Indian Premier League has previously played host to some devastating batting from both the legends and tyros. When the moment for the batsmen arrives to take the field, they leave very less to be distinguished the good bowlers from the ordinary ones.
However, there are a few batsmen who transcend themselves beyond all and hammer those hapless bowlers mercilessly, swinging his bat beyond a mortal’s comprehensions. In cricketing lingo, we call them the Gods. We will look at three such instances in IPL where the cricketing Gods went berserk and the bowler turned into a mere victim of extra-terrestrial aggression. Being more specific, we are going to look at the three most expensive overs in the history of the Indian Premier League.
- Chris Gayle and Manoj Tiwary versus Ravi Bopara (33 runs)
It was in 2010 as KKR and Kings XI Punjab were pitted against each other that this miracle happened. Ravi Bopara was sent in to bowl the 13th over in an attempt to capitalize over a languishing Gayle. Manoj Tiwary was up first and the erstwhile Bengal captain nurdled the ball into the gap to steal a quick single.
Bopara wanted to hit the block and in the process offered some length to Gayle and the Universe boss smoked it to the stands over mid-wicket. The English bowler once again over-pitched his next ball and Gayle clubbed it beyond the boundaries of the stadium.
A seemingly disconsolate Bopara tried to pull off something different with a good length delivery but it suffered the same fate as Gayle got down on his knees and swept it out of the park. With two balls already sent out of the park in the last three deliveries, Gayle once again made Bopara pay a hefty price for his length ball as he sent it back over the bowler’s head into space.
Totally derailed by the carnage Gayle imposed on the medium pacer, the next ball was a million miles wide and it rolled onto the boundary, aggravating matters for Bopara. His line didn’t change in the next ball either, as it flipped on the leg side for another wide and a single was taken. The last ball was played out for another comfortable single by Manoj Tiwary, making it 33 runs of that cursed over for Punjab.
- Suresh Raina versus Parvinder Awana (33 runs)
Chasing a monumental total of 227, Raina let all hell break loose upon the Punjab bowlers. Awana, out of all suffered the maximum brunt of Raina’s brutal onslaught.
The first ball of the 6th over disappeared into the stands sailing over the mid-wicket boundary, getting a high edge of the bat. The next ball disappeared into the stands over the long-on boundary, playing it as straight as you like.
The third delivery of the over was exemplary batting from the southpaw as he flicked a ball that was angling away from him with clinical precision, slicing the gap between two fielders. The next ball was addressed to the deep square leg boundary which was a no-man’s land.
Awana failing to cope with the burgeoning pressure bowled an uncontrolled full-toss that was calmly ushered to the third-man boundary. Raina simply had no intentions of stopping as he smashed the next ball over mid-on for another boundary.
A trembling Awana was on the brink of reprieving himself of the misery imposed on him by Raina as he released the last ball from his arm. The result wasn’t anything different as Raina chose to pepper that over the square leg to make it 33 runs from that over.
- Chris Gayle versus Prasanth Parameshwaran (37 runs)
Hapless Prasanth had to face the wrath of the Universe boss as the Caribbean opener went for a killing spree in the third over of the match itself. The first ball was a length delivery and Gayle chipped it casually over the point for a six. It was quite an exquisite stroke, to be honest.
Things just went from bad to worst for the bowler as he over-stepped in the next ball and Gayle took him out for another six over point. Prasanth lost it completely and started caressing those cherries to Gayle at very tender pace and the brutal West Indian hard-hitter blasted the delivery past midwicket.
This was just the beginning of what seemed like a dance with death for Prasanth. Another length ball from the bowler dissected the gap cover and extra –cover perfectly, making it another boundary for the titan. The next ball was another length delivery from the bowler and Gayle peeling away from the stumps, making room for himself, clubbed it over cover to the stands.
Bored with his the adjacent visions, he wanted to take it out straight this time and he picked the next ball straight over the bowler’s head into the sightscreen. Like they say fortune favours the brave, the final ball of the four was nothing but a lemon cut from Gayle. Failing to read the ball completely, his wild flailing of the bat, took an inside edge and scampered past the timber by a whisker, but the result was still a boundary. A sport where scoring 36 off an over needs the highest amount of luck, the Universe boss stole away 37. Let it ring.
