPL 2008 Irfan Pathan, with Ganguly on strike.

The first ball of the final over from Irfan Pathan was smashed for a six by Ganguly over the square-leg boundary, thereby reducing the equation to 9 off 5. Ganguly then scored a couple off Irfan Pathan's 2nd bowl and followed it up with a straight six down the ground to tie the score before scoring a single off the 4th ball to win the match for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Brief Scores:

KXIP – 174/6 (20) – Kumar Sangakkara 64(45), Shaun Marsh 40(31), Umar Gul 4/23(4)

KKR – 175/7 (19.4) – Saurav Ganguly 86*(53), Umar Gul 24(11), VRV Singh 2/28(4)

Man of the Match – Umar Gul

#4 Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals (24 April 2008)

Shane Warne being lifted by teammates, after his match-winning cameo of 22 off 9 against Deccan Chargers

Deccan Chargers in pursuit of their first win in IPL 2008, took on Rajasthan Royals at their home ground M Rajiv Gandhi stadium on 24 April 2008.

Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne won the toss and decided to field first. But Warne's decision to field first backfired as Deccan Chargers scored 214/5 in their 20 overs, courtesy of a brilliant hundred by Andrew Symonds who smashed Rajasthan Royals bowlers to all corners of the stadium, by scoring 117 runs off just 53 balls which included 11 fours and 7 sixes.

Chasing a huge target of 215 runs, Rajasthan Royals did not begin well as Chaminda Vaas dismissed the dangerous Kamran Akmal for just 13 runs in the 3rd over. Coming in at No. 3, Yusuf Pathan showed the cricketing world first glimpses of his big-hitting, by scoring 61 runs off just 28 balls with 4 fours and 5 huge sixes, and was involved in a 98-run partnership off just 44 balls with Graeme Smith for the 2nd wicket.

The dismissal of Yusuf Pathan and Shane Watson in the 10th and 12th over brought Deccan Chargers back in the match. But Mohammad Kaif, who came into bat after the fall of Shane Watson, had other ideas, and took a special liking to Andrew Symonds by hitting 3 sixes off Symonds's 2nd over and scored a quickfire 34 runs in just 16 balls and shared a 60 runs partnership of just 31 balls with Graeme Smith for the 4th wicket.

The dismissals of Kaif and Smith in the 18th over bowled by Shahid Afridi tilted the match completely in the favor of Deccan Chargers. RP Singh then bowled a superb penultimate over by conceding just 6 runs and dismissed Ravindra Jadeja, leaving Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne and Pankaj Singh to get 17 runs off the final over in order to win the match for Rajasthan Royals.

Having already finished the quota of his main bowlers, Deccan Chargers' skipper VVS Laxman gambled by selecting Andrew Symonds to bowl the last over which completely backfired. After conceding just 3 runs off his first two balls, Symonds was smashed for a four and 2 sixes by Shane Warne from the next three balls, thereby helping Rajasthan Royals win the match.

Brief Scores:

DC – 214/5 (20) – Andrew Symonds 117*(53), Rohit Sharma 36(30), Yusuf Pathan 2/20(2)

RR – 217/7 (19.5) – Graeme Smith 71(45), Yusuf Pathan 61(28), Shahid Afridi 3/28(4)

Man of the Match – Yusuf Pathan

#3 Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians (26 May 2008)

Ravindra Jadeja's knock of 23 runs of 20 balls helped Rajasthan Royals defeat Mumbai Indians.

With a playoff berth on the line, Mumbai Indians took on table toppers Rajasthan Royals in an away game at Jaipur on 26 May 2008.

After being inserted to bat by Shane Warne, Mumbai Indians batsmen struggled on a slow pitch and posted a modest total of 145/7 in 20 overs, on the back of Sanath Jayasuriya's 38 runs and wicketkeeper Yogesh Takawale provided the finishing touches with a quickfire unbeaten 24 runs off just 8 balls. For Rajasthan Royals, Pakistani pacer Sohail Tanvir was the most successful bowler as he picked up 4 wickets for just 14 runs in 4 overs.

Chasing 146, Rajasthan Royals were all but out of the game, as they were reduced to 77/5 in 11.3 overs with big hitters like Yusuf Pathan and Shane Watson already back in the dugout. But the unexpected pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Niraj Patel led Rajasthan's recovery and added 54 runs off 42 balls for the 6th wicket, thereby reducing the equation to 15 runs of the final over.

Four runs came off the first two balls of the final over bowled by Dilhara Fernando. Niraj Patel than hit a powerful six over long on off the 3rd delivery to reduce the target to 5 runs in 3 balls. But, with only two runs being scored off the next two balls, Rajasthan Royals needed 3 runs from the final ball to win the match.

