The world’s most prestigious T20 fest, the Indian Premier League has given so much entertainment in past years that the cricket fans would never be enough of it.
The decorum and class that this league has been able to maintain over the years, is commendable. There might be similar leagues from other nations but none of them came close to IPL’s monstrosity.
In 13 years of its accomplishments, IPL has seen some astonishing moments. Today, we are going to talk about the top 15 moments IPL had us cheering on top of our lungs!
The 15 Best IPL Matches of all Time – Simply Mindblowing!
Here are our top picks for the 15 best IPL matches of all time:
15. CSK vs KXIP, 16th match, 2010
Scorecard
| CSK | 136/8 |
| KXIP | 136/7 |
| Result | Tied (KXIP won the one-over eliminator |
It was the 16th match of the 3rd IPL season that brought fans to the edge of their seats. The visitors, Kings 11 Punjab were coerced by Muthiah Muralidaran’s spin wizardry when they came out to bat.
Muralidaran took 3 wickets and leaked only 16 runs in his 4 overs quota. Albie Morkel bowled wisely that fetched him two crucial wickets. But Yuvraj Singh’s 43 runs off just 28 balls took Punjab to 136/7.
It did not seem like a very challenging target when Chennai openers introduced the willow with a 65 run partnership.
But it all came out to be a thriller when they were restricted just before the winning score and the match tied. In Super Over, Punjab chased 9 runs made by CSK with two balls remaining.
14. CSK vs KXIP, 3rd match, 2014
Scorecard
| CSK | 205/4 |
| KXIP | 206/4 |
| Result | KXIP won by 6 wickets |
This match was nothing short of less than a batting masterclass from both teams.
On Abu Dhabi’s batting-friendly wicket, CSK made 205/4 with explosive fifties from Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum.
As openers, this duo added 123 runs for the first wicket in 12.4 overs. Dhoni’s witty cameo of 26 runs off 11 balls helped them set a difficult target.
Punjab retaliated as Glenn Maxwell, simply, destroyed the CSK bowling unit with his 95 off 43 balls that included 15 fours and 2 sixes.
In the end, David Miller’s 53 runs off 37 balls took Punjab over the finishing line with 7 balls remaining.
13. CSK vs KKR, 28th match, 2015
Scorecard
| CSK | 134/6 |
| KKR | 132/9 |
| Result | CSK won by 2 runs |
On the home ground, Chennai’s batting was challenged by the collective bowling efforts from Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawala and Andre Russel that constrained CSK’s score under 140.
Some cameos from Dwayne Smith and Faf du Plessis stretched them to 134. But considering the pitch, it was not an easy task to chase the target.
In the second innings, Robin Uthappa went for an explosive start for KKR with his 39 off 17 balls.
But it was negated by the geniuses of CSK bowlers. Dwayne Bravo bagged 3 wickets and Ashwin’s outstanding figures of 2-0-5-2 helped them clinch a thrilling win by 2 runs.
12. RCB vs SRH, Final, 2016
Scorecard
| SRH | 208/7 |
| RCB | 200/7 |
| Result | SRH won by 8 runs |
It was one of those emotionally charged matches that each team’s fan base wanted to be drenched under the championship pride.
SRH batted first and David Warner’s 69 off 38 balls took them to a flier. With important and flashy cameos from Yuvraj Singh and Ben Cutting, Hyderabad set a target of 209 runs.
Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle gave an astounding start as they partnered for 114 runs in just 10.3 overs.
But the plot twist came when Ben Cutting got Gayle. It was then just a matter of time that the RCB hurdled just 8 runs behind from its first-ever IPL trophy while the SRH won the ultimate title.
Watch it here: https://www.iplt20.com/video/4695/m60-rcb-vs-srh-match-highlights
11. MI vs PBKS, 36th match, 2020
Scorecard
| MI | 176/6 |
| PBKS | 176/6 |
| Result | Tied (KP won the one-over eliminator) |
2020 was a tough year due to Covid 19 but it was the IPL that brought us joy in those times and the 36th match of the season was a cherry on top.
Mumbai Indians got a fine total of 176 with the help of Quinton De Kock’s fifty and a quickfire 34 off 12 balls from Kieron Pollard.
Punjab King’s chasing campaign was seriously troubled by Mumbai bowlers. They lost wickets frequently but KL Rahul held one end firmly due to which they levelled the score for a tie.
