5 instances when IPL teams played with only three overseas players

Ever since its inauguration in the year 2008, the IPL has revolutionized the world of cricket. The bringing together of the best talents from across the globe has enriched the cricketing experience at a time when the game's popularity is under the scanner.

The involvement of corporates and private companies who own and manage teams, and the player auctions are some aspects of the game which were unseen before the IPL started, but now every domestic T20 league across the globe follows the template which has worked successfully in the IPL.

The IPL has directly helped in grooming national stars for various countries. The allegiance to a particular franchise has paved way for city-based loyalties, something similar to what one gets to see in the English Premier League (EPL) or the UEFA Champions League in football.

The four overseas players play alongside seven Indians combination involves a lot of analysis and thinking, as to who will be the four foreign players will be picked for a certain game by looking at the playing conditions, the form of the overseas players and various other factors.

In the past decade of the IPL, there have been many instances where IPL teams have gone in with just three overseas players.

Here’s looking at five instances when IPL franchises went in with only three overseas players:

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#1 Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) - 2nd Match, IPL 2010

In the second game of the 2010 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), played at the Wankhede stadium at Mumbai, the visiting side, Rajasthan Royals, went in with just three foreign players.

After Mumbai Indians elected to bat first, they went on to post a humungous total of 210/6 in their 20 overs, powered by half-centuries by Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu.

Chasing down the total with just three overseas players - Shaun Tait, Shane Warne and Dimitri Mascrehenas - Rajasthan Royals fell short by a margin of just four runs.

This match will be remembered for the blitz of Yusuf Pathan who hit a record-breaking century off 37 balls which earned him the Man of the Match award.

#2 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers - 6th Match, IPL 2011

Deccan Chargers

KKR, captained by Gautam Gambhir, fielded just three overseas players against the now-defunct Deccan Chargers side at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

KKR played this game with Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan and Ryan ten Doeschate as the overseas players. On a slow, turner at the Eden Gardens KKR managed to put up a competitive total of 163/4 in 20 overs.

Powered by a solid batting performance by Kallis, who scored 53 runs with the bat with seven boundaries and a six, KKR went to win the match by 9 runs.

Kallis was adjudged the man of the match for his batting performance which proved to be the difference between the two sides on the day.

#3 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab - 32nd Match, IPL 2016

Kings XI Punjab

In the 32nd match in the 2016 season of the IPL, KXIP played with only three foreign players in their side - David Miller, Marcus Stoinis and Glen Maxwell, against KKR.

The dismal performance of the overseas players for KXIP in that season, where they were captained by Murali Vijay prompted them to go in with one foreign player less in this match.

Unfortunately, it didn’t matter too much. The results were more on familiar lines as KKR, through Andre Russell's all-round brilliance, managed to beat KXIP by 7 runs.

After KXIP decided to have a bowl first, they restricted KKR to 164/3 in 20 overs which was certainly gettable. The second innings was a roller coaster of a ride as Glenn Maxwell went berserk and trashed 68 of 52 balls.

But what swung the game in KKR’s favor was Andre Russell’s late innings blitz with the bat where he hit 16 of 10 balls and his match-winning bowling performance of 4-0-20-4.

#4 Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings - 52nd Match, IPL 2018

Delhi Daredevils

In the ongoing season of the IPL, Shreyas Iyer replaced Gautam Gambhir as their captain which didn't improve the team's performance too much. Gambhir stepped as skipper after the initial stages of the tournament owing to DD's dismal performance.

The overseas players DD tried through the season like Colin Munro, Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris proved to be big letdowns. With just a few games left for their season to end, DD in order to give some fresh faces a chance decided to go in with three overseas players against CSK at the Kotla in the 52nd match of the IPL 2018.

DD opted to give the young spinner from Nepal, Sandeep Lamichanne, an opportunity in this clash. DD's batsmen put a total of 162/4 in 20 overs which seemed to be a par total.

Trent Boult with figures of 4-0-20-2, Amit Mishra conceded only 20 runs in his four overs and the youngster Lamichanne strangled the opposition, leaving CSK well short and they lost the game by 34 runs.

It’s a rare occasion in the history of the IPL, where a team went in without the usual quota of four overseas players and managed to win the game.

#5 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - 2nd Playoffs, IPL 2018 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders

In the recently concluded IPL game, which saw KKR getting knocked out of the tournament due to the overall brilliance of Rashid Khan, the team management took a rather brave decision to play only with 3 overseas players.

Shivan Mavi was preferred for this must-win encounter instead of Javon Searles, while KKR had the option of selecting even Tom Curran or Mitchell Johnson for this match. It’s in high-pressure games like these when experienced players would come in handy for captains.

Nevertheless, the move to pick the youngster Mavi proved to be a relatively good pick as he was very impressive in his first spell of three overs. It’s at the death overs, where the duo of Shivam Mavi and Prasidh Krishna leaked too many runs which proved to be fatal for KKR.

A brave move made by their skipper Dinesh Karthik, which may not go down too well with KKR’s fans as they find themselves out of IPL 2018 after their batsmen fumbled their chase after a fine start.