The IPL final matches are always the ones to watch. After weeks of competition, two of the strongest teams in the league go head to head for a chance to lift up that prestigious trophy. IPL final matches also force players to bring out their absolute best, which means greater cricket performances for us. Here are three of our favourite IPL final match performances of all time:
Ashwin Takes Out Gayle, 2011
IPL in 2011 was the playground of a man named Chris Gayle. The man smashed his way through any team you put in front of him. Gayle was monumental in getting Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to the IPL finals that year. In the 2011 IPL finale, RCB was facing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai. CSK won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision of batting first was right as they scored an impressive 205 runs but with Chris Gayle waiting for his turn to bat, 205 feels like a menial figure. Naturally, CSK’s main goal was to take out Gayle as soon as they could and team captain MS Dhoni, decided to send a solid bowler to try and do the job. Dhoni’s decision to give the first over to R Ashwin paid off as on the fourth ball of the over, Gayle got taken out. RCB soon realised it wasn’t looking good for them because without Gayle, RCB did not have enough firepower to chase 205 runs. As a result of which, CSK won that final by a whopping 58 runs.
Yusuf Pathan’s Match Winner
If you don’t remember, the very first season of IPL was won by Rajasthan Royals and they can thank Yusuf Pathan for it. Rajasthan Royals (RR) were facing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the first final match of the first IPL season. Since this was the inaugural season of IPL, it was met with massive success and the crowd support for every team was so huge that every team HAD to win the title. During the finale, it was Yusuf Pathan who carried the team to victory through both his innings. His bowling figure was 3-22 that managed to stop CSK at 163 runs. Chasing this target, Rajasthan did not have a good start as they lost 3 wickets for 42 runs. It was Yusuf Pathan who hit a magnificent half-century that secured his team as the winners of first IPL season. He scored 56 runs off 39 balls.
Anil Kumble Claims 4 Wickets
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were a great team in the first few seasons of the IPL, but now they’re below average. It’s hard to think them reaching the finals, but initially, RCB had one of the most well-formed teams in the league, and also, they had Anil Kumble. This bowling legend took on Deccan Chargers in the 2009 IPL final match and tried his best to win that trophy. He took four wickets and conceded only 16 runs bowling four overs and helped RCB stop Deccan Chargers at 143 runs. Kumble managed to do his part, but 143 was still a lot to chase for RCB’s poor batsmen and hence, they lost the match to Deccan Chargers that year.
