5 Most Disappointing IPL finals

The 10 edition of the IPL came to a grand end with the Mumbai Indians coming on top of the Rising Pune Supergiants with a margin of mere one run. Nobody in both the camps could have imagined this result when the Pune batting choked in the pressure of the final. The master class of Dhoni did not come to reality in Hyderabad where the Pune fans needed him the most. The last match for the Rising Pune Supergiants is not something they would like to be registered in the record books.

The IPL over its ten seasons has witnessed many thrilling finales. The final of 2014 IPL saw a total of 199 being chased by the KKR team with just 3 balls to spare. The RCB team came close in 2016 while chasing 208 by the Sunrisers. Among these exciting contests, IPL also witnessed some disappointing performances in the finals. Some teams choking at the most crucial moment to give away the match.

We have a look at the 5 most disappointing IPL finals to date which failed to meet our expectations of a nerve-wrecking match:

1. Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2011

This was the third appearance of the Chennai team in the finals of the IPL. They had won the title the previous year against the Mumbai Indians. This match was expected to be high scoring as the batsmen from both the dugouts were in good touch coming into the match. This was proved right when Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey from CSK put up a 159 run stand for the first wicket in under 15 overs. Vijay went on to score 95 which was the highest individual score in a final till then. But none of the other batsmen impressed much and CSK finished at 205 in their 20 overs.

The crowd was expecting an enthralling chase from the in-form RCB side. But that, unfortunately, could not be realized. It was the first season for Gayle in the RCB line-up. He had already hit 2 centuries in the tournament and was at 608 runs from 11 innings. To the utter disappointment of the RCB fans, he was dismissed for a duck in the final match which saw their hopes of winning dwindle in the first over itself. Ashwin took Gayle’s wicket thrice that season and was the only effective bowler against the giant.

With 6 wickets down after the 10 over at a score of just 70, the RCB fans had already given up on the match and CSK emerged as the one-sided conquerors of the IPL for the second consecutive time.

1. Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, 2010

This was the first time for the Mumbai Indians in an IPL final. CSK winning the toss had elected to bat first. With Raina smashing 57 off 35 deliveries Chennai reached a defendable total of 168 in the first innings.

The disappointment came in the Mumbai innings. Chasing 169 in the DY Patil stadium was considered possible any day for the Mumbai side with the leading run scorer in their camp. In fact, Sachin was the only ray of hope for the Mumbai supporters as most other batsmen could not settle on the pitch. Tendulkar paced his innings slowly in search of a dependable partnership to lead Mumbai but could succeed in finding it. As he got out with a score of 48 the whole Mumbai crowd was silenced. They expected their master blaster to take them to victory. But that could not be the case.

Pollard at the end tried to show some firepower as he smacked 27 off 10 but could not sustain it till the end. The MI team could only manage 148 after their allotted 20 overs.

1. Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, 2013

This was the time of revenge for the Mumbai team after their final defeat against Chennai 3 years ago. Batting first Mumbai’s top order seemed to choke against the Chennai pace attack. It was Pollard batting on number six who stabilized the Mumbai innings. He scored 60 off 32 including 10 boundaries to help Mumbai reach 148.

Considering the Chennai dominance in the league stage it should have been a cakewalk for them. Michael Hussey who was the orange cap holder for the season was expected to lead the run-chase against MI. But to the joy of the Mumbai fans, Malinga dismissed him in the first over for just 1 run. CSK was left high and dry after that as they lost next two-wicket within two overs. The scorecard showed 3 for 3 after 2 overs. This was a nightmare for the CSK camp. This landslide did not stop and they were 36 for 5 after 7 overs. Then Dhoni came to the rescue of his side and scored a quick fire 60 off 45 to spearhead the chase. He still could not take them to victory as the wickets kept tumbling at the other end.

1. Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2009

It is recorded as the first and only final for the Deccan Chargers. In the IPL held in South Africa for that season, The DC team had emerged as the underdogs. They were the last team to qualify for the playoffs after winning only 7 league games.

Coming to a batsman friendly Johannesburg wicket for the final, everyone expected a high scoring game. But that was not the case. Batting first Deccan Chargers could only manage to put on 143 with Herschelle Gibbs being their top scorer with 53 off 48. The whole innings saw just 4 maximums over the rope which was fairly under par considering the Wanderers stadium.

Chasing 144, the RCB started well giving away just one wicket in the first six overs. But the decay started from there. They lost 5 more wickets within the score of 100. The spin from Ojha and Symonds rounded up the RCB middle order without much damage. What was expected to be an easy chase for the RCB side, turned into a struggle! They required 15 off the last over with just one wicket in hand and failed to accomplish it.

1. Mumbai Indians vs Rising Pune Supergiants, 2017

The latest final of the IPL can only be regarded as the most disappointing finals of all. With Pune requiring just 130 in the run-chase, it was looking no toughie for them. Rahane and Smith put up a 54 run partnership for the second wicket and Pune was looking right on course for their first title victory.

But after the fall of the second wicket, the whole Pune team went down in a jiffy. They could manage only 128 in their innings and the Mumbai team won by 1 run. It was one of the closest finals and joyful for Mumbai fans. But looking on it from the point of view of cricket and statistics it was one of the most disappointing performances from the Pune side. They had a 3-0 head to head score with Mumbai this season. Also, they were the only team who had defeated SRH in their home ground of Hyderabad. RPS would be devastated after a humiliating defeat in their last match of IPL.