IPL: Top 5 man of the match performances in a losing cause

It's commonplace in cricket to see one player on top of his game, but the rest of his team not being able to follow. It's unfortunate in a team sport how a brilliant individual performance is completely inconsequential when it's in a losing cause.

Most compilations of the greatest IPL performances generally consist of knocks and spells that brought their team victory. Great performances in a losing cause tend to be forgotten after all.

There have been more than a handful of spectacular innings that went relatively unnoticed owing to the fact that it didn't result in a win for the team. On most other days, these knocks/spells would have given the player and his side a win. It's hard to pick out just five from a list of umpteen performances in a losing cause.

However, the five innings listed here have been special owing to the circumstances they came in. So special in fact, that they were given the man of the match laurel despite being on the losing side. Splendid all-round performances and exceptional performances in important games or difficult conditions make the player's efforts worthy enough to hand him the man of the match award.

Sachin Tendulkar's maiden and only century was in a losing cause, but he still didn't earn the man of the match award for it. A man of the match award in a losing cause is given only when the innings have been out-of-the-world special.

Let's take a look at some of these special one-man efforts that were unfortunately in a losing cause.

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#5 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli smashed all batting records out of the park with his audacious performance in the 2016 season. He hit four centuries in a single season and finished the season the orange cap winner with a whopping 973 runs.

The previous record for runs obtained in a single season was 733, a massive 240 runs lesser than Kohli's total.

Kohli's maiden IPL century came in Rajkot against the Gujarat Lions.The skipper won the toss and elected to bat first, and justified his decision by helping his team post a target of 181 runs. Kohli had came in to this match in form, having made an impressive 80 against the Rising Pune Supergiants a few days earlier.

With scores of 75 and 79 in the opening games of the tournament, Kohli had come close to the much coveted three digit figure on three separate occasions. Fantastic batting by the charismatic batsman yet again saw him flirting with the elusive century yet again. His body wasn't on his side this time, as he cramped and was literally limping for his singles.

Nobody - not his body, or the scorching sun that day or the Gujarat bowlers - could stop the man in scintillating form from achieving his goal that day. Needing 15 runs in the last over to reach his century, Kohli got to the prestigious landmark in style with a boundary of the very last ball of the innings. With a healthy total of 180 on the board, Kohli would have been pleased with his performance.

In the run chase, the Gujarat Lions came in to bat with all guns blazing. Dwayne Smith, replacing Steyn in the squad, and Brendon McCullum started playing their natural shots from the word go. Gujarat ended up with 72 runs in the powerplay overs to perfectly set up the chase. It's tough for a single batsman to go toe-to-toe with Virat Kohli but Gujarat showed how a team effort can outdo a one-man show by chasing the target perfectly as a team.

After the destructive openers fell, experienced batsmen Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik played composed innings and went into consolidation mode rather than going for big shots. They kept the scoreboard ticking and though Raina got out in the 15th over, Jadeja came and finished the job along with the set batsman, Dinesh Karthik.

Virat Kohli's maiden T20 ton thus went in vain thanks to a magnificent team effort by the Gujarat Lions. Kohli deservedly took home the man of the match for his individual effort, though he would much rather have taken the victory.

#4 Adam Zampa

Australian spinner Adam Zampa took the second six-wicket haul in IPL history

The Rising Pune Supergiants had a short stint in the IPL, featuring in just two seasons. They had two contrasting seasons though, finishing 2016 second from the bottom and finishing 2017 second from top as the runners up.

Towards the end of the round-robin stage of IPL 2016, Pune faced daunting opposition Sunrisers Hyderabad (who would go on to win the title). David Warner won the toss and elected to bat first. Though they got off to a slow start managing to rack up just 60 runs in 10 overs, they had lost just the one wicket. With a deep batting lineup, they had the potential to explode in the death overs and post a formidable target on the board.

However, a relatively unknown figure by the name of Adam Zampa had other plans. His spell of 4-0-19-6 stopped the Sunrisers in their tracks. It's unusual for a spinner to be bowling the final over of the innings. Zampa made it seem usual though, as he bagged three of his six wickets in the last over, thus curtailing the Sunrisers to a paltry total of 137.

Zampa's six-wicket haul was only the second six-wicket haul in the history of the IPL after Sohail Tanvir's superb spell in the inaugural season.

However, Zampa's brilliant effort with the ball was negated by a dismal batting effort by the Pune batsmen. They continued their bad form in the tournament and fell 4 runs short of the humble 137 target. Adam Zampa brought home the man of the match award for his excellent figures, though he would have enjoyed it to its fullest if it had been coupled with a victory for his team.

#3 Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble led the Royal Challengers Bangalore from the front as they finished runners up in 2009

After a shocking inaugural season where they finished in seventh place, the Royal Challengers Bangalore came in to the second season rejuvenated with Kevin Pietersen as their new captain. They didn't fare so well, however, and were faced with the daunting task of having to win all four remaining games to qualify for the semi-finals. To add salt to their wounds, captain Pietersen had to leave for national duty. The captaincy was taken up by India's veteran leg-spinner, Anil Kumble.