The Super over ended in a tie too for the first time in IPL with both teams making 5 runs. But Punjab Kings chased down 12 runs to beat MI in the second super-over.
10. RCB vs MI, 10th match, 2020
Scorecard
| RCB | 201/3 |
| MI | 201/5 |
| Result | Tied (RCB won the one-over eliminator) |
With Devdutt Paddikal and Aaron Finch’s fifties, Bangalore started incredibly well.
The middle-order was lifted by AB De Villiers brilliant 55 runs off 24 balls that included 4 fours and 4 sixes.
Shivam Dube played a brisk knock at the end which took RCB above 200 runs.
Mumbai was rattled by RCB bowlers as they lost their 3 wickets under 7 overs. But Ishan Kishan stuck his bat and made a breezy 99.
In the end, Kieron Pollard’s fifty ensured the tie-up of Bangalore’s score.
Navdeep Saini bowled a brilliant super over by giving only 7 runs which were chased down by Kohli and co with a last-ball boundary by the captain.
9. DC vs PBKS, 2nd match, 2020
Scorecard
| DC | 157/8 |
| PBKS | 157/8 |
| Result | Tied (DC won the one-over eliminator) |
Delhi Capitals were shaken by the brilliant bowling from Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cotrell at the beginning.
DC was 96/6 in 16 overs at a time until Marcus Stoinis pulled Delhi from a nightmare with his knock of 53 in 21 balls that helped them reach 157.
Punjab Kings didn’t start well as they were reduced to 55 runs with 5 wickets down. But Mayank Agarwal was determined in his actions as he held one end and took Punjab’s score equal to DC’s.
Rabada’s brilliance in Super-over restricted Punjab to only 2 runs. DC chased it inside 3 balls and came out victorious in a nail-biter.
Watch it here: https://www.iplt20.com/video/207152/match-highlights
8. CSK vs KXIP, Qualifier 2, 2014
Scorecard
| CSK | 226/6 |
| KXIP | 202/7 |
| Result | KXIP won by 24 runs |
It was an intense qualifier that would see the losing team out of the tournament.
As Punjab batted first, Virender Sehwag went all out with the willow smacking 122 runs in 58 balls that included 8 sixes and 12 fours.
Punjab finished on 226 with a David Miller quickfire at the end.
CSK did not start well as they lost their first wicket on the 2nd ball of the first over. But then came Suresh Raina and he went better like no other.
Raina got out on 87 runs in just 25 balls. He hit 12 fours and 6 sixes which scared Punjab but they were not able to pull out the chase as Punjab won by 24 runs and made it to the final.
7. CSK vs RR, Final, 2008
Scorecard
| CSK | 163/5 |
| RR | 164/7 |
| Result | RR won by 3 wickets |
The first-ever final of IPL was an interesting one. CSK’s batting was carried by some handy knocks from Raina, Parthiv and Dhoni as they stretched the score to 163.
Yusuf Pathan took 3 wickets for Rajasthan.
RR lost 3 early wickets at 42 runs in 6.4 overs. Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan came to the rescue as they both added 65 runs. Pathan made a wise 59 runs including 4 sixes.
It came down to the last ball as Sohail Tanvir hit the winning run and RR picked the first IPL season trophy.
Yusuf Pathan was given the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance under pressure.
6. KXIP vs KKR, Final, 2014
Scorecard
| KXIP | 199/4 |
| KKR | 200/7 |
| Result | KKR won by 3 wickets |
KXIP lost their 2 wickets in the powerplay with only 30 runs in the bag. Manan Vohra held on end and hit a fifty and Wriddhiman Saha counter-attacked the KKR bowling.
He hit an outstanding 115 runs in 55 balls including 8 sixes and helped Punjab to score 199 runs.
KKR started similarly but Manish Pandey had different ideas.
He hit firm 95 runs in 50 balls that included 6 brilliant sixes and 7 classical fours under a pressure situation. Yusuf Pathan played a handy cameo and hit 4 sixes.
In the end, Piyush Chawla took over the finish line with a boundary and KKR won their 2 and IPL title under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy.
5. MI vs CSK, 1st match, 2018
Scorecard
| MI | 165/4 |
| CSK | 169/9 |
| Result | CSK won by 1 wicket |
This was CSK’s comeback season as they missed the last two due to a ban.
Mumbai lost early wickets but short handy knocks from middle and lower-order batters took MI to a respectable total of 165 runs.
