IPL 2018: Top 3 unbeaten chasing knocks that were insufficient for the win

Going by the old-school lesson, batting in cricket was all about getting in and settling yourself up for the acceleration.

The new batting partner at the other end just needed to give the settled batsman the strike to explode.

That was well enough to win ODI matches while chasing. That was the trend before the advent of T20 games.

T20s, especially IPL has taught us some broader lessons, the most recent addition is one cannot win the game single-handed even in the shortest format.

Especially, while chasing the bigger targets, the batsman gets very little time to establish himself according to the nature of the pitch.

Even if he does, it is his ability to switch gears that plays a crucial role in finishing the game in his team's favor.

Adding to it, he would also need some support from his partner who needs to hit occasional boundaries and keep the scoreboard ticking, thereby easing out the pressure.

We witnessed some scintillating knocks this season, especially from the teams batting second that had unfortunately failed because of the lack of support from rest of their batsmen. Over here are the top knocks that saw their teams fail ultimately:

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#1 MS Dhoni's knock against Kings XI Punjab

Chasing a stiff target of 198, Chennai Super Kings were in an average position of 57/3 in 6.4 overs when MS Dhoni came to the crease.

Ambati Rayudu and the skipper played cautiously not to lose any more wickets, at the same time scored timely boundaries to keep themselves in the hunt.

The duo which added 57 runs to its name was split by a direct hit from R Ashwin. R Jadeja who scored 19 runs off 13 balls got out in the penultimate over leaving his team needing 35 runs off ten balls.

The Wicket-keeper batsman, with a sore back, still managed to smack 18 off Tye's last four balls.

Needing 17 off the last over, Mohit Sharma nailed his yorkers on the wide line to perfection. Requiring impossible 11 off the ultimate ball, the unbeaten batsman(79*) could only smash a six and not more than that to fall short by four runs. This is the highest score of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in T20 arena.

The former national skipper played a gem of an innings, but his instinct to shift to the power-hitting only by 17th over (the sore back might have played its part) proved to be a little too late. It was that factor which dragged the special knock of such a caliber including six fours and five sixes to end up on the losing side.

This made Dhoni, in the following matches, turn on his hitting mode earlier to his usual eruption which proved to be successful for the Whistle Podu army.

Result: Kings XI Punjab beat Chennai Super Kings by four runs

#2 KL Rahul's magnificence against Rajasthan Royals

Trying every other shot to get his team home

The second knock in the list is a very special one from the most consistent batsman this IPL season. It was the second match for Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals against each other this season.

The first one ended up in KXIP's favor, thanks to a brilliant chase given by KL Rahul (84*) who was supported by Marcus Stoinis and Karun Nair with crucial partnerships.

Their next match consisted of several deja vu factors like RR batting first, setting up the same range of targets (153 in the first and 160 in the second) and Rahul leading the chase.

Having lost Gayle early in the chase, Rahul resumed his marvelous batting from where he had left off in the previous match.

He looked in a sublime form as he demonstrated his ability to reverse sweep the fast bowlers for boundaries.

The only piece that was misplaced in this match compared to their previous endeavor was the lack of support from his teammates.

None of his team-mates reached the double-figure mark, barring Stoinis who had scored only 11.

The opener contributed with 11 fours and two sixes whereas the rest of his teammates could hit only two fours as a whole.

His last over boundaries weren't enough to opaque his team's batting failure. As a result, even his highest score of 95* in the IPL could not save his team from a disappointing defeat.

Result: Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs.

#3 Virat Kohli's special against Mumbai Indians

Kohli Led from the front

A mammoth target of 214 was set by the home team Mumbai Indians. They were yet to scent their first victory in this season.

The visiting side, Royal Challengers Bangalore kicked off a quick start with skipper Kohli and Quinton De Kock carrying out the attack on bowlers with their 40-run partnership. Suddenly in the fifth over, two wickets of De Kock and AB De Villiers fell in a span of four deliveries.

Mandeep Singh and Corey Anderson were the next to head back to the dugout as they became Krunal Pandya's scalps on successive deliveries.

At the other end, the skipper was constantly looking for the boundaries to keep the required run rate within reach.

After the fall of Washington Sundar, he notched up his second fifty of the season and continued to engage in the lone battle against the Men in Blue.

The wicket of Sarfaraz Khan, the last recognized batsman and the one of Chris Woakes, who was supporting the skipper with a modest partnership put the last nail in the coffin.

Finally, the 29-year-old batsman even hit few big boundaries at the end to finish his innings at 92* (seven fours and four sixes) but his team was well short of 46 runs.

Every other batsman of his team scored below 20 only. They also failed to stitch a significant partnership with the skipper that made the task impossible for the well-set batsman.

Result: Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 46 runs.

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