Manvinder Bisla Recalls How He Got Included In The KKR XI Just Before The Final Of IPL 2012

Former Kolkata Knight Riders opener, Manvinder Bisla has recently shed light on how he was included in the playing XI of the final of the 2012 season just before the game. Bisla, who smashed 89 runs off just 48 deliveries in the 191-run chase for KKR against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), played a game-defying knock for his team and won them their first-ever title.

Bisla was named the man of the match in the final for his excellent innings which included eight boundaries and five sixes. Batting first in the game, CSK posted a giant total of 190 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in their 20 overs at their home ground. Both, Mike Hussey and Suresh Raina scored crucial half-centuries for the Southern Giants in the final.

Chasing a mammoth total, KKR finished the game with two balls in hand, courtesy a Manvinder Bisla masterclass in the final of the tournament. KKR chased the target with five wickets in hand and won the game by the same margin winning their first IPL trophy in the process.

Manvinder Bisla Sheds Light On The IPL 2012 Final Against CSK

Bisla’s blessing in disguise came with medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji’s injury, which he picked up during KKR’s qualifier win against Delhi Daredevils. Bisla also stated that the pressure of playing in the final didn’t get to him because he didn’t know if he was playing or not.

“Since I didn’t know if I was playing or not, I wasn’t very nervous. I think that helped me,” he told Cricbuzz. “I was told just before the match so I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t have time really. I hadn’t played in a big final and if I had known, then that would have definitely impacted me and I would have started overthinking things,” he added.

Jacques Kallis Helped Me Settle In After Gambhir’s Dismissal: Manvinder Bisla

Bisla also revealed how former South Africa cricketer Jacques Kallis helped him settle in the middle after Gambhir departed for just two runs in the first over. Their partnership changed the flow of the match in their favour after the early setback.

“We were a bit disappointed when they posted 190. Gautam was in tremendous form in that season but he got out in the first over. When he was walking back, I said to myself that ‘I have to see this through’. When I was keeping wickets I had realised that it wasn’t a typical Chennai wicket and batting was going to be easy. But then you also have the pressure of chasing in a final in the back of your mind,” he said.

“Jacques Kallis helped me settle in. As soon as he walked in, the first thing he said was ‘take 2-3 overs and then we’ll see how to go about it’. I started hitting well and the momentum started turning towards us. The partnership (136) was the best I’ve had. I think Kallis thought that I might lose my concentration so he was focussing on that. We didn’t talk much about the chase but the focus was on staying out there,” he added.

IPL 2020 was scheduled to start from March 29 this year, but due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, BCCI has postponed it until April 15.

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