Efforts in Vain: Top 5 innings of IPL7 coming in a losing cause

The Indian Premier League(IPL) is over so let us begin with the after match. Some post mortem rather, batsmen bat hard and fast to some how get their teams a win. But even the quickest of knocks with even a fifty or hundred don’t guarantee you a win. This is proved with the number of runs these guys have scored and yet ended the second best. Wirdhiman Saha the first and only player to hit a hundred in IPL final would have never imagined they would be the runners up. This happens as part and parcel of the game, so giving them the due importance it should receive. We bring to you the Top 5 innings coming in a losing cause.

1.Suresh Raina 87 CSK v/s KXIP qualifier 2

They had a stiff target of 227 to chase in 20 over’s, lost their first wicket in the initial over. It was this situation that brought Raina in and there was pressure of qualifying and also the mounting run rate. He had his eyes on the goal right from the very first ball and off came this flier. There was no stopping him the ball that touched the bat landed directly 5 rows out of the park. Raina got to the second fastest fifty in IPL with that 16 ball 50 and got to 87 off 25 balls hitting 6 sixes and 12 fours before the most unwanted event happened and he got run out. CSK lost track then on and KXIP won the game the efforts Raina put in were of no use to the team as they lost the match and place in the final as well.

2.Wriddhiman Saha 115* KXIP v/s KKR IPL final

Shah one of the most underrated batsmen and wicket keeper has always been considered a guy good with his glove work and supporting batsman. He was given a bigger role and responsibility by the KXIP and he proved them right. On the most important match of the season the finale he was sent ahead of Maxwell and Miller to get KXIP a good score. Saha batted sensibly in the start and took the charge later on to hit 10 x 4 and 8 x 6 in his explosive knock of 115* that came in just 55 balls. Though KKR had the better of KXIP in the match it was his innings that gave them the chance to fight.

3.Yuvraj Singh 83 RCB v/s RR match 35

The talk of the town was RCB picking Yuvraj up and that too for a whooping 14 Cr contract. Yuvraj was thoroughly criticized for the poor form and game he had in the World T20 that India eventually lost. RCB had shown immense faith and Yuvi failed to deliver, poor form continued till this innings when trademark Yuvraj Singh drives, flicks flew out of his bat into and over the advertising boards. He hit equal number of fours and sixes 7 of them each and scored blazing 83 off just 38 balls and got his team to a total of 190 in 20 overs. But that was not enough RR fire power was more than what RCB could take and composed knocks from Karun, Smith and Faulkner’s pinch hitting in the end got RR home with 7 balls to spare. A gem of an innings but was of no use for his team eventually.

4.Naman Ojha 79 SRH v/s KXIP match 39

Sun Risers Hyderabad were up batting first against the all mighty KXIP who have grown themselves the reputation of being the best chasers chasing 200+ quite comfortably. They needed some quick innings and when it looked like they would get a mediocre score Naman emerged. An innings studded with 7 x 6’s and 4 x 4’s he smacked the KXIP bowlers to get to 79 in 36 balls at a strike rate of 219.4. But in the end that did not prove enough as Maxwell and later Bailey’s hard hitting got KXIP ahead of the target.

5.Sanju Samson 74 RR v/s MI match 56

Sanju Samson was inches away from being type casted as someone with talent but no application. Samson always showed glimpses of what he could do a smaller one. He would walk in with lot of expectations from the fans that he has already made and make them excited with a few clean mean hits. A six to one of the better fast bowlers or some quality spinner and eventually get out with a false shot. In this particular innings he played differently held himself from throwing it away to bail RR out of trouble that they were in by the fall of quick wickets. Seven 4’s and 3 sixes he hit in all in this knock and announced to the world there was much more to his batting than only cameos. But it was Anderson’s night and to get his team to qualify ahead of RR he played a blinder and MI chased down 190 in less than 15 over’s. In a losing cause no doubt but innings worth remembering from the youngster.