Crickets fans should be forever grateful to the BCCI for organising the best cricket competition amidst so much uncertainties which has made people to forget what a pathetic year 2020 is to some extent. After 53 days of breathtaking action, the tournament came to an end on November 10 with the Mumbai Indians winning the prestigious trophy for one more time thereby retaining it.
There were uncountable number of moments that could last forever in the minds and hearts of fans. It is one hell of a job to pick the top moments from a series that was so engrossing but we’ve attempted to capture seven moments that, according to us at Caught At Point, made the IPL 2020 a series truly unforgettable.
Mandatory AB de Villiers Knock
The former South African captain and one of the greatest cricketer ever in AB de Villiers made a mockery of Rajasthan Royal’s bowling attack when he helped RCB chase down 178 runs in the 33rd match of the season.
The superman came into the crease when RCB needed 76 runs from 6.5 overs and what followed was an absolute massacre. Rajasthan Royals had 2 overs of Jofra Archer in bank at that point in time but Mr.360 knows no one as he thrashed 6 sixes in his match-winning knock of 55 from 22 balls. He smashed Jofra Archer for 2 sixes and managed to score 16 off 6 of his bowling.
It was a typical ABD innings and RR bowlers had no clue to restrict ABD. It is an innings to remember for ages.
https://www.iplt20.com/video/218416/mr-360-s-superhuman-55-22-
Chris Gayle’s Onslaught Against KKR
Gayle bossed the IPL 2020 as best as he could, given the limited chances he was afforded. The Jamaican was given the new role to smash the bowling at #3 which is not his usual position and the way he aced that role towards the end of his career was something that no one can even imagine.
The value of six-hitters in this format of the game is quite underrated and for those who doubt it, the forty-sixth match of the IPL between KKR and KXIP is the recording which they should see.
Chris Gayle came into bat when KXIP needed 103 runs from just twelve overs. KXIP were reeling at forty-seven for one in the eighth over mark chasing 150. The wicket was doing all sorts of things and KKR had a bowling attack that comprises of Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson and Prasidh Krishna.
It was expected that the match would go down the wire but Chris Gayle changed the complexion of the match in no time. The match could have gone either ways but Chris Gayle ensured KKR’s defeat with a blistering 51 off 29 balls including 5 maximums and 2 boundaries. This knock is one of the underrated knocks in this edition of IPL.
https://www.iplt20.com/video/222474/universe-boss-smashes-51-29-
Sunil Narine Acing The Pinch-Hitter Role
KKR were below par with their strategies this season, but some of their moves were staggering to say the least. They had a mixed season this year and they would be disappointed to not make the playoffs with the kind of team they had. Out of all the master moves that have been executed by the teams in this season, the decision to send Sunil Narine at #5 by KKR against Delhi Capitals to take on the spinners to cleaners ranks among the best of the best.
He was sent in when KKR had just forty-two runs in the eighth over mark and little did we know that Narine helped KKR post 194 in their twenty. He showed no mercy to his favorable match-ups and played proper cricketing shots and took advantage of DC’s lesser bowlers. He scored sixty-four off 5.2 overs and KKR maximized their resources which is what each and every team should look to do in this format of the game.
https://www.iplt20.com/video/221080/sunil-narine-s-swashbuckling-64-32-
Did IPL 2020 Birth A New Star In Rahul Tewatia?
Perhaps the answer to the above is very much so. Rahul Tewatia had a dream year in this edition of IPL. It is also fair to say that he had a breakout season for the first time. He was magnificent with both bat and ball and helped RR to win games from nowhere. His dramatic turnaround in a span of 10 minutes in the match against KXIP ranks among the insane moments in this season.
He was struggling to put bat to ball at the start of his innings and the asking rate was climbing up for each dot ball. At one point, the dogged all rounder was on seventeen off twenty-three deliveries chasing 224 for the victory and he was dragging RR to a defeat. RR needed fifty-one runs in the last three overs and that was when Rahul Tewatia made one of the greatest statements in the IPL history. He hammered five sixes in the eighteenth over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell to bring the equation down to twenty one off the last two overs.
In the end he departed for a well made fifty-three taking just 5.1 overs on his own and helped RR to win that game rather comfortably.
https://www.iplt20.com/video/209486/rahul-tewatia-s-mind-blowing-53-31
Ben Stokes finally made things happen
Rajasthan Royals deserved to be in the playoffs for the way they sketched out things after the arrival of Ben Stokes. The dynamic all-rounder plays the role of a finisher in ODI cricket, but there was a common misconception that he was a finisher in T20s as well which was absolutely false. His records at #5 speak say more than words ever will and the way RR management understood this to make Ben Stokes their permanent opener was a stellar move.
Though, Ben Stokes struggled to acclimatise to the newfound position at the top initially, he played the knock of the IPL 2020 against MI, where he belted a ton against one of the best bowling attacks in IPL 2020 in the eventual winners.
He scored his second IPL century chasing 196 runs against Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult included MI attack. It was something that only Ben Stokes could have done. He spared no one in that knock and played some delightful shots and it needed a herculean effort to beat the mighty MI and Ben Stokes was the man for that occasion. He stayed till the end for his 107 off 60 balls.
https://www.iplt20.com/video/222178/scintillating-stokes-smashes-107-60-
Jasprit Bumrah’s ball of the tournament
Jasprit Bumrah started the season in an unusual manner as he was nowhere near to his best but with more games, he reached the beast mode and was breaking the defense of the batsmen for fun. He had his best ever outing in this season. He was the 2nd leading wicket-taker with 27 wickets. He became a wicket-taking machine for Rohit Sharma.
In the game against KXIP, Jasprit Bumrah’s toe-crushing yorker to dismiss KL Rahul was an absolute dream to any fast bowler. 9 out of 10 batsmen would have been cleaned up by that accurate yorker. KL Rahul was steering his side home with ease but Jasprit Bumrah’s yorker changed the complexion of the game.
https://www.iplt20.com/video/219390/bumrah-s-top-notch-yorker
A Double Super-Over For The First Time In IPL History
The aforementioned Jasprit Bumrah’s yorker dragged that game to a super-over. KXIP needed twenty-seven from the last three overs but KL Rahul’s wicket turned the game on its head and the game went into a super-over not once but twice.
KXIP scored just five in the first super-over bowled by Bumrah while Mohammad Shami defended six- let that sink in- to take the match into another super-over. Mumbai Indians managed to score eleven in the second super-over bowled by Chris Jordan. The high point of that over was Mayank Agarwal’s effort in boundary line where he saved a certain six.
Eventually, KXIP won the game in the second super-over when they chased twelve runs. Chris Gayle came out with Mayank Agarwal and Trent Boult was of no match to these 2 batsmen and couldn’t defend 12 runs.
https://www.iplt20.com/video/219528/mayank-agarwal-s-basketball-save
These were some of the memorable moments in this edition of IPL and there are still many more untold.
