L Balaji's injury paved way for KKR to bench McCullum in favour of Brett Lee for the IPL 2012 final. That also opened up a spot for Bisla, who came in and smashed a match-turning 89 ©BCCI
In this new Cricbuzz series - Once upon an IPL final - we get some of the younger cricketers to retell tales of an IPL final they were part of. First up, is KKR's Manvinder Bisla and his stories from the title-winning season of 2012.
Going into IPL 2012, Manvinder Bisla knew chances were going to be far and few - especially with Brendon McCullum and Brad Haddin, the two overseas wicket-keeping options, in the squad. As it turned out, he only played seven of the 15 matches...
IPL 2012 was my third season and going in I felt I had prepared well for the tournament. I was playing 50-over cricket in Bangladesh before that and I had scored runs there, so I was confident of doing well. I had built up that confidence that if I get a chance to play, I will be able to perform.
We had Brendon McCullum in our side so he was keeping wickets and opening the batting. I finally got my chance in KKR's third game. The wicket in Bangalore was very good and fortunately, I started hitting the ball well from the start. Runs in the tournament make a massive difference to your confidence, and those 46 runs