CT IPL Flashback: When Yusuf Pathan made Dale Steyn look like an ordinary bowler

Since the shortest format of the game came to the fore, the power hitters were the instant hits. There were numerous batsmen like Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum who could send the ball out of the park at will. India has had their very own Yusuf Pathan who sticks out with the likes. His immense hitting abilities made him a successful T20 batsman.

Although he hasn’t been a part of the Indian national team for quite some time, still he has been an integral part of the Indian Premier League. He has played some blistering innings over the years but one that stands out is the outburst against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2014 edition.

The story before the game

It was the 54th match of the 7th season and the last one for KKR in the group stage. Though they were already in a playoff spot yet they needed to win big to finish in the top 2. The top 2 teams on the points table have an added advantage in the playoffs. They face off against each other in the first qualifier and the who loses does not crash of the tournament. The loser play against the winner of the eliminator match between the third and the fourth place sides and another bite at the cherry to qualify for the final.

Before the game, KXIP were sitting pretty at the top with 20 points and were assured of the pole position. KKR had 16 points in their account and CSK were at 18. KKR needed to win by a substantial margin against SRH to get ahead of CSK in terms of the run rate. If they lost, they would still be in the final four and a win without beating CSK’s net run rate would put them in the third spot and hence the second place was up for grabs.

SRH put up a decent total

It was the Knight Riders who were playing the hosts, won the toss and asked Sunrisers to bat first. The opener David Warner was cleaned up by Morne Morkel off the second delivery of the match. It was followed by a half-century partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Naman Ojha. The innings gained good pace but both the batsmen departed in quick successions.

From then on, wickets kept falling at regular intervals but a healthy run-rate was maintained right through. Darren Sammy played the role of a catalyst by scoring 29 off just 19 balls with 3 sixes and a four. They ended with the score of 160/7 which meant that KKR needed to score those runs inside 15.2 overs to outclass the net run rate of CSK.

KKR got into a tangle

In reply, KKR made a fast start with the skipper Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa going after the bowling from the outset. They added 43 runs off 28 balls before Gambhir was castled by Jason Holder. Manish Pandey struggled to get going at number 3 and was sent back by Karn Sharma for just 2 runs off 7 balls. Yusuf Pathan was sent out to bat at number 4 post his dismissal.

But all hells broke loose when Sharma picked up the big wicket of Uthappa sending the right-hander packing for 41 off 30 balls. Two balls later, Ryan Ten Doeschate was run out owing to a confusion in running between the wickets with Yusuf. KKR were reduced to 78/4 after 9.4 overs having to get 83 runs still off 34 balls to make it to the top 2.

Yusuf came into his own

It seemed tough for KKR from there to get the runs in the required number of overs and the onus was on Yusuf to take them there. Parvez Rasool came into the attack in the 11th over and he was literally taken apart by Yusuf. The first ball went for a colossal six over the square leg boundary, the fourth went to the third man boundary off a thick outside edge.

The fifth was hit to the deep backward square leg where Steyn spilled a catch and the ball went past the rope for another maximum and the last one went for another four to make it 22 from the over. Karn Sharma wasn’t reprieved as he too was hit for two towering sixes in the next over. But it also included the dismissal of Shakib Al Hasan when he tried to match Yusuf but failed and was caught on the long off fence. It was then completely up to Yusuf to take them home.

The over from Steyn arrived

45 runs were still required off 20 balls when Yusuf was in full flow. The skipper Sammy turned to his best bowler Dale Steyn to bowl the 13th over. SRH focussed totally on getting Yusuf out and Steyn was trusted with the job but what Yusuf did next to him, would haunt him for the years to come.

First Ball

Steyn ran in and bowled a fast delivery reading 142.7kph, back of a length and outside off which was sent back past the bowler at an equal pace to the boundary.

Second Ball

It was short and outside off and at 144.7kph to which Yusuf slammed a six over deep mid-wicket to bring up his half-century off just 15 balls which also was the fastest fifty in the league.

Third Ball

A length ball outside off and it was tonked over long-off for another six. The KKR dug-out was on its feet and the capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens was filled with joy.

Fourth Ball

Steyn over compensated and bowled a short ball on the leg stump to which Yusuf swiveled and collected a boundary to fine leg. The bowler was perplexed and had no idea what had just transpired.

Fifth Ball

Another length ball outside off and this time an outside edge carried to the third man boundary. Steyn just smiled and nodded as if he knew then that it was Yusuf’s night and even he could not stop him.

Sixth Ball

Finally, a yorker was bowled right and Yusuf still managed a couple towards the deep backward square leg. A total of 26 runs were scored off Steyn that brought the equation down to 19 runs off 14 balls.

In the next over, he hit another six off Karn Sharma over deep mid-wicket but lost his wicket off the next ball in the pursuit of hitting another one at the same position. He was gone before finishing the game but not before putting his team on the brink of a top 2 position. He scored 72 runs off only 22 balls that included 5 fours and 7 sixes.

Four balls later, KKR chased the target down in 14.3 overs, 5 balls shy off the initial target. They finished in the number 2 spot on the points table pulling CSK down. Yusuf Pathan was desrvedly adjudged the Man of the Match.