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It's the business end of IPL 2023, with the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) locking horns to win the coveted trophy.
Despite the high-scoring nature of the league, it's the bowlers who, on most occasions, decide the fate of the championship.
Bolwers gaining the upper hand in the backend of the tournament can be due to various factors. Pitches get tired out with the tournament panning out for two months, which results in pitches getting slowed down, towards the conclusion of the competition.
Add the pressure of the finals, and we have witnessed below-par totals being successfully defended by teams on several occasions, with bowlers coming to the rescue for the teams.
On that note, let's look at some of the best bowling spells in IPL finals where they either brought their teams back into the game or won it for their respective teams.
5 best bowling spells in the IPL finals
#5. Yusuf Pathan, 3/22 against CSK, DY Patil Stadium, IPL 2008
It was the all-around display from Yusuf Pathan that made the Rajasthan Royals (RR) the champions of the inaugural edition of the IPL. He not only picked up 3/22 in his four overs but also scored a 39-ball 56 to snatch a victory from the jaws of the Chennai Super Kings.
Brought into the sixth over as the first change, Pathan dismissed Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, who charged and pulled a flatter trajectory delivery to deep mid-wicket only to hand Ravindra Jadeja a dolly of a catch.
Pathan was mixing his pace very well. He came around the wicket to Parthiv Patel and caught him stumped with a slower one on a wider line.
Albie Morkel tried to up the ante but top edged a quicker delivery on middle and off from Yusuf Pathan, where despite the collision between two fielders, Mohammad Kaif took a sharp catch at deep midwicket.
#4. Mitchell McClenaghan, 3/25 against CSK, Eden Gardens, IPL 2015
When you are chasing a mammoth total of 203 in an all-important final, your start should be quick and not like CSK's when they were just crawling at five runs per over in four overs, which shot the required run rate to almost 12 runs per over.
Mitchell McClenaghan got his end changed into the fifth over, and all he needed to do was continue stiching those dot balls and not bowl into the strengths of openers Mike Hussey and Dwayne Smith.
McClenaghan bowled a full-length delivery on a wider line to stay away from the hitting arc of Hussey, who sliced it to cover point, where Jagadeesha Suchith took a low, sharp catch.
He then diminished the hopes of a CSK chase, if there were any, by dismissing the dangerous Dwayne Bravo with a short delivery that was angling away to the batsman, who tried to slice it through the covers, only to top edge it to the third-man fielder, Lendl Simmons.
McClenaghan's finish of 3/25 propelled MI to their second IPL trophy.
#3. Hardik Pandya, 3/17 against Rajasthan Royals, Narendra Modi Stadium, IPL 2022
Debutants Gujarat Titans were playing their first IPL final in their very first appearance, with their skipper Hardik Pandya leading from the front with both bat and ball.
He looked to bowl his stock ball, a hard-length ball that was more than gold dust, on a pitch that had an uneven bounce with a two-pace nature.
He first dismissed Sanju Samson, who tried to pull a short ball but played it on the front foot, which means the weight was not in the shot. He lost his shape in doing so and thus lobbed the simplest catch to the backward point fielder, Sai Kishore.
Hardik then dismissed IPL 2022 Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler with a short-length delivery outside off, which took the batsman's edge to the keeper, making RR huff and puff in the 13th over.
The final nail in the coffin was the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer's wicket, which again came off the hard length delivery outside off. Hetmyer tried to defend but got a leading edge carried to the bowler, who took a sharp reflex catch to send RR pegging back.
#2. Ravichandran Ashwin, 3/16 against RCB, Chepauk, IPL 2011
Chris Gayle was playing consistently in IPL 2011, that too after joining late as a replacement for Dirk Nannes, meaning no target, however huge, was out of reach for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) with him at the crease.
Hence, even after putting 205 on the board in the final, CSK still had to be extremely cautious to prevent a Gayle storm from taking them by the cleaners.
With a positive match-up against left-hander Gayle, skipper MS Dhoni decided to take a use off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who worked out a fantastic tactic to dismiss Gayle for a duck in the very first over of the chase.
After bowling some quicker ones, he slowed down his pace, pulling his length a bit, which Gayle tried to cut, only to nick it to MS Dhoni, who didn’t make any mistakes in collecting the ball behind the stumps.
Ashwin dismissed Gayle’s opening partner, Mayank Agarwal, in his very next over and broke the chase for RCB, who had their task cut out, so they never really got into the chase properly.
Ashwin finished his spell with an economy of four, add to that his three wickets, and he was instrumental in CSK defending their trophy in 2011.
#1. Anil Kumble, 4/16 against Deccan Chargers, Johannesburg, IPL 2009
Even RCB's captain, Anil Kumble, who led from the front with four wickets in the final of IPL 2009, could not bring home the elusive trophy for the franchise.
However, if someone was to blame, then it was the batsmen who couldn't chase a below-par total of 143 runs.
Kumble set the tone of the match in the best possible way for his side as he bowled a slower one through the air and castled Adam Gilchrist in only the third delivery of the innings.
He once again dismissed another batsman with his wrong un; this time it was Andrew Symonds who tried to pull away but couldn't connect it properly and got beaten on the pace to see his leg stump dislodged. Kumble then removed both Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao in his last over to derail the Chargers' innings.
This four-over spell by Anil Kumble was nothing short of match-winning. He had single-handedly turned the momentum in his team’s favor in three different phases, conceding only one boundary, thus ensuring that his impact was felt in each part of the innings.
