IPL: 5 decisions that backfired in the tournament history

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is well known for the opportunity that it provides to the cricketers to shine. With multiple superstars sharing the same dressing room with the youngsters, it provides a brilliant learning curve for those who wish to represent their nation one day. Every cricketer wishes to become a part of the IPL not only because of the money but also because of the window it provides. 

IPL has witnessed the rise of some brilliant sportsmen, who have later performed well for the nation. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, and many more to name, they have proved what the IPL means to the world of cricket. The competition is so tough that it is difficult even for the superstars of foreign leagues to make a name for themselves. This paves the way for few blunders in the league.

In this competitive league, there have been few instances where the risk did not pay off. As a result, the team lost and there was an impact on the points table in that particular year. With multiple seasons, the fans have witnessed these incidents. And they have been inscribed in the history books of the tournament.

Let us have a look at the 5 Decisions that backfired in the IPL

5. AB de Villiers being demoted against KXIP in the 2020 season of the IPL

AB de Villiers is one of the most productive batsmen in the history of the game. His wide range of shots is an asset for any team he plays for. Adding on, he has been the savior for RCB since he has played for them. But last year, the RCB management made a huge blunder by demoting the South African superstar.

During a match against the KXIP (now Punjab Kings), the RCB management promoted Washington Sundar ahead of de Villiers. This decision was taken because the team wanted to make a left-right combination. But it backfired, mainly because Sundar scored 13 off 14 balls and got only a single boundary.

What made it even worse is the fact that they promoted Shivam Dube ahead of AB de Villiers. Dube scored 23 off 19 balls with two sixes. Another poor move in the same match made the matter worse for RCB. But thanks to Chris Morris, they managed to scramble towards a healthy score. 

4. Samson refusing to take a single off the penultimate ball

Sanju Samson is known for his talent with the bat. Over the years, he has played some career-defining innings for the Rajasthan Royals. He has been an asset for the Royals. The fact that they have made him the skipper makes it even more certain that he is their man for the future. 

On 12th April 2021, in a game against the Punjab Kings, Rajasthan had a poor outing with the ball. Punjab Kings managed to score a huge total of 221/6 in their 20 overs. Well, it was a nightmare start for the Royals as they lost Ben Stokes early on for a duck. Jos Buttler tried to up the ante by scoring five boundaries, but what came after that was absolute class from the Kerala-born batsman. 

Samson has this Rohit Sharma-like ability to have that extra second to time the ball. Well, he was in full flow as he scored 119 runs off just 63 balls. With seven sixes and twelve boundaries, he was on his way to lead Rajasthan to victory. But Arshdeep Singh had some other ideas.

The cool and calm bowler from Punjab managed to hold on to his nerves during the final over. With 5 required off 2 balls, Samson tried to smash the ball out of the park, but with no timing, it went straight to the fielder. With Morris at the other end, one would have run the single. But, Samson refused. With 5 required off the last ball, he was caught at the boundary ropes. As a result of which Rajasthan lost. 

3. KXIP opted for Pooran during the super over against DC in 2020 IPL

During the first half of the IPL, the Punjab Kings made some comical errors. While the team combination was never right, they failed to cash in during the vital stages of the game. As a result, they failed to reach the playoffs even after an awesome comeback during the latter half of the tournament. It all started during their first game.

It was an umpiring error (short-run) as they managed to score 157/8 in reply to Delhi Capital’s reply of the same score. During the match, Mohammed Shami bowled a brilliant spell 3/15. With the help of Marcus Stoinis’ efforts, Delhi scrambled to 157/8 in 20 overs. And Punjab had a solid start to the reply.

They started brilliantly, as Mayank scored 89 off 60 balls. But, Kagiso Rabada managed to bowl effectively as he scored 2/28 in 4 overs. As a result, the match went to the Super Over. But, here they committed a huge mistake by opting for the out of form Pooran. While chasing 3, DC’s Rishabh Pant scored 2 runs as they reached the victory mark comfortably.

2. Daniel Vettori gave Virat Kohli the 19th over against Morkel

It was the 2012 season of the Indian Premier League. While batting first, the Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to score 205 in 20 overs. 

Faf du Plessis’ 71 gave the Chennai Super Kings a good start. But RCB’s bowlers performed exceedingly well, and the CSK batsmen failed to make use of the starts, as the chase was becoming tougher for them. With 43 runs required off the last two overs, captain Daniel Vettori gave the ball to Virat Kohli. It was a huge blunder as CSK’s Albie Morkel had some other ideas. 

He smashed 28 runs off Virat Kohli’s over. It was poor captaincy from Vettori as Virat Kohli is not even a part-timer. Vettori had finished all the overs of his prime bowlers. With 15 required off the last over, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja managed to drag CSK over the victory line somehow.  

1. Pune Warriors opting to field on a flat Bangalore track, Gayle scoring 175 off 66 balls

This is the biggest blunder in the history of the IPL. On a flat Bangalore track, captain Aaron Finch made a poor decision of bowling first. What happened later made Chris Gayle an ambassador of the format. He smashed 175 runs from 66 balls to destroy the bowlers of the Pune Warriors. On that day, the fans witnessed what Gayle can do on his day.

During that innings, he smashed 13 fours and 17 sixes. A strike rate of 265.15 was nothing short of spectacular for the fans. He scored with ease and he took a few singles during his innings. Gayle smashed Finch for 29 runs in a single over.

But during that mayhem, only one bowler was economical for the Pune Warriors, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded only 23 runs from four overs. But his efforts went in vain as his team managed to score 133 runs from 20 overs.