The most memorable moments of IPL 2014
Devashish Fuloria02-Jun-20148:55
Lynn’s catch, Sehwag’s celebration the moments to cherish
Chawla hooks big fish
Eleven needed off seven balls is not a difficult ask in a Twenty20, but with a tournament final at stake and only one decent batsman available, Kolkata Knight Riders knew their grip on the trophy was slippery. Piyush Chawla was on strike against Mitchell Johnson who had just bowled five perfect yorkers. Another one would have probably meant another single and that would have kept Chawla on strike for the next over. Perhaps that made Johnson to go for a bouncer. Chawla was waiting and took the bait. Johnson’s bouncer v Chawla’s hook: you know the odds. A big hitter in the domestic circuit, Chawla swivelled, made solid connection and hooked it over the deep backward square leg fielder for a six.Twist of faith
Kings XI Punjab were in danger of being Super King-ed out of the competition at Wankhede. They had put up a mammoth total of 226, but Suresh Raina had all but wiped out that advantage with a stormy start. Super Kings had raced to 100 off the first six overs and Raina, at 87 off 25 balls, was within sight of the fastest-ever century. Then came the moment of brilliance. Brendon McCullum looked for a quick single to cover point. It was always going to be tricky one as George Bailey steamed to his left from short cover, picked up the ball with his left hand, quickly transferred it to his right, and twisted 360 degrees for what looked like a possible shy at non-striker’s end. However, Bailey twisted a further 90 degrees and hit the stumps direct to catch Raina short. Within a fraction of a second, Bailey had changed the direction of his throw. Within a fraction of second, the match had turned.Chawla calculated risk paid off big time•BCCIThe pointless send-off
When Glenn Maxwell whacked a long hop from R Ashwin into the hands of deep midwicket, the elated bowler walked next to the batsman and blew a flying kiss, showing him the way to the dugout. The emotional outpouring probably had its root in the five sixes and seven fours Maxwell had hit on his way to ransacking 78 runs in 27 balls off Ashwin this IPL. But given that Kings XI’s score was 148 for 2 and Ashwin’s figures read 3-0-34-1 at that stage, this one went down as an ill-conceived celebration.Old card, new trick
One of the images of this year’s IPL was a 42-year-old Pravin Tambe, down on his knees, arms wide open, face skywards after completing a hat-trick against Kolkata Knight Riders. That it came in a match that was not in Rajasthan Royals’ hands at all made the achievement even more worthwhile. Tambe dismissed Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Ryan ten Doeschate to turn Knight Riders’ comfortable chase into a slippery slope – they lost six wickets for two runs and lost the match by 10 runs.Never too late for a hat-trick•BCCICat-like fall control
Six runs required, three balls remaining, AB de Villiers batting, Vinay Kumar bowling. Only a fool would have suggested that Kolkata Knight Riders, the bowling team, had a chance. However, Chris Lynn, playing the first of two games this season, pulled off an incredible catch. At the deep midwicket boundary, Lynn slipped, had the composure to stabilise himself on his one knee while keeping an eye on the ball. Then realising it was going over him, he leapt backwards from a sitting position, caught it with his back almost parallel to the ground, then turned his head to ensure he landed within the playing area. It was almost cat-like fall control. De Villiers was caught, Royal Challengers Bangalore fell short and Lynn took the man-of-the-match award for his fielding and a 31-ball 45.The 11th six
For someone with 10 sixes in his 19 previous IPL innings, the task on Aditya Tare’s hands was huge. Mumbai Indians, the defending champions, had swept aside a horror start to season, of five losses in five games, and had scored 189 in 14.3 overs to tie their score with that of Rajasthan Royals in a game that would decide the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs. Mumbai were on the cusp of completing a turnaround and needed one ball and a big hit. Corey Anderson, the hero of the day, watched from the other end, as did the vocal home crowd at Wankhede Stadium. Tare wouldn’t have believed his luck when he got a full toss on his pads but he still needed to hit it. And hit he did, into the stands for six to take Mumbai through to playoffs and spark wild celebrations on the ground. Beyond the boundary, Rahul Dravid, the always-calm Royals mentor, flung his cap to the ground in frustration.The heat is on
There was something brewing between Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc in the match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium. Starc had something to say after Pollard survived a sharp bouncer from the bowler; Pollard shooed him away. As the bowler ran in for the next ball, Pollard moved away at the last moment to rile the bowler, but Starc went ahead and aimed the ball at the batsman. Riled, Pollard charged and swung the bat. The bat slipped out of the hand and it can’t be said for sure if it was intentional or not. The heated atmosphere made for great television but showed the game in bad light. Both players were lucky to get away with only fines.After the run-out, only Amit Mishra failed to see the funny side•BCCIMishra’s hall-of-fame entry
With three balls remaining in the Sunrisers Hyderabad innings against Rajasthan Royals, and Irfan Pathan at the other end, Amit Mishra could hardly be faulted for trying to sneak a bye. Irfan, however, wasn’t interested. With Mishra in the middle of the pitch, Sanju Samson, the wicketkeeper, shied at the stumps and missed. James Faulkner, the bowler, gathered the ball and fired it back at the striker’s end with Mishra still loitering in the middle of the pitch. He missed it, too. Samson finally managed to strike the stumps, with Mishra still out of his crease. The batsman could have saved himself had he not given up in this game of [seven stones] between Samson and Faulkner. After the run-out, only Mishra failed to see the funny side.
