For our pick of 'The Most Thrilling IPL Game Of All Time', we head back to the final game of the 2014 IPL league stage. In what remains as one the most surreal game in cricket, the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) battled it out for the 4th playoff spot at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Mumbai's season began disastrously as they lost their opening 5 games (all played in the UAE) and going into their 6th game, they only had a mathematical probability of qualifying. Miraculously, after a lot of other results went their way, Mumbai came into the final game of the league stage ranked 5th with 12 points and an outside chance of qualification. On the other hand, the Rajasthan Royals, who had an average season, were currently ranked 4th with 14 points and had a better net run-rate than MI's. To move ahead on run-rate and qualify, Mumbai had to beat the Royals by a margin of at least 42 runs batting first or chase down the required target in 87 balls (14.3 overs).
So, in front of a packed Wankhede, MI won the toss and chose to field. The evening started well for the home side as they restricted the Royals to 35 in the powerplay. Shane Watson, who was struggling and batted out a maiden from Jasprit Bumrah in the second over, holed out to Harbajhan Singh in the 5th when he found Pollard in the deep. Their skipper's departure, after a miserable 8 off 18, allowed RR to score freely again. 19-year-old Sanju Samson was joined by 22-year-old Karun Nair at the crease and the young pair put on a sublime 100-run partnership that took the game right of MI's hands. The two first consolidated the innings to 59/1 before launching into Mumbai's spinners.
Nair dispatched Shreyas Gopal for 3 fours and a six in the 11th over, before hitting Pragyan Ojha for 2 fours and a six in the 13th. Samson hammered boundaries off Pollard in the 12th and maximums off Harbajhan in the 14th. Between overs 11-15, the young duo scored above 10 off every bowler and smashed 75 runs. The Royals were now cruising at 134/1 in the 15th when the ever-consistent Bumrah finally got the breakthrough for MI, dismissing Nair on 50 off 27 in the last ball of the 15th over. Samson, having scored 74 off 47, fell in the very next over to Gopal and suddenly RR found themselves in the midst of a collapse. After a couple of quiet overs, newcomers Brad Hodge and James Faulkner continued the onslaught by hitting 46 of the last 3 overs and took the total to 189/4 after 20-overs. This meant Mumbai would have to chase 190 in 14.3 overs (87 balls) at a run-rate of 13.3 in-order to qualify- A near-impossible task.
The Mumbai openers, Mike Hussey and Lendl Simmons, came out swinging in the second innings. Simmons hit Faulkner for 3 boundaries in the first over, while Hussey smashed Dhawal Kulkarni for six in his very first ball. However, Rajasthan struck back in the second over when Simmons mistimed one to mid-on and MI were now 19/1. Corey Anderson walked in at 3 and he thumped Watson for 4 and 6 off the first two balls he faced. Anderson and Hussey ravaged on as the 3rd and 4th overs went for 15 and 19 respectively. But in the 5th over MI nearly collapsed, as Kevon Cooper bagged the wickets of Hussey (22 off 11) and Pollard (7 off 3). After Cooper continued to bamboozle MI's batsmen in a 7th over that went for just 4, MI was 75/3 needing 115 off 45 balls to qualify. However, the free-flowing Anderson at the other end kept the innings intact and MI hopes alive. The Kiwi shovelled and slog-swept Pravin Tambe's leg-breaks for fours and sixes in the 8th before smoking Cooper through extra-cover and long-on for 15 runs in the 9th. Then an eventful 10th over saw Rohit Sharma (16 off 11) hole out to Kulkarni, Anderson reach fifty (off 25 balls) with a maximum, and Ambati Rayadu survive a run-out as Kulkarni missed the stumps with ball in hand (a crucial mistake). The 11th and 12th overs were absolutely massive as Anderson and Ambati Rayadu combined to pick apart Faulkner and Watson for 19 and 18 runs respectively. Going into the 13th, MI were at an unimaginable 157/4 but still needed 33 off 15 to qualify. With Anderson and Rayadu contributing with a boundary each, Cooper's 13th over went for 13 and MI now needed 20 off 9. Tambe was entrusted to delay the onslaught in the 14th, but the over (which included two Anderson boundaries) went for 11.
With MI needing 9 off 3 in-front of a roaring Wankhede crowd, Anderson (who was on 94 off 43) was only able to manage a single off Faulkner's first. This put Rayadu on strike needing 8 off 2. But this equation shifted heavily in Mumbai's favour as Rayadu launched Faulkner's leg-side full-toss over long-leg for six. What was once a confident RR dugout was now silent with prayer. MI needed 2 off the third ball of this 15th over to qualify. The entire season for both theses sides boiled down to this. Faulkner bowled a shortish ball but Rayadu mistimed his pull and the ball travelled only as far as Watson at short cover. Rayadu would have been run-out had Shane Watson hit at the bowler's end, but the throw was inaccurate and Rayudu (30 off 10) was eventually run out attempting an improbable second off the overthrow that would have given Mumbai all they needed. Following his dismissal, Rayadu sank to his knees gutted at the thought that they had come so agonizingly close and there was pin-drop silence in the Wankhede. The Royals, who were barely celebrating, seemed more relieved than elated. If there was ever an anti-climactic ending, this was it.
Then confusion broke out on the field. After 14.3 overs, MI may have not won but they had tied RR's score of 189. Substitutes came running onto the field with news that the game was not done yet, and players crowded around the umpires for clarification. The commentator, Ravi Sashtri, said, "the calculators are going for a toss" as statisticians calculated that a boundary off the next ball (4th ball of the 15th over) would take MI's run-rate just above RR's. There was a delay for several minutes before all the players were informed and things got sorted out. Anderson was at the non-strikers' end which meant the new batsman Aditya Tare, who would've had no clue that his team could still qualify while walking into bat, was now going to face Faulkner with the task of hitting a boundary on his very first ball.
Faulkner ran in and bowled a staggeringly loose full toss on leg-stump which Tare carted over square-leg for six. Mumbai had qualified! But Faulkner wasn't the only one who choked, Ravi Sastri (in the commentary box) exclaimed, " and it's Ambati Rayadu once again, in fact, it's Tare who's come out and hit a first-ball sixer." Anyways, The Wankhede erupted, Tare pulled his shirt over his head and ran to the dug-out with Anderson in close pursuit, while the MI dug-out streamed onto the field to greet their heroes. Meanwhile, in the opposite dug-out, a normally cool-headed Rahul Dravid threw down his cap in frustration.
Just as Rajasthan's season ended on the last day of the league stage, Mumbai's celebrations were also short-lived as they were promptly knocked out of the IPL three days later when they lost to CSK in the eliminator. Both teams came back stronger in the 2015 season as they both qualified in not so dramatic fashion.
Nevertheless, this was a game of epic proportions and it's still quite hard to believe that MI hit 195 in 14.4 overs. I like to think that Mumbai would've gone on to beat RCB's record innings score of 263 (against PWI in 2013) if they could've continued till 20 overs. Corey Anderson, who had a terrible season till then, was only chosen to play as MI were in desperate need of a big-hitter and he delivered with 95 off 44. I was breathless after watching this game as a 10-year-old on 25th May 2014 and writing about it still sends chills down my spine today.
- By Sriram Chidambaram
Comments