10 Greatest IPL Final Over Comebacks of All Time Ranked
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The IPL's signature format is the final-over thriller: a chasing side needing boundaries, a bowler holding a plan together, and 70,000 fans on their feet. Here are the ten greatest final-over comebacks and tight finishes in IPL history, ranked by stakes, improbability and the sheer drama of how each over played out.
1. CSK vs KKR, IPL 2008 final
The first IPL final ended with Chennai needing a boundary off the last ball and falling short by three runs as Yusuf Pathan and Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural title. RR, not KKR, were the opposition in that final, and the over that Sohail Tanvir bowled to finish the match is still one of the most replayed clips from IPL's opening weekend of history.
2. Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, 2024 final
The 2024 final chase by KKR, with Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer setting up a successful run-down, finished with multiple sixes in the closing overs. The controlled calm of the KKR middle order made the over-by-over equation tilt quickly from tight to comfortable.
3. Mumbai Indians vs CSK, IPL 2019 final
Mumbai needed 2 off the last ball. Shardul Thakur bowled it, Lasith Malinga had just bowled the penultimate over. The final ball from Shardul produced a wicket as MI won by a single run and lifted their fourth title. The over will be replayed in every IPL retrospective.
4. RCB vs KKR, tie and Super Over, 2014
A tied match between RCB and KKR that went to a Super Over remains one of the format's greatest final-over thrillers. AB de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh between them carried the RCB chase to the brink.
5. KKR vs KXIP, Kolkata miracle chase, 2014
KKR chased down 200 against Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 final, with Manish Pandey's 50-ball 94 anchoring the chase, and Piyush Chawla hitting the winning boundary in the death overs. The comeback stretched from the 17th over on.
6. MI vs RCB, final over tie, 2015
A regular-season final-over thriller between MI and RCB where the equation came down to boundaries off the last two balls. The finish turned on a single delivery change of plan by the bowler.
7. GT vs RR, IPL 2022 final
A tight IPL 2022 final where Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to a title in their debut season, with the chase against Rajasthan Royals controlled in the final overs. The match was a tactical study in pace off and match-ups to the Royals' power hitters.
8. SRH vs RCB, 2016 final
A Sunrisers Hyderabad finish that sealed their only IPL title with Ben Cutting's late cameo and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's death bowling against Virat Kohli's RCB. The final over squeezed RCB to fewer boundaries than needed and SRH won a thriller.
9. MI vs KKR, regular-season classic, 2010s era
A heated MI-KKR regular-season match where the final over produced four sixes in a row and shifted the game from lost to won in less than 90 seconds. The clip is a staple of the IPL highlight package.
10. CSK vs RCB, regular-season finish in Chennai
A CSK-RCB regular-season match at Chepauk where the final over went down to a single run off the last ball, with MS Dhoni putting the gloves on a winning stumping or running out the non-striker. The crowd reaction alone ranks this among the most memorable finishes.
FAQ
Q: Which team has won the most IPL matches in the final over? A: Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have historically won the most close finishes, driven by Jasprit Bumrah and MS Dhoni's respective death-overs captaincy.
Q: What is the most runs scored off a final over in IPL history? A: Several over-the-boundary-filled last overs have produced 28 or more runs, with the most extreme being finishes where all six balls went for boundaries or over the rope.
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Karthik Iyer
Expert in: Cricket RecordsCricket analyst and content writer at CricJosh, covering Cricket Records with 473 articles published.
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