Top 10 best finishes in IPL history

The Indian Premier league boasts of a rich history and the tournament has often been lit up with nail-biting humdinger finishes. Such has been the nature of the competition that no team can be ruled out of the game, on most occasions, until the last ball is bowled. While the tied games and Super overs are an exciting prospect for the viewers, last ball finishes have another level of thrill! Here are the best finishes in the IPL history: 10. CSK v DD (IPL 2008) – 15 needed in the last over: In the inaugural edition of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings took on Delhi Daredevils posted a gigantic 187 on the board riding on a gritty 80 by Gautam Gambhir. CSK were then ably led by S Vidyut and Stephen Fleming, who were dismissed in 40s. MS Dhoni chipped in with a run-a-ball 33 too. In the end, it came down to 15 runs needed off the last over. Shoaib Malik was given the ball and it was Manpreet Gony, the tailender on strike. Gony did the unthinkable and hit Malik for a six on the first ball and then hammered a boundary off the 3rd ball. The rest was mere formalities as Gony and S Badrinath ran comfortably to ease past the nervous 15! Last over – 6, wd, 4, 1, 2, 0, 1! 9. RR v MI (IPL 2008) – 15 needed in the last over: Mumbai Indians locked horns with the Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur in a cliffhanger contest. Decent scores of 30s by Sanath Jayasuriya and skipper Sachin Tendulkar saw Mumbai Indians post a reasonable 145/7 on the board. Royals, who would have expected to run through the target, had a tough time chasing and found themselves needing 15 off the last over. Youngster’s Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were at the crease and Dilhara Fernando was asked to defend 15. The first 2 deliveries saw 4 runs coming from it and then Patel hit the next one over long for a maximum. A couple of singles and Royals needed 3 off the last ball. Fernando bowled a wide and then misfielded on the re-bowl to give a couple of runs to the Royals. Royals won it by 5 wickets. Last over – 1, 3, 6, 1, 1, wd, 2! 8. DC v KXIP (IPL 2012) – 16 needed in the last over: Gurkeerat Singh (L) and his teammates celebrate their team’s victory over Deccan Chargers. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/GettyImages) The Deccan Chargers were propelled to 190/4 in 20 overs with Shikhar Dhawan scoring 71 and Cameron White scoring an unbeaten 67 off 41 balls. Kings XI Punjab were almost out of the equation with 56/3 in 8 overs. It was a blitzkrieg 65 off 35 balls by David Hussey that saw KXIP overhaul the mighty target. He was well supported by Gurkeerat Singh who scored 29 off 12. In the process, they needed 16 in the last over, which was bowled by Manpreet Gony. Gony went for 3 runs in the first couple of balls before being hit for a maximum and a boundary by Gurkeerat. He took a couple more and the batsman finished it off in style with a four. Last over – 2, 1, 6, 4, 2, 4! 7. MI v CSK (IPL 2012) – 16 needed in the last over: Mumbai Indians batsman Dwayne Smith (R) celebrates victory in the IPL Twenty20 cricket match against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on May 6, 2012. (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/GettyImages) Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have always come up with exciting competition. The same happened when Mumbai edged past Chennai by just 2 wickets in the early stages of the 2012 IPL. CSK posted 173 with Murali Vijay top scoring with 41. Sachin Tendulkar led the chase with an anchoring 44-ball 74 and Rohit Sharma looked good for his 60 too. But a middle-order collapse saw Mumbai lose quick wickets with Dwayne Smith stranded as the only recognized batsman. Ben Hilfenhaus had the task of defending 16 and he dismissed Lasith Malinga on the 2nd delivery of last over. Mumbai then needed 14 from 3 with Smith on strike. Smith clobbered a maximum and followed it with 2 boundaries to seal it for Mumbai with 2 wickets to spare! Last over – 1, W, 1, 6, 4, 4! Also read – Top 10 Best cameos of IPL 2016 6. CSK v KXIP (IPL 2010) – 16 needed in the last over: When Kings XI Punjab clashed with the Chennai Super Kings at Dharamsala, it was MS Dhoni who blasted CSK to a memorable win and took them to the finals. Riding on Shaun Marsh’s 88, KXIP posted a huge 192 on the board. CSK’s run chase was pushed by Suresh Raina’s 46 and Badrinath’s 53. The highlight, however, was MSD! Chennai needed 29 off the last two overs. Dhoni hit Rusty Theron for 2 boundaries on the first two balls of the penultimate over and eventually ended up taking 13 runs from it. Irfan Pathan had to defend 16 with Dhoni striking hard. He hit a four, a couple and two sixes, to seal the game with 2 balls to spare. Raw emotions were on display from a pumped up MSD who finished unbeaten on 54 off 29 balls. Last over – 4, 2, 6, 6! https://youtu.be/iJDR511Tyk8 5. CSK v RCB (IPL 2012) – 43 needed in the last two overs: Chennai Super Kings batsman Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his