Defending a low score in the IPL Finals can be a daunting task for any team. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most popular and fiercely competitive T20 leagues in the world, and the finals of the tournament are always high-pressure affairs. Teams that find themselves in this situation often have to rely on their bowlers to deliver exceptional performances and their fielders to be sharp and alert. In this article, we will look at some of the teams that found success while defending low scores in IPL finals.
Mumbai Indians- 129 in 2017
Mumbai Indians in the 2017 IPL final batted first and managed to score only 129 runs against the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPSG). Krunal Pandya top-scored for MI as he scored 47 runs in 38 balls. With the ball in hand for RPSG, Jaydev Unadkat, Adam Zampa and Daniel Christian took 2 wickets each. Washington Sundar also bowled a great spell as he gave away just 13 runs in his 4 overs.
In the second innings, RPSG got off to a great start as opener Ajinkya Rahane scored 44 in 38 balls and coming at three, their skipper, Steven Smith scored 51 runs in 50 balls. With the ball for MI, Mitchell Johnson took 3 wickets and Jasprit Bumrah took 2 wickets. Krunal Pandya won the Man of the Match award for his batting efforts and economical spell with the ball.
Deccan Chargers- 143 in 2009
Deccan Chargers got off to the worst possible in the IPL 2009 Final start as their arguably best player of the series, Adam Gilchrist got dismissed in the first three balls. Their opener Herschelle Gibbs scored 53 runs from 48 balls. With the ball in hand, Anil Kumble opened the bowling and took 4 wickets while giving away just 16 runs in his 4 overs.
In the second innings, Roelof van der Merwe top-scored for RCB with 32 runs in 21 balls. Ross Taylor scored 27 runs in 20 balls. For the DC team, Pragyan Ojha took 3 wickets while giving away 28 runs in his four overs. But arguably it was RP Singh’s and Harmeet Singh’s bowling efforts that won them the game. In their combined 8 overs they gave away just 39 runs and took 3 wickets. Anil Kumble was awarded the Man of the Match award despite being on the losing side.
Mumbai Indians- 148 in 2013
Mumbai Indians in IPL 2013 were playing just their second final when they faced off against Chennai Super Kings who at that time had the most titles and were playing their 4th consecutive final.
Mumbai Indians batting first lost their 4 wickets in 9.3 overs with the score being 52 runs. Entering the field at 4 wickets down was the West-Indian legendary all-rounder, Kieron Pollard. Pollard top-scored for MI and scored 60 runs in just 32 balls. For CSK, Dwayne Bravo took 4 wickets while giving away 42 runs in his 4 overs. Their most economical bowler was Albie Morkel who bowled 3 overs and conceded just 12 runs taking 2 wickets.
In the second innings, CSK got off to a disastrous start as they lost 4 wickets inside the first 6 overs with 35 runs on the board. The match slipped further away from their grasp as they were 6 down for 39 runs. It was a solo effort from MS Dhoni who scored 63 runs in 45 balls and remained not out. For MI, Mitchell Johnson took 2 wickets and gave away 19 runs in his four overs. Kieron Pollard won the Man of the Match award for his batting efforts as well as for taking a wicket with the ball too.
Also Read: IPL 2023: 5 Highest total scored by a team in IPL
“Get more sports news, cricket news, and football updates, log on to sportsdigest.in. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.”
