Former South Africa and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Albie Morkel on Thursday remembered the famous IPL match from 2012, when he hit Virat Kohli for 28 runs in the second-last over of the game to seal an improbable victory.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore looked set to secure a win in the contest, with CSK needing 43 from the final 12 balls. However, Daniel Vettori, the RCB captain at the time, chose Virat Kohli to bowl the 19th over of the innings.
Morkel revisited the match and said that the Virat, who would later go on to captain RCB and India, shouldn't have bowled the over.
"Look, that’s one of those evenings... once again we were out of the game. RCB had the game in their bag... I had no idea why they bowled Virat. All respect to him, he shouldn’t have bowled that over anyway. We lost a wicket in the last ball of the 18th over,” Morkel said in a conversation with Chennai Super Kings.
“The 19th and 20 were left. We needed 42 (43) off 2 (overs). I walked in at No. 7. You look at the scoreboard and you’re like ‘oh no, 40-odd off 2, that’s impossible’.
“You walk in and then you see Virat’s bowling then I thought ‘if I can connect a few, maybe we can get close’,” said Morkel.
Morkel started the over with a four, following it with a six, a four and a six. On the fifth ball, he ran two before hitting the final delivery for another maximum.
“I think I edged the 1st one for 4 that just missed my stumps. I edge another one just went over the short third man. I started hitting it straight and we eventually got 28 and ended up winning the match with Bravo hitting a couple in the next over," recalled Morkel.
“We somehow find ways to beat them like that. We will be out of the game completely and come from nowhere to beat them. It’s a very special game to be part of,” he further said.
“That moment lasted about 15 minutes in my career. It is magical to look back at. I remember the vibe at the ground."
The cricketing action has currently come to a halt due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus across the globe. The IPL, which was originally scheduled to begin on March 29, has been postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic.
