Edited by Puneet Bhatia
Camera by Shiv Kumar Maurya
60 matches, four playoff qualifiers and one champion - Mumbai Indians. Weekends of double-headers, multiple late nights, and more – the 2019 IPL has finally ended. The final match saw Chennai playing Mumbai for the fourth time in an IPL final.
As Mumbai Indians lifted their fourth title on Sunday, 12 May, there have been enough big headlines and broken records in the last six weeks to make this one of the most interesting IPLs in the tournament’s history.
Here are 10 of the big moments from the league stage of the tournament so far.
1. Ashwin’s ‘Mankading’
Can’t not start with The most controversial run-up in this IPL. The run-up that saw a wicket but no delivery being bowled. Ravichandran Ashwin’s ‘Mankading’ of Jos Buttler was one of the earliest flash-points this season.
Rajasthan were cruising at 108/1 but after Ashwin’s move, they not only lost Buttler but also gave away the next 7 wickets for 62 runs and eventually lost the match as well.
What Ashwin did was within the rules but was it within the spirit of the game?
2. Delhi’s ‘Capital’ Turnaround
They changed their name, their jersey and even got new co-owners and after all that –and after 7 long years– Delhi Capitals are finally in the playoffs once again. The team was in fact the first franchise to book their slot in the semis. Kagiso Rabada, the league’s highest wicket-taker though is back in South Africa with an injury so let's see what Ponting and Ganguly have up their sleeve now.
3. Two Super Overs
This was also the season that got to see not one, but two Super overs. Two matches that got decided by 2 overs.
Rabada’s crazy over against KKR and then Jasprit Bumrah’s ‘bowling out’ of Hyderabad.
4. ‘Captain Cool’ Has a Moment
Playing Rajasthan, CSK went from 24/4 to needing 18 runs off 6 balls with Dhoni at the crease. The skipper though got out to Stokes’ delivery but it was the next ball that infuriated him. Stokes bowled slower full toss and while leg umpire Bruce Oxenford didn't raise his arm, Ulhas Gandhe did and the buzzer also went off in the stadium to signal a no-ball. Gandhe however then dropped his arm and changed the earlier call.
This saw MS Dhoni storm into the field and confront the umpires. The no ball was not given but CSK did eventually win the match with Santner hitting a six off the last ball.
5. Dre Russ Damage
Almost no team was spared as Andre Russell proved why he’s still to be counted among the most feared all-rounders in world cricket.
A man on a mission, this Windies all-rounder finished the season as KKR’s top scorer and wicket taker. He’s spoken his mind when he wanted to bat higher and used his bat when he wanted to prove just why. Riding on his stupendous IPL form he’s made a comeback to the West Indian national team for the World Cup and with KKR now out
lets hope those injuries get time to heal.
6. Virat’s RCB Struggles
This IPL started with us having to witness a different side of Virat Kohli. No more the aggressive, vocal skipper RCB’s 6 straight defeats visibly took a toll on Virat as well but the Indian skipper showed he’s made of stronger stuff as he utilised what resources he had and turned the tide.
A century along the way and RCB even threatened to enter the playoffs, if only weather and some bad selection choices hadn’t come in the way.
7. Six Centuries
Virat wasn’t the only one with a century this season — the 2019 IPL also saw 5 others get to the three-figure mark. Rajasthan’s Rahane and Sanju Samson, Punjab’s KL Rahul,
Hyderabad’s Jonny Bairstow and David Warner all joined the club of the elite.
8. Warner & Bairstow Onslaughts
If Andre Russell was key for KKR, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s opening pair of Bairstow and Warner were an IPL match made in Sunrisers heaven. Warner – with a point to prove – finished as the league’s highest-scorer by quite a margin and along with Bairstow he decimated quite some IPL records.
Their 185 against RCB is IPL’s highest opening partnership and their 791 runs are the
most by an opening pair in any IPL season.
9. Hat-trick Heroes
A little mention of the bowlers now and this IPL we saw two hat-tricks! Sam Curran took out Delhi’s Harshal Patel, Kabada and Lamichhane and then Shreyas Gopal claimed a hat-trick line-up of anyone’s dreams – Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Marcus Stoinis.
10. The Finals of 2019
In a team stacked with stars like Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Shreyas Gopal really managed to grab the spotlight.
He finishes the season as Rajasthan’s top wicket-taker and has contributed with the bat a few times as well. He’s in fact the league stage’s highest Indian wicket-taker. There’s also Riyan Parag – 160 runs in 7 matches including a 50 against Delhi that made him the IPL’s youngest half centurion. RR may have missed the playoffs this year but they sure have given us stars to watch.
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