IPL 2018: Man of the Match performances across a decade of IPL finals

#6 Manvinder Bisla (2012)

Bisla's innings will go down as one of the best in the league

2010, 2011 and 2012 IPL finals had a lot in common. In all three instances, Chennai Super Kings was one of the finalists, MS Dhoni won the toss and CSK batted first. What was different were their opponents and what made 2012 differ from the other two was its result.

Kolkata Knight Riders had finally shed the tag of being an under-performing team with Gambhir at their helm of affairs. Determined for victory, they set out to chase a stiff 190 set by Chennai. Opener and captain Gautam Gambhir fell in the first over as Jacques Kallis joined wicket-keeper batsman Manvinder Bisla.

The Haryana born right-hander went on to play the innings of his life as he strung a 136-run partnership with Kallis. Scoring briskly, Bisla faced just 48 balls for his hefty contribution of 89 runs. His glitzy knock included eight hits to the fence and five over it. Having brought the match equation in favour of his team, Bisla lost his wicket, missing out on a well deserved century and with it the chance of becoming the first centurion in an IPL final.

Manoj Tiwary and Shakib Al Hasan in the lower middle order ensured that Bisla’s effort ended up on the winning side as KKR won their first ever IPL title.