IPL: Three times no balls have changed course of games

Every bowler tries to avoid bowling a no-ball, whether it is in franchise cricket or international contests. A no-ball is nothing short of a crime in T20 cricket. Batters constantly want to maximize their chances of scoring runs because there are only 120 legal deliveries in an inning, so they take advantage of any additional deliveries that come their way as much as they can. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), there have been several instances where a no-ball turned out to be too expensive for the bowling team.

Let us look at the three bowlers who have cost the match in the history of the Indian Premier League so far:

1. Ben Hilfenhaus, CSK vs KKR, Chepauk, IPL 2012 Final:

Despite Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis bringing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) back into the game, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were the favourites to win the final match as they had to defend 16 off seven deliveries. The CSK’s best bowler, Hilfenhaus, bowled a waist-high no-ball to Shakib Al Hasan on his final delivery, which the batsman top-edged to mid-wicket.

After taking a fantastic running catch, Murali Vijay congratulated himself on the victory. A no-ball signal from the umpire ended the celebration, though. The situation was perfect for Shakib, who had just arrived at the crease. In the last over, KKR needed to score nine runs, which Manoj Tiwari completed on the fourth ball after he scooped the free-hit delivery to short fine leg for a boundary.