A historic knock that marked a first in IPL final history, but couldn’t prevent Kings XI Punjab’s heartbreak against Kolkata Knight Riders
It was the kind of night that looked tailor-made for glory. The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, bathed in light and echoing with chants, hosted the IPL 2014 final — a blockbuster between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab. With stars on both sides, it had all the makings of a modern classic. It became a classic, but not in the way Kings XI wanted.
Despite scoring 199 for 4 — their best of the season — and watching Wriddhiman Saha notch up the first-ever century in an IPL final, Punjab still ended on the wrong side of the night. Saha remained unbeaten on 115 off 55 balls, but Manish Pandey’s 94 clinched the crown for KKR. Cricket, as always, had the last laugh.
You wouldn’t have guessed it from the start. Kings XI crawled to 32 for 2 in their Powerplay, their worst of the season. Sehwag was sent packing early, and Bailey’s experiment at No. 3 fizzled out in two balls. After 10 overs, the scoreboard showed a grim 58 runs. But then came the twist — Saha and Vohra turned the script on its head.
Their third-wicket stand yielded 129 runs off 72 balls, with Vohra contributing a stylish 67 off 52. But Saha was the true show-stealer. He went after spin with venom. Against Sunil Narine alone, Saha smacked 35 runs off 18 balls. He dispatched Chawla for 32 in just 13. In one over off Morne Morkel, he hooked and swept his way to 20 runs, including a six that screamed defiance.
He brought up his hundred in style — a 49-ball blitz that ended with a flicked six over long-on. The celebration was muted and focused. He wasn’t done yet. He stayed till the end, finishing with 10 fours and 8 sixes. A strike rate of 209.09. A knock worthy of the history books.
If Kings XI believed they could comfortably defend 199, Manish Pandey clearly had other ideas. KKR lost Robin Uthappa in the first over, but Pandey entered the scene swinging — quite literally. He scored 94 runs off 50 balls, timing each hit perfectly and maintaining an impressive scoring rate throughout the innings.
Pandey and Gambhir put together 53 runs at a consistent run-a-ball rate. However, after Gambhir was dismissed, Pandey upped the ante. He struck 7 fours and 6 sixes, treating the leg side like his personal playground and targeting poor Awana as his favourite bowler.
Pandey was out with 21 runs still needed from 18 balls, but by then he had set the chase in motion. Piyush Chawla's cheeky six and a boundary in the final over secured victory with three balls to spare. Kolkata successfully chased the highest target ever in an IPL final, and Pandey was the star of the show.
Saha's innings was a rare gem — the kind of knock that should end with a trophy in one hand and champagne in the other. However, cricket doesn’t always hand out fairytales. His 115* remains the second-highest individual score in an IPL final. Yet, it was all for nothing.
This wasn’t just a case of a great innings meeting greater resistance. It was a match that swung like a pendulum, with two Indian players — Pandey and Saha — stealing the spotlight from their international teammates.
