Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Over the course of the IPL's checkered 17-year-history, there have been countless match winning and blazing innings and that too, by some of the most revered names on the T20 horizon that have both inspired fans and entertained them. Right from Christopher Henry Gayle's brilliant 175 to AB de Villiers' dashing fifties to Virat Kohli's centuries and even Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer's magnificent batting, fans have been on their tenterhooks.
The IPL batters have conducted themselves as live wires with the cricket bat but over the course of so many past editions, some players have made themselves in a special league, firing lots of vital runs that have come in the big final stage of the IPL contests.
So who are these batters and which have been some brilliant past innings that have made an IPL final a one-of-a-kind cricketing spectacle? Here's presenting you 5 such knocks:
Watto Power in 2018 IPL Final (117* off 57)
Shane Watson has been a champion all-rounder, albeit one whose career could actually have gone a longer distance had it not been for injuries and their recurrence. Even then, he jumped, dived, won games, inspired fans, and made lots of T20 runs and took vital wickets when it most mattered.
He's been a class act for the better part of his IPL career, one of whose important knocks came in the year 2018.
Set 179 to win, Watto, as he's famously called to this day, ended up spoiling Hyderabad's plans in scoring a brilliant, whirlwind 117 off his own. He took just 57 odd deliveries in yun.
Wriddhiman Saha's batting belligerence in 2014 Final (115* off 55)
In the 2014 final of the Indian Premier League, it was the Punjab team that reached the eventuality of the contest but for the first time ever. Naturally, the pressure was intense and someone had to shine with the bat.
Even though the final contest was lost by Punjab thanks to Kolkata Knight Riders playing a brilliant game back in the day, the man that made the biggest headlines during that time was none other than Saha, now retired from the IPL as well as the Indian national team.
On that occassion, the gutsy but daintily-built right hander stepped into absorb all the pressure and hit 115* beautiful runs. He consumed just 55 balls in that games, during which he'd strike 10 fours and 8 sixes.
Though Punjab lost on that occasion, a new valiant hero emerged on the middle. Saha, in his inimitable style.
Murali Vijay's heroics in the IPL 2011 Final (95 off 52)
Here was one of the most classical and stylish batters of all time where it comes to the Indian Premier League and someone who even played a few Test matches for India, batting right at the top of the order.
But back in the day, which now is around 14 years back in time, Murali used to open for the famed CSK unit as well and one great heroic knock was played in the all-important 2011 final.
Under MS Dhoni's astute leadership during which CSK claimed their second-consecutive IPL title at that time, Murali's batting shone bright for the team.
He'd fire 95 precious runs and took no more than just 52 odd deliveries in getting their. The highest score for the CSK team in that game, Murali's aggressive batting helped Chennai to a big 200-plus score which proved too big an ask for the famed RCB side.
Faf du Plessis shines in the IPL 2021 Final (86 off 59)
There's always been a sense of ease and class with which Faf du Plessis goes about scoring his runs. To many fans out there, for whom South Africa are a bundle of nerves and might not a team branded loosely as chokers, Faf du Plessis is akin to a last lion of sorts.
And he put his ingenious batting talent to good measure for Chennai back in the day wherein he scored an unbeaten 80 in the edition's 2019 final.
Sadly, the measured and composed knock wasn't enough to enable a CSK triumph as the Mumbai Indians would edge past them by just 1 run.
But Faf alone made 80 of his team's eventual 148 runs.
Sai Sudharsan's heroics for Gujarat in 2023 Final (96 off 47)
Elegant, superb, committed and one who sticks to his plan; there's something simple and refreshing about the talented left-hander who has really made his spot in the GT unit a place of his own.
Two years back in the day, he was responsible for playing a valiant knock wherein he'd top score for the Titans, having played like one himself on that occasion.
Even as his team lost the final to Chennai, the elegant hitter of runs scored a memorable 76 that just came off 47 deliveries.
A great knock in a rain-affected game but one that despite it being on the wrong side of the result, made Gujarat find a titan of a batter for the future, someone who's hopefully going to have a long future for Team India!
