On This Day in Cricket - June 1

The start of the new month has a wide range of cricketing memories as on June 1, 2008, the Rajasthan Royals defeated the Chennai Super Kings to win the maiden IPL season. In 2014, the Kolkata Knight Riders defeated the Punjab Kings in the Finals of the tournament to list their second IPL Title. In 2002, South Africa’s former skipper passed away in a plane crash near George, a town in South Africa's Western Cape. In 1985, the Indian team was blessed with a wicket-keeper, Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik who represented India in 94 ODIs.

On This Day - June 1, 1985 - Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik was Born Today

Born and brought up in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik celebrates his birthday on June 1 and has proved to be a wicket-keeper batsman for the Indian team. Starting with his Test Career, Dinesh Karthik was able to represent India in 26 matches and scored 1025 runs at an average of 25.00 along with a strike rate of 49.27, which includes a century and 7 half-centuries for the team.

(Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik was born on June 1, 1985)

Coming to the ODIs, Karthik made his mark in 94 matches and was able to score 1752 runs at an average of 30.20 along with a strike rate of 73.24. In this process, he scored 9 half-centuries for the team as well. Talking about the T20I format, he has been a part of 60 matches and has scored 686 runs at an average of 26.38 and a strike rate of 142.61 while scoring a half-century for the team.

On This Day - June 1, 2008 - Rajasthan Royals wins the IPL 2008

Playing the Finals in the maiden season of the IPL on June 1, the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings met at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai. While batting first, the Chennai Super Kings came up with a total of 163 runs with the loss of 5 wickets as Suresh Raina scored 43 runs from 30 balls with a strike rate of 143.33 while MS Dhoni finished the innings with 29 runs from 17 balls and with a strike rate of 170.58.

(Rajasthan Royals won the IPL 2008)

Coming to chase the target, the Rajasthan Royals were in trouble early but Yusuf Pathan’s 56 runs from 39 balls and with a strike rate of 143.58, it helped the Rajasthan Royals to come close to the target and on the last ball, they managed to hit the winning runs and won the maiden IPL season by 3 wickets.

On This Day - June 1, 2014 - Kolkata Knight Riders defeats Punjab Kings by 3 Wickets

For the 2014 IPL final at Bengaluru, Kolkata Knight Riders completed a thrilling 3 wicket win over Kings XI Punjab to lift their second IPL title. After being asked to bat first, Kings XI posted a strong 199 for 4 in 20 overs. Wriddhiman Saha played one of the finest innings in an IPL final, remaining unbeaten on 115 from just 55 balls with 10 fours and 8 sixes. Manan Vohra also contributed 67 from 52 deliveries as Punjab looked set for victory.

(Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Punjab Kings by 3 wickets)

Chasing 200, Kolkata lost Robin Uthappa early but captain Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey rebuilt the innings. Pandey produced a match winning knock of 94 from only 50 balls, smashing 7 fours and 6 sixes. Yusuf Pathan added a quick 36 from 22 balls to keep the chase on track. Despite a late fightback from Punjab, Kolkata held their nerve as Piyush Chawla struck the winning six, helping KKR reach 200 for 7 with 3 balls remaining.

On This Day - June 1, 2002 - Hansie Cronje passes away in a Plane Crash

For the cricket world, the death of Hansie Cronje on June 1, 2002, was a shocking and tragic moment. The former South African captain died at the age of 32 when a cargo aircraft crashed into Cradock Peak in the Outeniqua mountain range near George in the Western Cape. Cronje was travelling home after his scheduled flight had been cancelled because of bad weather and a hailstorm.

(Hansie Cronje passed away on 1 June, 2002)

His death came just 2 years after he admitted his involvement in the match fixing scandal that shook international cricket. Once regarded as one of South Africa’s greatest leaders, Cronje had captained the national team in a record 53 Test matches and 138 One Day Internationals. Under his leadership, South Africa won 27 Tests and 99 ODIs. At the time of his death, Cronje had begun rebuilding his life away from cricket.