CSK were nowhere in the game as they came out to bat and lost 8 wickets for 118 runs in 16.3 overs.
But then Dwayne Bravo played one of the best IPL knocks where he made 68 runs in 30 balls hitting 7 sixes that helped CSK win by just 1 wicket and a ball remaining.
Watch it here: https://www.iplt20.com/video/115814/m01-mi-vs-csk-match-highlights
4. RCB vs GL, Qualifier 1, 2016
Scorecard
| RCB | 158 |
| GL | 159/6 |
| Result | RCB won by 4 wickets |
After early obstacles in batting, Gujarat Lions was heaved by Dwayne Smith’s classical knock of 73 runs in 41 balls that included 6 sixes and 4 fours.
He turned out to be a lone fighter of GL’s batting armour who helped them set a decent total of 158 runs.
RCB started with a nightmare as they were lessened to 68 runs and 6 wickets down.
The only man that could have saved them from this situation was AB de Villiers and he came to the field.
He single-handedly won the knockout game for RCB with his 79 runs not out knock off just 47 deliveries that comprised of 5 sixes and as many fours.
RCB won the match by 4 wickets.
Watch it here: https://www.iplt20.com/video/5045/m57-gl-vs-rcb-match-highlights
3. MI vs RPS, Final, 2017
Scorecard
| MI | 129/8 |
| RPS | 128/6 |
| Result | MI won by 1 run |
It was a classical low scoring T20 game that was played under the immense pressure of the final.
MI batted first and was able to get 129 runs with help of Krunal Pandya’s 47 runs knock.
Rising Pune Supergiants batting struggled but they were able to stick to the pitch as they lost only 1 wicket in the powerplay.
Steve Smith made a fifty but Mitchel Johnson was able to defend 12 runs in the last over and Mumbai won a sensational contest by just 1 run to lift their 3rd IPL title.
Watch it here: https://www.iplt20.com/video/108613/final-rps-vs-mi-match-highlights
2. MI vs CSK, Final, 2019
Scorecard
| MI | 149/8 |
| CSK | 148/7 |
| Result | MI won by 1 run |
Quinton De Kock gave a decent start to MI’s innings with the bat but Chennai’s bowlers were ruthless as they clicked 2 wickets in the powerplay.
Kieron Pollards 41 not out off 25 deliveries pulled Mumbai to one run short of 150.
CSK started the chase well but soon lost the plot after the powerplay. At a time they were 4 wickets down in 13 overs.
But Shane Watson was firmly batting at one end.
His fighting spirit was evident as he continued playing after a serious knee injury that could be seen bleeding on camera.
He made 80 runs off 59 balls but CSK remained just 1 run short of the MI’s final score. It was heartbreaking for the yellow army but MI won their 4th IPL trophy.
Watch it here: https://www.iplt20.com/video/191756/final-mi-vs-csk-match-highlights
1. MI vs RR, 56th match, 2014
Scorecard
| MI | 189/4 |
| RR | 195/5 |
| Result | MI won by 5 wickets |
This was one of the greatest T20 matches where Mumbai Indians needed to chase any target under 14.3 overs to shift into qualifiers.
Rajasthan set a target of 190 runs with the help of Sanju Samson and Karun Nair’s fifties.
MI batters did not waste any time and started whacking every bowler from the very first ball.
While every other batsman was just throwing the bat under the ball, Corey Anderson played an anchor role which was need of the hour.
He made 95 not out off 44 balls. It went to 14.3 overs but MI was not able to surpass the score.
Now they needed a six on the next ball to be into qualifiers.
Aditya Tare came out to face his first ball but guess what, he hit Faulkner for the much needed 6 off the very next ball and MI entered the qualifiers with a thrill.
Not to forget that MI lost their first 6 matches of the season and was on the backfoot but the turnaround in the last match was incredible.
Watch it here: https://www.iplt20.com/video/18549/m56-mi-vs-rr-match-highlights
Read More:
- The Top 15 Biggest Fights in Cricket History
- Who is the Best IPL Batsman of All Time?
- The Top 15 Best T20 Batsmen of All Time
- Top 10 Best Batsmen in BBL History
- The Best T20 Bowlers Of All Time in Cricket
- IPL 2023 schedule PDF download
Conclusion
So these were the 15 best IPL matches of all time which made this already-popular league more commendable.
Did we miss out on your favorite IPL match? Which IPL match was the best according to you? Do let us know by tweeting us at @weknowcricket
Long live IPL!
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