Brilliant individual performances in IPL knockout games that don't fade away

Anil Kumble, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers, 2009 Final

Royal Challengers Bangalore had a horrid start to the 2009 season under Kevin Pietersen’s captaincy. But after his exit for national duty, Anil Kumble was handed over the reins, and under him, RCB pulled off the near impossible – winning five successive games, including the semi-final against Chennai Super Kings, to reach the final.

In the title decider, they were pitted against Deccan Chargers, who had disposed of the table-toppers Delhi Daredevils with disdain thanks to an Adam Gilchrist whirlwind. Kumble then stamped his class all over the match, coming up with arguably the best bowling performance in an IPL final – he finished with 4 for 16 in his four overs.

Always known for his brave captaincy, Kumble opened the bowling with the new ball and knocked Gilchrist out for a duck in the very first over. He came back to remove Andrew Symonds in the ninth over, snuffing out the Australian’s good start to his innings. He wasn’t finished yet though; Kumble also knocked off Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao in the same over, the 17th, to virtually clean up Deccan Chargers’ middle order himself.

RCB only had 144 to chase but they stumbled and eventually fell short by six runs. While Kumble ended up on the losing side, his bowling – replete with guile, guts and gumption – will definitely go down as an unforgettable moment in the history of the IPL.

Adam Gilchrist, Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils, 2009 Semifinal

Adam Gilchrist

Deccan Chargers had a mixed league campaign under Adam Gilchrist in 2009, but it was still an improvement from their performance in 2008. They managed to sneak into the semifinals, squeaking past Kings XI Punjab on the basis of a better net run-rate, with seven wins out of 14 games.

They were presented with an unenviable task in the semis though – they had to face table toppers Delhi Daredevils. DD’s rollicking campaign had seen them win 10 out of their 14 games, when no other team had won more than eight.

However, batting first, DD could manage only 153 on the big day at SuperSport Park, Centurion; they were restricted by the fierce spell of 3-27 by Ryan Harris. All that, however, was forgotten the moment Adam Gilchrist decided to flex his batting muscles. The marauding Aussie turned the game into a no-contest, much like he did in the 2007 World Cup 2007 final. He hammered 85 off just 35 balls at a strike-rate of 242, hitting 10 fours and five sixes, helping DC chase down the target in 17.4 overs.

Gilchrist had started off in style, hitting the feared Dirk Nannes for five consecutive fours in the very first over. Pradeep Sangwan was hammered for two fours and a six, and the big gamble of Virender Sehwag bowling spin in the Power-play didn’t help either as Gilchrist hammered him for a four and three sixes in four consecutive deliveries.

When Gilchrist fell with the score at 102 for three, he had scored close to 85% of the total runs, a massive number indeed. It was a memorable blitz that outdid every other memorable blitz in the tournament, and for that Adam Gilchrist will always be remembered fondly by Indian spectators.