Much to the dismay of Mumbai Indians, Fernando bowled a wide down the leg side and Sanath Jayasuriya's failure to collect the throw from Dwayne Smith off the final bowl helped Rajasthan Royals win the match by 5 wickets.

Brief Scores:

MI – 145/7 (20) – Sanath Jayasuriya 38(37), Sachin Tendulkar 30(34), Sohail Tanvir 4/14(4)

RR – 146/5 (20) – Niraj Patel 40*(29), Ravindra Jadeja 23*(20), Dilhara Fernando 2/27(4)

Man of the Match – Sohail Tanvir

#2 Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab (21 May 2008)

Sachin Tendulkar 65 runs in 46 balls went in vain.

On the back of 6 match winning streak, Mumbai Indians took on Kings XI Punjab at their home ground on 21 May 2008.

Kings XI Punjab after being put into bat by Sachin Tendulkar scored 189/4 in 20 overs, on the back of Shaun Marsh's 81 and Luke Pomersbach's 79.

Chasing 189, Mumbai Indians were at a comfortable position of 159/4 in 17 overs, when Sachin Tendulkar was run out for 65 runs by Irfan Pathan. The dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar saw a stunning collapse as Mumbai Indians lost their next 3 wickets for just 11 runs and were reduced to 171/7 in 19 overs. Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh gave fast bowler VRV Singh, the responsibility to defend 19 runs of the final over.

The first ball of the final over bowled by VRV Singh was a waist-high no-ball which was hit for a six by Siddarth Chitnis and the next ball went for a four, which meant that Mumbai now required 8 runs in 4 balls to win the match. Punjab pulled it back in the next ball, as Siddarth Chitnis was run out by Tanmay Srivastava for 15 runs. Two balls later, Ashish Nehra was also run out by Tanmay Srivastava as the equation boiled down to 4 runs off 2 balls.

Off the fifth ball, Mumbai batsman Vikrant Yeligati managed to run a brace and with 2 needed off 1 ball, Vikrant Yeligati, played a ball straight to the cover fielder and started off for a run. But Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh collected the ball, rushed towards the stumps, and dislodged them with a dive, reminding people of Jonty Rhodes’s effort in the 1992 World Cup. That piece of brilliance from Yuvraj Singh meant that Punjab escaped with a thrilling one-run win.

Brief Scores:

KXIP – 189/4 (20) – Shaun Marsh 81(56), Luke Pomershbach 79*(50), Siddarth Chitnis 2/40(4)

MI – 188 (20) – Sachin Tendulkar 65(46), Abhishek Nayar 27(18), Yuvraj Singh 2/12(2)

Man of the Match – Shaun Marsh

#1 Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings (IPL 2008 final)

Yusuf Pathan was awarded Man of the Match in the final for his superb knock of 56 runs in just 39 balls.

The final of IPL 2008, took place on 1st June 2008 between two best teams of the tournament Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at DY Patil Stadium in Navy Mumbai.

The contest was worthy of a final, as Chennai Super Kings put into bat by Shane Warne, scored 163/5 in their 20 overs on the back of 43 runs in 30 balls by Suresh Raina and a quickfire unbeaten 29 runs off 17 balls by skipper MS Dhoni. For Rajasthan Royals, Yusuf Pathan was the most successful bowler as he picked up 3 wickets for just 22 runs in his 4 overs.

Chasing the target of 164 runs, Rajasthan Royals were reduced to 42/3 in 6.4 overs when big hitter Yusuf Pathan came into bat. Yusuf Pathan then went on to play a game-changing innings of 56 runs in just 39 balls, laded with 3 fours and 4 huge sixes. Yusuf was also involved in a partnership of 65 runs for the 4th wicket with Shane Watson and 32 runs for the 5th wicket with Mohammad Kaif.

The dismissal of Yusuf Pathan, courtesy of a brilliant direct hit from Suresh Raina in the 18th over with Rajasthan Royals still needing 21 runs in 14 balls to win the IPL Trophy, tilted the match completely in the favor of Chennai Super Kings. And at the end of 19th overs, Rajasthan Royals were 156/7 with 8 runs needed off the final over to be bowled by Lakshmipathy Balaji and had their skipper Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir at the crease.

Balaji gave away just 2 runs of his first 3 balls, but a costly wide of the 4th ball which also produced a bye tilted the balance in the favor of Rajasthan Royals. With three needed off 2 balls, Tanvir hit two runs off the penultimate ball, before settling the victory in the final ball, thereby crowning Rajasthan Royals as the winners of IPL 2008.

Brief Scores:

CSK – 163/5 (20) – Suresh Raina 43(30), Parthiv Patel 38(33), Yusuf Pathan 3/22(4)

RR – 217/7 (19.5) – Yusuf Pathan 56(39), Shane Watson 28(19), Muttiah Muralitharan 2/39(4)

Man of the Match – Yusuf Pathan