Slow and steady – Five all-time slowest knocks in the IPL
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been host to many stunning knocks. However, at the same time, there are quite a few instances where the batters turned up only to be a no show. No batsman in the T20 format likes to play slow but the need of the hour and the playing conditions can cause an effect to the batting strike rate. Some players tend to produce slow innings while facing some quality bowling as well.
Here are the top five slowest knocks in the IPL with a qualification of 20 balls faced:
5. Robin Uthappa – 9 (20) in 2019:
Robin Uthappa’s batting position constantly changed during the 2019 season which did affect his batting. Robin had produced some of the slowest knocks of his IPL career through the season. During the home game against RCB, Uthappa walked to bat during the 4th over in pursuit of the 214-run target. The No.4 batsman struggled to find boundaries as he crawled to a 20-ball 9 before getting out. Uthappa struck one four and batted out as many as 14 dot balls.
4. Chris Gayle – 10 (24) in 2015:
Chris Gayle is well known for his big-hitting ability and producing some quick-fire knocks. However, one of his innings finds a place among the slowest knocks of the league. During the 2015 season game at home, Gayle was restricted by the MI bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga. Gayle spent 42 minutes at the crease during RCB’s chase of 210 but aggregated just 10 runs in the 24 balls he faced. The Jamaican was cleaned up by Harbhajan after battling out while facing 15 dot balls.
3. Manvinder Bisla – 9 (22) in 2011:
The Eden Gardens has produced some slow turning tracks over the years during the IPL. One such pitch was seen during the 2011 season when Rajasthan Royals toured to face KKR. The Royals were bundled out for just 81 but came back to dismiss Jacques Kallis on the very 2nd ball of the chase. The other opener Manvinder Bisla struggled despite runs coming from the other end. Bisla got out to Shane Warne in the 7th over scoring only nine runs from 22 balls out of which 14 deliveries were dots.
2. MS Dhoni – 8* (22) in 2016:
MS Dhoni walked to bat at No.6 in the 11th over of the Rising Pune Supergiant’s innings in the game against KKR at the Eden Gardens. The following over saw the beginning of a spell of four overs from Sunil Narine against whom Dhoni has struggled a lot. Rain interruption put an end to Pune’s inning at 103/6 in 17.4 overs. The RPS skipper was unbeaten and had scored just 8 runs from 22 balls without hitting even one boundary. In the bowling of Narine, the keeper-batsman picked only three singles from 13 deliveries.
1. Yashpal Singh – 6 (20) in 2009:
Yashpal Singh, one of the batting stalwarts in Indian domestic cricket, struggled to get going during an IPL match in the 2009 season. Playing for the KKR team, Yashpal walked to bat at No.4 after Sourav Ganguly and Brendon McCullum got out on successive deliveries. The Knight Riders were chasing only 102 but the pitch was doing enough tricks to make the chase tricky. Yashpal was at the crease for 3.5 overs out of which he played 20 balls which included 16 dot balls before he got out to Munaf Patel. KKR went on to win the match in the final over thanks to an unbeaten 46-ball 48 by Laxmi Ratan Shukla.
