Follow Us
Every team plays in a competition or tournament to win it. But the team that can absorb the pressure well can go till the very end. Winning matches in the group or league stage is different, but winning the knockouts or final is different. That is when we have seen teams that do well in the group stage usually fail in the knockouts.
This article is also related to such stats, where we will talk about the teams that have chased down some big scores in the finals of the Indian Premier League. The IPL started back in 2008, and until now, only once has a target of 200 been chased in an IPL final. That indicates how tough it is to chase a big score when the stakes are high. So let’s check out the most successful chases in an IPL final.
Top Five Highest Successful Run Chase in an IPL Final
5. Rajasthan Royals (164/7) vs Chennai Super Kings in 2008
Rajasthan Royals are the champions of the inaugural season of the IPL. They did it in 2008 under the leadership of Shane Warner. RR faced Chennai Super Kings in the final at DY Patil. CSK batted first and posted a competitive total of 163/5. Chasing the target, RR were 42/3 within 7 overs. Then, Yusuf Pathan played a good knock of 56 off 39. A few good innings in the middle helped RR reach 164/7 on the last ball of the match and win the championship.
4. Chennai Super Kings (171/5) vs Gujarat Titans in 2023
The fourth highest chase in an IPL final was registered by Chennai Super Kings when they won their fifth IL title in 2023. It was a rain-hit game, and GT batted first and made a massive score of 214/4. This match went on reserve day, and CSK were given a tough target of 171 runs in 15 overs. CSK had some good innings in the middle. Every batter made a good contribution. CSK needed 10 runs on the last two balls, and Ravindra Jadeja hit a six and four off Mohit Sharma, and CSK made 171/5 to lift their fifth title.
3. Chennai Super Kings (181/2) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018
Chennai Super Kings won their third title in 2018 when they made their comeback into the IPL after suffering a two-year ban. They faced Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final at Wankhede Stadium. SRH posted a good score of 178/6 in the first inning. But Shane Watson made sure that CSK were winning their third title, as he registered the highest individual score in an IPL final. He made an unbeaten 117 off 57 balls, and CSK reached 181/2 in 18.3 overs to win the title and register the third-highest chase.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders (192/5) vs Chennai Super Kings in 2012
Kolkata Knight Riders hold the record for the two highest chases in the finals of the IPL. The second-highest came in the 2012 final, when KKR faced Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk Stadium. CSK posted a pretty good total of 190/3 and were favourites to win their third title in a row. But the second-wicket partnership of 136 runs between Jacques Kallis (69 off 49) and Manvinder Bisla (89 off 48) pushed KKR to the target, and they made 192/5 in 19.4 overs to win the final. With this, KKR won their maiden IPL title.
1. Kolkata Knight Riders (200/7) vs Punjab Kings in 2014
The highest successful run chase in an IPL final was recorded by Gautam Gambhir and his men in 2014. They did it against Punjab Kings. Batting first, PBKS posted a massive total of 199/4, courtesy of a brilliant century from Wriddhiman Saha (115* off 55). But that century came in a losing cause. Manish Pandey played a brilliant innings of 94 off 50 balls in the chase, and KKR made 200/7 in 19.3 overs to win their second title and register the highest final chase.
