Unforgettable Moments In The History Of Indian Premier League

Indian Premier League, the richest and most popular cricket league in the world has completed 12 years in the cricketing world. The first match of the IPL was played on 18th April 2008 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, through which, it got the perfect opening as former Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum smashed an astonishing knock of 158 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In these twelve years, people have seen many big moments in the league.

IPL is like a festival in India, one in which people have seen almost everything including but not limited to great knocks, nasty fights between players, controversies, exceptional displays of grit and determination and the hunger to win it all. However, rare instances of malpractices like match-fixing have been the glitch in this otherwise spectacular event. Cricket fans have also seen some fights in the league between players like Virat Kohli & Gautam Gambhir, Kieron Pollard & Mitchell Starc but have also seen great bonding between some players like Kohli & Chris Gayle, Kohli & AB De Villiers, MS Dhoni & DJ Bravo. 

Let’s Have A Look At The Top-5 Unforgettable Moments In The History Of IPL.

#1.Brendon McCullum’s 158*: I  believe everyone who is following IPL from the first season will agree that Brendon McCullum’s knock of 158 was the introductory and actual promoter for the IPL. McCullum’s that knock against RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) in the very first match of the league had made the opening very big. In that match, McCullum had smashed sixes in every side of the ground. This blistering knock of his had created an excitement among fans towards the league.

#2.Fight between Harbhajan Singh and S. Sreesanth: The inaugural season of IPL was full of happiness and entertainment but this season is also remembered for the first fight in the league between Harbhajan Singh and S. Sreesanth. Harbhajan who was playing for the Mumbai Indians in that season slapped his national teammate S. Sreesanth after the loss against Kings XI Punjab. In the first season of the IPL, this was the biggest controversy.

#3.Chris Gayle’s 175*: There is no doubt that Chris Gayle is one of the real champions of the IPL. In his initial seasons with KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), he did not perform well but after joining RCB in 2011 he became the leading star of the league. The Universal Boss is the only player in IPL history, who has won Orange cap in the two successive seasons. In IPL 2013, he had scored an unbelievable knock of 175* in just 66 balls against Pune Warriors India. In that innings, Gayle had smashed 13 fours and 17 massive sixes. This is the highest individual score by any batsman in professional T-20 cricket.

#4.Mumbai Indians chase of 190 runs in 14.3 overs: In the last league stage match of IPL 2014, Mumbai Indians had chased down an unthinkable target to qualify for the knockout stage. According to the rules, Mumbai Indians had to chase the target in 14.3 overs to qualify for the next round. Mumbai Indians tied a match against Rajasthan Royals while chasing the target of 190 runs. After this, officials made the decision that to qualify for the knockout stage, Mumbai had to score a boundary in the next ball. Mumbai's former batsman Aditya Tare had smashed a six in the next ball and helped his team to qualify for the playoffs. This match is one of the most thrilling matches in the history of IPL.

#5. CSK’s Champion return in 2018: In IPL 2018, Chennai Super Kings was back into the league after the ban of two years. In 2018, Chennai had taken many ageing superstars into their team like Shane Watson, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, etc. In that season, most of the fans were emotionally connected with Chennai and expecting a gigantic comeback from them. Dhoni and his boys did not let down their fans as they won the trophy for the third time and reclaimed their throne as the most successful IPL franchise in history. In that season, Chennai Super Kings dominated every team and lift the IPL trophy by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in a one-sided final. This was one of the best moment for all Chennai fans because of the amount of sentiment involved.

These are my choices of Top-5 Unforgettable Moments in the history of IPL. Please tell in comments, what are your favourite IPL moments.