The IPL 2023 final saw one of the most spectacular finishes to a tournament in recent memory, with Ravindra Jadeja hitting the final two balls of Chennai Super Kings’ chase for six and four to seal CSK’s fifth IPL title against the Gujarat Titans.
It was the 10th time in this year’s tournament a game had been decided on the final ball of the game, with Gujarat on the losing side in three of them.
From Rinku Singh’s extraordinary onslaught to Jadeja’s title-clinching boundaries, here are all the last-ball finishes at IPL 2023
IPL 2023: Every last ball finish in this year’s Indian Premier League
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Gujarat Titans by three wickets, Match 13
KKR faced an uphill battle throughout their chase after Vijay Shankar’s 63 from 24 balls lifted the Titans to 204-5, and victory looked a long way off when Mohammad Shami bowled a tight 18th over that left them needing 43 off of 12 balls.
The equation was soon 39 from eight, but then Rinku Singh hit the final two balls of Josh Little’s over for four and six.
After regaining the strike on the first ball of the last over, Singh hit Yash Dayal for an extraordinary five sixes off the final five balls, taking Kolkata to a remarkable three-wicket win.
Lucknow Super Giants beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by one wicket, Match 15
Lucknow were cruising in their chase of 212 when Nicholas Pooran fell for 62 from just 19 deliveries, with 24 needed from three overs and four wickets in hand.
It was even simpler 12 balls later, with five needed from the last over and Lucknow seven down . Having gone for 44 off his first three overs, Harshal Patel produced an excellent final over, taking two wickets and going for just four runs off his first five balls to leave the score level with one ball remaining.
Avesh Khan then missed the final ball, but scampered through for a bye after Dinesh Karthik fumbled the ball to complete a victory that had looked much more straightforward a few minutes earlier.
Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets, Match 16
With both sides chasing their first win of the tournament, Mumbai came into final over with six wickets in hand and five needed to beat Delhi’s 172.
Anrich Nortje, whose previous three overs had cost 30, found his form at the death and should have had a wicket with his second ball as Tim David was dropped at midwicket.
The South African conceded just three from the first five balls but missed his yorker off the last, allowing David to punt it out to long off and scramble back for a tight second.
Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings by three runs, Match 17
Chasing 21 from a final over is a big ask, but few would have ruled Chennai out with the ultra-experienced pair of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja at the crease.
Sandeep Sharma did CSK a bit of a favour by starting with two wides, and the tide looked to have turned after Dhoni got the crowd up with two sixes that left the equation at seven from three.
Sharma held his nerve, though, ending the game with three balls for three runs. His last delivery was an excellent yorker, which the CSK captain could only hit for a single when five were needed to win.
Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by four wickets, Match 41
CSK were involved in another tight finish two weeks later, after Devon Conway’s 92 propelled them up to 200-4.
The Kings just about kept up with the rate throughout as five of the top six passed 20, leaving them with nine needed off the last six balls.
Despite not finding the boundary, Sikandar Raza and Shakrukh Khan ran hard and ended up needing three of the final delivery, which they managed after Raza squeezed a short ball towards the square leg boundary.
Delhi Capitals beat Gujarat Titans by five runs, Match 44
In an unusually low-scoring game, Delhi’s excellent bowling performance gave them a good chance of defending 130, with the Titans reeling at 98-5 after 18 overs.
Rahul Tewatia then brought the game to life with three sixes in a row off Anrich Nortje’s 19th over, leaving Gujarat needing 12 from the last over.
Ishant Sharma showed his class as he dismissed Tewatia, and left the visitors needing six to tie off the last ball. He missed his yorker and bowled an inviting full toss, but Rashid Khan could only slice it over backwards point for a single.
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five runs, Match 47
While it tends to be batters that make their name in final ball wins, a tight final over can make just as big a difference as a Rinku Singh-esque onslaught.
A stop-start chase for the Sunrisers left them needing nine to win from the final over in their chase, of 171, albeit with just three wickets in hand.
Varun Chakravarthy then went for just two runs off the bat in his final over, while also having Abdul Samad caught at deep mid-wicket. With six needed off the final ball, the mystery spinner dropped short but Bhuveneshwar Kumar failed to make contact.
Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets, Match 52
Perhaps the most dramatic finish in this year’s IPL came as the Sunrisers chased 217 against Rajasthan.
After contributions from each of the top four, Hyderabad were left needing 16 from Sandeep Sharma’s final over. It started well with eight runs from the first two balls, but soon they needed five off one after a tight response from the bowler.
He looked to have won the game when Abdul Samad was caught at long off, but the tide turned again as Sharma had overstepped and had to bowl the final delivery again. Samad made no mistake the second time, hitting a straight six to secure a gutting loss for Rajasthan.
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Punjab Kings by five wickets, Match 53
If you are going to chase a steep total in the last few overs of an IPL game, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell are a handy pair to have at the crease.
They needed 26 from the last 12 balls, but three sixes from Russell off Sam Curran tilted the game in KKR’s favour as they went into the final over.
With six needed off the last over, it looks as though Kolkata have thrown it away when Russell is run out of the penultimate ball with two runs still needed. Singh had got himself back on strike, though, and cracked the last delivery over fine leg for four to complete another nerveless finish from the 25-year-old.
Chennai Super Kings beat Gujarat Titans by five wickets, IPL final
Fans were made to wait for the IPL’s final result after rain meant the game didn’t finish until almost 2am on the reserve day, but the quality of the finish all but made up for it.
Chasing a revised target of 171, Chennai went into the final over 13 runs away from a fifth IPL title, with Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube at the crease.
It started badly, with just three runs from the first four balls, but then Jadeja lifted Mohit Sharma over his head for six from the penultimate ball, shifting the momentum back in his side’s favour.
The next ball was into the pads, and flicked comfortably away for four by Jadeja, who sealed the IPL trophy in the process.
The post From Rinku Singh’s extraordinary heist to Jadeja’s endgame: Every last-ball finish at IPL 2023 appeared first on Wisden.
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