Five of the best IPL finals in history

2) KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (2012)

It was no mystery that KKR owner Shahrukh Khan wouldn’t give up on his dream of winning the IPL and in 2012, he did put together a team that was the most balanced in the tournament. The Knight Riders under Gautam Gambhir knew how to fight and had a penchant for finding unlikely heroes.

In one of the most memorable IPL finals, Chennai batted first and posted a colossal 190 in 20 overs, playing on their home turf. Michael Hussey scored a half-century, but it was Suresh Raina’s breath-taking 73 off just 38 balls that put KKR in the back seat. Their bowlers had no effect at all, and Rajat Bhatia was the only one to go under eight runs per over.

Kolkata didn’t start well and lost their skipper in the very first over. But Manvinder Bisla proved to be their unlikely hero of the day as he scored 89 off just 48 balls with eight fours and five sixes.

Jacques Kallis, who played way quicker than his career T20 strike-rate, scored 69 off 49 balls, and added 136 for the second wicket in just 85 balls, with Bisla. The swashbuckling innings from Bisla then came to an end, with KKR needing 52 off 32 balls at that stage.

The match swung again in CSK’s favour as the away side lost Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Yusuf Pathan quickly. Kallis, calm until then, was dismissed by Hilfenhaus, with Dhoni’s CSK now on the brink of victory.

KKR still needed 16 from just seven balls and it looked unlikely that they would be able to win. However, Hilfenhaus overstepped on the last delivery of the over, to add insult to injury, Shakib Al Hasan was caught off the ball. The Gambhir-led side managed to run two and the free hit went for a four, leaving them with just nine to score in the final over.

The match was finished off by Manoj Tiwary, who slammed two fours off Dwayne Bravo’s bowling, to ensure that the Knight Riders won their maiden IPL title.