What happened next was one of the most incredible stories of that season. The team clicked under Kumble, who led by example with the ball, and pulled off four wins in their last four games in the round-robin stage thus making it to the semi-finals. Their dream journey continued in the semi-finals as they convincingly beat the Chennai Super Kings to book their place in the final.

In the final, Kumble decided to field first and then justified his own decision by picking up key wickets of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao. Adam Gilchrist was the danger man, having scored 85 runs in 35 balls in the semi-final. Kumble decided to bowl the first over himself and got rid of the dangerous Australian wicket-keeper for a duck in the third ball of the innings. The magnificent spell of leg-spin bowling saw 'Jumbo' end with marvelous figures of 4/16.

Kumble had bowled with immaculate precision throughout the tournament and he continued his form in to the high-pressure final as well, and how! The miraculous turnaround under Kumble was almost complete and the Royal Challengers had the title under their noses. However, chasing in a final is no cup of tea. The Bangalore batsman succumbed to pressure and agonizingly fell short of the target by just 6 runs.

Anil Kumble was given the man of the match award, but spare a thought for the veteran who could have captained his team to glory, a hope which was all but lost when he had taken over the reigns from Pietersen.

#2 Chris Morris

Chris Morris has been excellent with both bat and ball for the Delhi Daredevils

Chris Morris in 2016 featured in the Delhi Daredevils squad who were to go up against formidable opponents in the Gujarat Lions. The boys from Gujarat were in red-hot form, having recently chased down the 180 runs amassed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore thanks to a Virat Kohli special.

Gujarat Lions walked in clear favourites against the team from Delhi and did finally end up on top, but the then 28-year-old Morris delivered a Herculean all-round effort that single-handedly helped his team almost pull off victory from the jaws of defeat.

It was IPL at its very best. The Gujarat Lions batted first and were off to a blistering start notching up a hundred runs in a mere nine overs thanks to openers Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith. McCullum scored the fastest half-century ever for the Lions, only to be usurped by Smith a few balls later.

The Gujarat Lions were well on their way to 200 at the very least but a magnificent 12th over by Chris Morris sparked a turnaround for the Daredevils. His clever off-cutter crashed into McCullum's stumps to send him back to the pavilion with 60 runs in 36 balls. Morris then bagged the crucial wicket of skipper Suresh Raina in quick succession. Gujarat Lions self destructed and could manage just 55 runs of the next 48 balls to end the innings with a 172 runs on the board.

What seemed like a one-sided affair after 10 overs was now more of a match. However, it looked to be one-sided in Gujarat's favor again after the Daredevils slumped to 16 for 3 in 4 overs, much to the despair of the home supporters.

Chris Morris walked in to the crease when the scorecard read 57-4 in 10.4 overs, Delhi needing 116 runs in 52 balls for the win. Despite launching his second ball majestically into the second tier of the stands, there was not much hope.

However, what followed was incredible. Morris walloped a 17-ball fifty, the third-fastest in the history of the IPL. Mistiming was not in his dictionary that day as he got under the ball and sent 8 balls flying into the stands. All of a sudden, the Delhi Daredevils needed just 18 runs in the last 2 overs. The way Morris was going, it looked like he would finish the game in 3 balls.

Then, enter Praveen Kumar and Dwayne Bravo. The Indian swing bowler bowled an outrageously good penultimate over conceding just 4 runs, swinging the game back in Gujarat's favour.

Still, 14 runs of the last over was doable considering the South African who was on strike had smashed 71 runs of 27 balls. It boiled down to the last ball of the game, with a boundary needed for the win.

Bravo then bowled an excellent yorker and Morris could only send it to Jadeja at long-on to pick up two runs to finish a humdinger of an innings with 82 runs of 32 balls. Morris and Delhi agonizingly fell just one run short, and all that Morris magic was in vain.

Morris deservedly got the man of the match award, but it was the boys from Gujarat who left the field with smiles on their faces.

#1 Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan played a pivotal role in the Rajasthan Royals' title triumph in the inaugural IPL season back in 2008. His only century, however, came in the third edition in 2010. The second game of the tournament saw the Mumbai Indians square off against the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede stadium.

The Mumbai Indians posted a mammoth target of 213 owing to half-centuries by their consistent middle-order batsmen, Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary. In response, the Rajasthan Royals got off to a slow start and lost wickets in the process. Yusuf Pathan came in to bat with the Royals struggling at 40/3 in 6.3 overs. They needed 173 runs to win in 81 balls at a run rate of well above 12.

The game was as good as over. Yusuf Pathan disagreed. He was at his destructive best that day, and when Yusuf Pathan is at his best, even the best of bowlers wouldn't want to bowl to him. Demonstrating his typical gung-ho style of batting, Yusuf got to three digit figures in 37 balls to rattle Tendulkar's men. To this day, this remains the second-fastest century in IPL history. In fact, it's the highest strike rate ever for a score equal to or above 100, with a strike rate of over 270. Even Gayle's 175 knock was at a lower strike rate than this Yusuf knock!

However, despite his best efforts, the required run rate was too overwhelming and the Rajasthan Royals narrowly ended up on the losing side, missing the target by just 4 runs. An unlucky Yusuf Pathan was deservedly awarded the man of the match award.