Today, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has emerged to be among the most colourful cricket leagues. Indian Premier League was started back in 2008 and it became popular in no time. This league provided fans with many top memorable matches. But there are a few most memorable IPL matches which are discussed by IPL fans even today.
The IPL is one of those tournaments that has brought the best of cricketing actions and performance from one team to the other with close finishes and big scores. Cricket lovers wait for each season and start visiting cricket prediction news sites to find out which teams will win the match as well as the best players to perform.
Being an every-year event, the IPL has given out many moments which each game has something unique to offer. In this article, we will discuss the five most memorable IPL games that have ever been played. It is these matches that made fans sit glued to their screens, so let’s start with the first match between CSK and RR.
1. 2008 Final: Rajasthan Royals vs. Chennai Super Kings
The number 1 match in our list of most memorable IPL matches is the 2008 IPL final which was played between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. It was the inaugural season finale of the IPL and the fans throughout the world were waiting to see who would lift the trophy. Shail Warne was the captain of Rajasthan Royals against Chennai super kings with captain Mahendra singh Dhoni. Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina were the main contributors of Chennai posting 163 runs on the board when they decided to bat first after the toss.
In the second innings, the Rajasthan Royals were under a lot of pressure. The invention of Yusuf Pathan as an all rounder had made a lot of difference. He took three match-changing wickets and then came the match-defining innings of 56 from 39 and kept Rajasthan in the hunt for a consolation win. The last over was particularly dramatic with the teams tied on 146 at the end of the last over and Sohail Tanvir slugging a six to win it for the Rajasthan Royals and make them the first Indian Premier League champions.
The climax of this match was exciting and the audience was literally on the edge of their seats when the last ball was being bowled. The final of the Indian Premier League cricket 2008 proved what the tournament was capable of presenting to the spectators – close finishes, anxiety moments and outstanding brilliant performance. It led to the spirit of the upcoming seasons in which IPL made people to expect traumatising and spectacular matches. Viewers even till this day recall this game to be one of their most memorable games in IPL as it kicked off a global tournament.
2. 2016 Final: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad
The top memorable ipl matches includes such matches as the 2016 IPL final between the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Royal Challengers Bangalore led by Virat Kohli had a strong batting lineup having Chris Gayle, AB De villiers and Kohli himself which was in deadly form.
On the other hand, SRH has another good bowling lineup having David Warner as their captain and Bhuvneshwar Kumar along with Mustafizur Rahman. SRH opened their innings and scored a massive 208 for the loss of six wickets with Warner making a much needed 69 runs.
RCB began their chase magnificently and Chris Gayle scored 76 of 38 balls and thus created the base for a successful run-chase. But as soon as Gayle was dismissed, the game shifted heavily towards SRH. The master himself, Virat Kohli, who played an incredible inning for all of the tournament could not survive long and the middle order failed under pressure. Despite such an energetic and aggressive beginning RCB was close 8 runs behind and reached the total of 200.
We included this match into the list of the most memorable IPL matches, due to high drama up to the last over and a great final. Bowlers from Sunrisers Hyderabad managed their nerves in the last few overs and won the match. That was Hyderabad’s first IPL title and Warner was instrumental with his captaincy and along with a very effective bowling lineup.
This match is popular in fans’ memory not only for the big scores, but for the moments of the outcome in the second half of the RCB chase. This game was quite effective in demonstrating how a player should not lose his or her cool during a crucial moment.
3. 2019 Final: Mumbai Indians vs. Chennai Super Kings
MI vs CSK in the final match of IPL 2019 is at the number 3 position in our list. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are one of the most successful teams IPL had ever seen. Hence, the final was expected to be a very highly contested match. Mumbai got to bat first and only managed to score 149 for which Kieron Pollard made a cameo of 41 of 25 balls. CSK in response too had a slow beginning and the loss of Faf du Plessis was early but Shane Watson however batted hard and scored 80 odd runs.
Soon it appeared that CSK was dominating the match especially given the fact that Watson was still present on the ground. However, a series of run-outs and good line and length from MI bowlers in the death overs made things change. This is how it went down to the last over; in CSK’s case, they required nine runs to win.
Watson was given out on the fourth ball of the over and CSK’s main batsmen were asked to take over and complete the formality. Last but not the least; Lasith Malinga of MI, one of the most potent death over bowler in the cricket history, bowled a perfect yorker. This ball was delivered to the last punch which trapped Shardul Thakur LBW to give MI a victory with just one-run margin.
This match has been regarded as one of the Best Memorable IPL Matches due to the nail biting finale in the last over and this being the fourth title win of Mumbai Indians. It was a close match and fans of both sides held their nerves till the last ball and especially for the cricket lovers who could never forget Malinga’s fantastic last ball.
4. 2014 Final: Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Kings XI Punjab
One match that has been ranked under Top Memorable IPL Matches is the IPL final match of the year 2014 between KKR and Kings XI Punjab which is now known as Punjab Kings. Punjab batted first and thanks to an interesting knock by Wriddhiman Saha, who emerged as the first player to score a century in the final of the IPL. His innings of 115 off 55 balls had some fine big shots and some clean hitting which put the KKR on the backfoot.
In response, KKR had a very poor beginning, early wickets were down, but Manish Pandey produced one of the best innings of his career. Pandey tried hard and scored a 50-balls 94, which put KKR back into the game. He came up with the big shots during the times when it mattered and ensured that Punjab’s bowlers did not get any respite. However, KKR chased the target in the 19th over with 3 balls to spare and thus became the winner of IPL twice.
That is why this final will always remain one of the most memorable IPL matches because of the number of runs scored and the see-saw battle. There is nothing like Saha’s wonderful century and Pandey match-winning innings in cricket and that made it very interesting. Taking the IPL final of 2014 as an example, it became evident that players’ contribution can make or destroy a team. What makes this match special in IPL history is KKR’s capacity to hunt for such a big target in pressure.
5. 2017 Final: Rising Pune Supergiant vs. Mumbai Indians
Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians’ 2017 IPL final is one among the top memorable ipl matches as the match was closely fought with less number of runs scored. Mumbai was asked to take the bat and from the onset the players did not find the going easy and scored 20 overs 129 runs. Openers Manan Wadhera and Aiden Memola failed to provide a good start and middle-order was pathetic except Krunal Pandya, who made 47 off 38 balls.
In response, RPS appeared to be in the driving seat throughout the chase of most of the innings. Rahane and Smith put up a good fight and shared a good partnership but MI’s bowlers came back strongly in the end. Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Johnson played very well by restricting the batting side of RPS.
The match also went to its last end with Johnson performing a splendid over and bagging two wickets in 9 runs. RPS got defeated by 1 run thus Mumbai emerged as the IPL champions of the year third time. This was perhaps one of the most ideal representations of how both adrenaline rush experienced during high-scoring games is similar to that of low-scoring ones.
Conclusion
The IPL has offered numerous moments, which has been thrilling and exhilarating to watch, and even more close finishes and other match drama. All the above-stated top memorable ipl matches will exist in the memories for the grand performance and big moments. To receive fresh cricket knowledge and cricket prediction news, you can visit Cricator.
