Despite Chris Morris’ heroics, Delhi Daredevils fell short by one run against Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League match at the Feroze Shah Kotla on Wednesday night. This, however, is not the first time that a team has won by such narrow margin in the IPL. Since 2008, there have been six instances — including the aforementioned match —of teams winning by one run.
Here are the other five matches:
Mumbai Indians vs. Kings XI Punjab, 2008
(KXIP 189 for 4; Mumbai Indians 188 all out)
It was the 45th match of the inaugural IPL season. Riding on half-centuries from Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach, Kings XI posted 189 for four. Chasing 190, Sachin Tendulkar took charge of the Mumbai Indians innings. However, as the required run-rate started increasing, Tendulkar had to take risk and complete a single to stay on strike. That was not enough though, as Irfan Pathan ran him out for 65. In its final three overs, Mumbai Indians needed 31 to win, but wickets started tumbling. And despite Siddharth Chitnis’ cameo (15 off six balls), Mumbai Indians was not able cross the line, finishing at 188.
Deccan Chargers vs. Kings XI Punjab, 2009
(KXIP 134 for 7; DC 133 for 8)
This was the year when the IPL was shifted to South Africa due to the general elections in India. At the Wanderers in Johannesburg, Kings XI scored 134 for seven, thanks to Kumar Sangakkara’s half-century. Considering that Deccan Chargers had batsmen of the calibre of Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs opening for it, the target looked easy. Nevertheless, neither the two experienced cricketers nor Rohit Sharma, who blasted a 26-ball 42, could help the Hyderabad side, which fell short by a run. Irfan Pathan was Kings XI Punjab’s saviour, as he took the crucial wicket of Rohit Sharma in the final over to stop Deccan’s charge.
Delhi Daredevils vs. Rajasthan Royals, 2012
(DD 152 for 6; RR 151 for 3)
The 2012 IPL season witnessed two matches where the teams won by one run. At the Kotla, captain Virender Sehwag smashed a 39-ball 63 to power Delhi Daredevils to 152 for six against Rajasthan Royals that had the likes of Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane —both looking formidable that season —in its ranks. However, Delhi’s tight bowling, once again led by Irfan Pathan (who had been picked up by the Daredevils in the auction) and South Africa’s Morne Morkel, restricted the visitors. Dravid scored 40 (38 balls), while Rahane remained unbeaten on 80 (63 balls).
The penultimate over bowled by Morkel, in which he gave away only three runs and dismissed the dangerous Brad Hodge, saved the day for Delhi Daredevils.
Pune Warriors India vs. Mumbai Indians, 2012
(MI 120 for 9; PWI 119 for 6)
Pune Warriors, led by Sourav Ganguly, was made to field first. The former Kolkata Knight Riders captain used his bowlers wisely to restrict Mumbai Indians – now led by Harbhajan Singh – to a meagre total of 120 for nine. Little did Ganguly know that the conditions would also favour Mumbai’s Lasith Malinga and Munaf Patel.
Needing 12 runs off the last over, and with Mithun Manhas well settled, Pune seemed all set to win the match. Manhas missed the first delivery off Munaf, who next bowled a wide. After the next three runs came off singles, Bhuvneshwar was on strike with the team needing seven off the last two deliveries to win. Bhuvneshwar smashed the first for a four, prompting Harbhajan to make some fielding changes. The final delivery from Munaf was a full toss that Bhuvneshwar flicked to deep midwicket, but could manage only two runs. This was Pune’s fourth successive defeat in the season.
Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Daredevils, 2015
(CSK 150 for 7; DD 149 for 9)
In what turned out to be its final edition before being served a two-year suspension, Chennai Super Kings proved why it was one of the most successful teams in the IPL. Playing their first match of the season against the touring Delhi Daredevils, the men in yellow posted a respectable total of 150 for seven. Dwayne Smith (34 off 31 balls), Faf du Plessis (32 off 24 balls) and Dhoni (30 off 27 balls) played their parts well with the bat. However, it was Ashish Nehra’s tight bowling that did the trick for the Super Kings. At one point, with Albie Morkel (73 not out off 55 balls) looking menacing, one expected Delhi to win smoothly. However, it was Man of the Match Nehra’s final over and the team’s penultimate over — where he bowled yorkers consistently —that stymied Delhi. Although Morkel smashed Dwayne Bravo for two fours and one six in the final over, Delhi fell agonisingly short.
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