Biggest mistakes in IPL
The Indian Premier League is one of the biggest T20 leagues in the world. IPL has set the standard so high that many big cricketers at times fail to perform due to pressure and hence every step taken is carefully measured, leaving no room for errors because a small blunder can not just cost the team’s winning potential but can also lose playoff chances if there occurs to be any. For the past many years, there have been teams and players who have made numerous which emerged out to be very expensive. Here we bring to you some of the biggest mistakes in IPL history.
MS Dhoni opting to field first in the IPL 2015 Final
MS Dhoni is known for his decision-making skills, however, there were few instances where even he got it incorrect.
During the finals of the 2015 IPL against rivals MI. While all the cricket gurus expected that the team winning the toss should bat first, the skipper MS Dhoni begged to differ. He won the toss and chose to field first.
The general perception is to get to a good score and make the opposition chase since chasing is always difficult in the finals due to the pressure, as expected, this call backfired as Chennai failed to chase the target and lost the match. MI won the match by 41 runs and ended up winning the title.
Pollard batting down the order in the IPL 2010 Final
Mumbai Indians are undeniably the toughest team in the history of IPL. No team has been able to imitate Mumbai’s legacy. However, despite all their feats, even they have committed blunders in the past.
It was during the all-important final in 2010 when Mumbai decided to make Pollard bat down the order. Pollard was in the superb form then and coming down the order at no 8 was one of the biggest mistakes.
When he came to bat, the score read 114-6 with only 20 balls to win the match for his team. He ended up with a score of 27 runs in 10 deliveries at a strike rate of 270. And Mumbai later lost to Chennai by 22 runs.
Punjab Kings sending Prabhsimran Singh instead of Glenn Maxwell
Punjab needed just 21 runs from the 16 balls and still ended up losing the match. After Mayank Agarwal’s wicket, Punjab sent Prabhsimran instead of the experienced Glenn Maxwell.
Prabhsimran struggled throughout the innings and was only able to score 4 runs from 7 balls. And when the Australian all-rounder came in, it was too late to convert the match into the winning side. And hence Kolkata ended up winning that game by 2 runs.
Virat Kohli bowling the 19th over vs Albie Morkel
The Morkel brothers were all over the place in 2012, courtesy of their extraordinary form. This time, it was Albie Morkel who made Bangalore suffer. The then skipper of Bangalore Daniel Vettori ended up giving the ball to Virat Kohli in the 2nd last over of the 2nd innings against Chennai in 2012. Chennai had to chase 38 runs in 2 overs and the game looked to be going out of CSK’s hands. However, Kohli bowling the death over meant that Chennai was still in the running to win the match.
And that’s when Albie Morkel ended up smashing Virat for 28 runs in the 2nd last over and changed the game entirely. And later Chennai needed only 10 runs in the final over which they did.
Corey Anderson bowling the final over against MS Dhoni
This is regarded as one of the biggest blunders in IPL history. The Bangalore captain gave away the match which they could have won easily. It was the move to give Corey Anderson the final over that turned out to be costly and later even cost them the playoffs.
CSK required 16 runs from the last over and Kohli gave the ball to Corey Anderson. And MS Dhoni made sure to utilize the opportunity for his team’s winning cause.
