The Collapse Chronicles - the worst capitulations in IPL history
A day after Delhi Capitals' remarkable collapse from 144 for 3 to 152 all out against Kings XI Punjab, we take a look at five other dramatic slumps in the tournament
Bharath Seervi and Deivarayan Muthu
02-Apr-2019
Kings XI Punjab pile on Sam Curran after an unlikely win • BCCI
At 144 for 3 in 16.3 overs, Delhi Capitals were sauntering towards their target of 167 in Mohali on Monday. Then came the crash: they lost seven wickets for eight runs in 17 balls. It turned out to be the worst collapse in IPL history. ESPNcricinfo looks back at five other dramatic collapses in the league over the years.
Adam Gilchrist shellacked four fours off Ashish Nehra in the first over and rattled off a 24-ball fifty in Deccan Chargers' chase of 174. Andrew Symonds then teed off to reduce the equation to 25 off three overs with six wickets in hand. Enter Rajat Bhatia. He bowled Symonds and Dwayne Smith with his loopy cutters to trigger a terminal slide. All told, he took four wickets for a mere four runs in the 18th and 20th overs. Just like that, Deccan lost their last seven wickets for 12 runs to hand the game on a platter to Daredevils.
Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, and R Vinay Kumar bashed a hard length and kept cramping the Royals top order for room. But it was Praveen Kumar who sparked a collapse of 6 for 7 with a pair of yorkers and bouncers in a rare hat-trick. From 85 for 4 in 16.2 overs, Royals careened to 92 all out with one ball unused in their innings. Royal Challengers then knocked off the target with all ten wickets and nearly ten overs to spare.
"My son's Under-12 side would be tough at the moment" - that was how then Royals captain Shane Warne summed up his side's horror show.
Remember Pune Warriors, the whipping boys of the IPL back in the day? They were 101 for 4 in pursuit of 120, but they lost their last six wickets for seven runs. Another 6 for 7 capitulation, another hat-trick, this time from Amit Mishra. But, the collapse was largely down to hare-brained swinging from the middle and lower order, including captain Angelo Mathews. Even Mishra said that he didn't try any tricks. That sort of sums up how bad Pune were that day.
It was the season of Rajasthan Royals and they were sitting pretty on a five-match winning streak, but this wasn't their night. After being inserted, they had a strong start thanks to their MVP Shane Watson and opener Swapnil Asnodkar, who cracked 53 together in 34 balls. But a bouncer here and a slower one there on a two-paced DY Patil track, and Ashish Nehra and co. knocked over Royals for 103 in 16.2 overs from a well-placed 74 for 2 in the ninth over. Eight for 29. Game over for Royals.
Deccan provided a lesson on how not to finish an innings: two run-outs and some wild hoicks saw them lose five wickets for just one run in the last eight balls of their innings. Believe it or not, Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs had struck up a rousing century opening stand, but the middle and lower order crashed and burned. From 101 for no loss and then 164 for 5, Deccan were rolled over for 165. This was the Royal Challengers side with a surfeit of Test specialists, but they still managed to mow down the target.