The debate over Sanju Samson denying Chris Morris a single in the last over of a tight run-chase against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium had not even died down yet (Samson was right, of course) but, a few days later the South African found himself in the prime position to make his mark with the bat for Rajasthan Royals again. And he did it, in some style.

On Thursday, the most expensive signing in the history of Indian Premier League helped Rajasthan Royals produce a stunning turnaround against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai, this time making sure he was well set at the end and producing the big hits that he has always been capable of.

It was quite the turnaround between two matches for Morris.

The fireworks at the end that Morris, and David Miller shortly before, provided meant that Royals recovered from 17/3, 36/4, 42/5, 90/6 and 104/7 to chase down a target that kept slipping away from them for large parts of that run-chase.

Morris’ finish — 36 off 18 balls, with 29 of those runs coming in the last two overs — put him in some elite company in the history of IPL.

Dhoni vs KXIP (Dharamsala, IPL 2010)

Arguably, the most popular late heist in the history of IPL. Not just for the match situation, not just for the context of what it meant to Chennai Super Kings’ playoff hopes, not just for the epic sixes... but no one can forget MS Dhoni’s reaction at the end of it all.

Shaun Marsh’s unbeaten 57-ball 88 and a 99-run unbroken stand with Irfan Pathan took KXIP to 192. CSK needed 193 to win. Helped by Suresh Raina and S Badrinath’s brilliant knocks, they — as they like to do — took the game deep. And waiting at the end was their captain. With 29 needed from 12 balls, Dhoni hit a couple of fours at the start of the 19th over against Rusty Theron. And he kept strike for the final over, with the equation reading 16 off 6 balls. Pathan ran in with the ball and Dhoni met him with 4-2-6-6, the first of those sixes going out of the ground in Dharamsala and maybe into the valleys, while the match-winning hit saw the former Indian captain uppercut himself on the helmet repeatedly in an uncommon display of raw emotion on the cricket field.

CSK, the eventual champions, had pulled off a heist to enter the knockouts, thanks to their talisman who scored 30 runs in the last two overs to remain unbeaten on 54.

Watch highlights of that match here.

Jadeja vs KKR (Dubai, IPL 2020)

Ten years on, CSK found themselves in an unprecedented situation of being the first team to be eliminated from the post-season contention. IPL 2020 witnessed the first time CSK not being part of the playoffs when they have been in the tournament and Dhoni’s men were reduced to now playing potential party-poopers. And spoil KKR’s party they did, thanks to a blistering finish from Ravindra Jadeja.

In line with how they had chased targets in the season, CSK’s innings was meandering towards a finish as they could not get their pacing right. Chasing 173 to win, they were 143/4 at the end of 18 overs. KKR must have believed the game is theirs, and their playoff hopes still alive and in their own hands. But Jadeja (and Lockie Ferguson) had other ideas. The Kiwi pacer had had an off-day but was trusted to bowl the 19th over.

But Jadeja, relishing the pace on offer, smacked him for two fours and a six (helped by a free hit for a no-ball as well) to make it a 20-run over. Now, with 10 needed off the last over, CSK were again under pressure as Kamlesh Nagarkoti started the final over well to reduce the equation to 7 off 2 balls. But Jadeja wielded that bat to devastating effect once again, hit two big sixes and sealing the win for CSK that all but ended KKR’s playoff hopes. Jadeja’s 29 runs in the last two overs, saw him finish unbeaten on 31 off 11 balls.

Watch highlights of that match here.

Morris vs DC (Mumbai, IPL 2021)

And finally, we come to 2021 for the Morris special. Unlike the previous two matches, this was not a game with post-season significance in the literal sense. The interesting part of this match was that, after a six-hitting showdown few days back between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, the big hits went completely missing for more than three-fourths of the night. It was not until David Miller hit two six in the 16th over of the run-chase, that the boundary was cleared for the first time on the night, at Wankhede of all places. In fact, Delhi’s innings that finished without a six was the first of its kind at the venue.

But, like the previous two entries in this list, Morris’ brilliant innings would come to be defined by the sixes he hit. There would be seven sixes in total by the time Royals’ completed their turnaround against Delhi, with Miller’s two followed by Jaydev Unadkat’s solitary yet crucial blow, before Morris took over with four of his one. The first two sixes came in the all-important 19th over as he took on compatriot Kagiso Rabada, first picking up the slower ball and later using the pace to clear the fence in front and behind square. From 27 off 12 balls, the equation had come down to 12 off 6 balls.

Tom Curran then made two errors in the space of three balls. First was a back-of-the-hand slower ball that was delivered half-way down the pitch. It sat up perfectly for Morris, who pulled it over square leg. And the winning shot came off a gift of a full toss on the pads. Up went the ball in to the stands, as Morris gave a thumb-up to the dressing room. Job well done, 29 runs in the last two overs for him.

While what Samson did was perfectly alright in the situation of the chase against Punjab (Morris said afterwards that his idea was not to get on strike but to run back and sacrifice his wicket if a double was not possible), Morris showed that his batting skills can make up on nights when his bowling doesn’t quite click. That, in the end, is the mark of a true allrounder.

Watch highlights of Morris’ innings here.