team’s winning shot during the IPL Twenty20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 12, 2012. (Photo by SESHADRI SUKUMAR/AFP/Getty Images) An animated Virat Kohli was on display when he went for 28 in the penultimate over as Royal Challengers Bangalore succumbed to a 5-wicket defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings. CSK were chasing a mammoth 206 for the win. They started off well with Faf du Plessis scoring 71 off 46. Needing 43 off the last two, Virat was entrusted with the ball and Albie Morkel smashed him for 28 runs! With just 15 needed off the last over, Morkel was sent back on the 3rd delivery bowled by Vinay Kumar. But Morkel’s 7-ball 28 sealed the game for CSK. Dwayne Bravo brought it down to 2 needed in one ball with Ravindra Jadeja on strike. Jadeja edged one and it went past the keeper for a four! Last over – 1, W, 4nb, 6, 0, 1, 4! Also read – Top 10 surprise packages of IPL 2016 4. DC v MI (IPL 2012) – 18 needed in the last over: Mumbai Indians batsman Rohit Sharma (L) celebrates with a teammate after winning shot on April 9, 2012 during the IPL Twenty20 cricket match against the Deccan Chargers. (Photo by NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images) Deccan Chargers had their task cut out with Mumbai Indians needing 18 off the last over. They threw the ball to Dan Christian, who had earlier scored a brisk 36 off 29 that took the Chargers to 139/9. Mumbai lost a few early wickets but Rohit Sharma anchored the knock and found a stable head partner in James Franklin. Franklin clubbed the first ball for a boundary and then Rohit pounced on the 4th delivery to hit a maximum. The equation was down to 3 needed off 1 and Sharma hit it past long on for a six to seal a memorable victory. Rohit Sharma remained unbeaten on 73 off 50 balls. Last over – 4, 2, 1b, 6, 2, 6! 3. DC v KKR (IPL 2009) – 21 needed in the last over: The second edition of the IPL took place in South Africa and it was Johannesburg that witnessed a historical run chase. KKR posted 160 with Brad Hodge top scoring with 48. Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist led from the front and scored a crisp 43 but it was Rohit Sharma’s cameo that worked for the Chargers. Needing 28 off the last two overs, KKR skipper Brendon McCullum went with Ajit Agarkar. The veteran Indian responded well, giving just 7. With 21 required in the last over, Mashrafe Mortaza was expected to defend it. However, Rohit Sharma had other plans. He hit a four on the first ball of the over. A couple of balls later, he clobbered a 115m six over mid-wicket. He finished it off with a boundary and a six that followed and Mortaza leaked 26 runs! Sharma hit an unbeaten 13-ball 26. Last over – 4nb, 1lb, 1, 6, wd, 2, 4, 6! 2. RCB v PWI (IPL 2012) – 21 needed in the last over: Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Sourabh Tiwary plays a shot. (Photo by Ashok Nath Dey/ Hindustan Times via Getty Images) The now-defunct Pune Warriors India would have believed that 182 was a safe score after Robin Uthappa hit 69 to take them to a good score. However, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, marshaled by a commanding 48-ball 81 from Chris Gayle, RCB looked to cruise along. They lost their ploy midway and found themselves needing 28 off the last two overs. Ashok Dinda bowled exceptionally well in the 19th over to give just 7 runs. With 21 needed in the last over, PWI skipper Sourav Ganguly gave the responsibility of defending it to Ashish Nehra. Saurabh Tiwary and AB de Villiers were at the crease. Tiwary gave the strike to AB, who then hit a boundary and followed it up with a couple of sixes. With 3 needed off the last ball, Tiwary packed it with a boundary! Last over – 1, 4, 6, 6, 1, 6! 1. RPS v KXIP (IPL 2016) – 23 needed in the last over: MS Dhoni RPS. (Photo Source: BCCI) The Rising Pune Supergiants were down and out of the tournament but had their pride at stake when took on Kings XI Punjab in their last league match in the 2016 edition. Chasing 173 for the win, the RPS were stuttering as they lost wickets in heaps. Such precarious was the situation that MS Dhoni found himself battling alone, with 23 needed off the last over. Axar Patel was given the ball in hand. Dhoni refused the single on the first ball. The next one came as a wide. 22 off 5 was looking daunting and then Dhoni hit a maximum over long on. On the next ball, he flat-batted one over covers and thought it was a certain boundary. However, Hashim Amla stopped it on the boundary and it turned out to be a dot. 16 was needed in 3 balls and Dhoni then hit a four and a couple of sixes to seize the game for RPS. The skipper finished with 64 off just 32 balls to register one of the best finishes in cricket history. Last over – 0, wd, 6, 0, 4, 6, 6! Watch it here – Watch: MS Dhoni thwacks Patel for 23 in the last over

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Top 10 best finishes in IPL history

9. RR v MI (IPL 2008) – 15 needed in the last over:

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