Kolkata: It has already been more than a day since the IPL 10 has come to an end and we in India, are yet to recover from the hangover of the cricketing carnival. From highs to lows, the tenth edition of the most famous T20 tournament across the globe has been memorable and monumental in every sense with several highlights.
There has been some surprise performances with the bat like Sunil Narine’s fastest half-century and some unexpectedly poor shows like Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore. Before this hangover gets off, let’s take you through some of the main highlights of this year’s IPL:
1. The Indian bowling, especially in the death overs
If bowling during the death was an issue for some IPL franchises, they would look up to their overseas bowling recruits in the earlier editions to get the job done. But this year being the tenth edition had to have something special about it and so it did. This time, it is the Indian boys who have successfully taken the duties of bowling at the death and have done exceedingly well in it. Bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah ( Mumbai Indians) have been pretty consistent with the ball, and at the death, there’s not too many batsmen who want to face him as his yorker length deliveries are really hard to get away with. Then there’s Jaydev Unadkat (Rising Pune Supergiant) who had really turned it on with his excellent line and length and single-handedly won matches for his side. There’s Siddharth Kaul ( Sunrisers Hyderabad) who has time and again bowled at the death for his team and has pretty successfully restricted the flow of runs.
Yet, none would forget the purple cap winner Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has always been a smart and thinking bowler and someone who bowls pretty well with his variations, at the death too.
2. Hashim Amla’s two centuries
The South African veteran did have a memorable IPL as he smashed not one, but two centuries and coincidentally, both of them were identical scores ( 104* and 104) and both of them resulted in losses for his team against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions. Though his team failed to capitalize on his spectacular batting, this has been quite a memorable season for Amla, who has by all means surpassed his South African teammate AB De Villiers in terms of runs scored. In fact, Amla has 420 runs to his name from the 10 matches he has played and is placed sixth in the top ten run getters of this season. De Villiers on the other hand, doesn’t even feature in the top 20 list.
3. RCB’s nightmarish season
Riding on the back of skipper Virat Kohli’s heroics with the bat, the Royal Challengers Bangalore reached the finals last year and was dangerously close to winning it also. They were expected to carry in to the tournament that energy and the fireworks that they showed last year but the reality was just the opposite. Far from playing to their potential, the players couldn’t even replicate their success of the last year. As a team they have bowled well and batted well but not has performed as a unit. As a matter of fact, they succumbed to their and the lowest total in the IPL, when they were shot out for just 49 runs against KKR.
His form too has been a major issue and one of the reason for his and his teams downward movement this
5. Rising Pune Supergiant’s ‘rise’ to the top
The Steve Smith led team’s journey from the seventh position in the league table to a place in the final has been nothing short of a fairytale. Only a win in the finals would have given this story a perfect ending. Nonetheless, they have won a lot of hearts with their performances in this year’s competition, especially after a poor debut season last year. Youngsters like Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat and Bengal cricketer Manoj Tiwary has been the finds for them this season as time and again, these stars took them over the line. Also, the presence of international heavyweights like Ben Stokes, Imran Tahir, Steve Smith and our very own Mahendra Singh Dhoni only added brilliantly to this mix of youth and experience and thus made the perfect recipe for success. Although they have lost the tournament but they have left an imprint on all our minds.
5. Brilliant captaincy in the IPL
When talking of the IPL, it is on most occasions that the team effort of a particular side gets praised. But going with it is the captain who puts the entire team together. The tenth edition of the IPL too, like the previous editions witnessed some brilliant captains standing tall and leading their teams. For example, Gautam Gambhir of the Kolkata Knight Riders was absolutely superb with his bowling changes and field placements and always looked to attack a batsman whenever he’s new to the crease. As a matter of fact, he’s responsible for one of the most memorable moves this season- promoting Sunil Narine up the order to open the innings.
Rohit Sharma has also been phenomenal donning the captain’s hat. He has been able to handle the pressure in tense situations (like the final match) and has succeeded more often than not.
We also have Pune skipper Steve Smith in this list, whose inspired captaincy literally dragged his team out of nowhere and put them in the final. He quite dutifully took up the mantle of the team from MS Dhoni and needless to say, has excelled in his job so far, despite having lost the final.
These were the highlights of this year’s IPL, a tournament that has become no less than an emotion in the country today. We all wait to live this emotion every single year and our ever increasing expectations from the tournament with every passing year gets fulfilled by the teams and the players, by whose names the cricket fans in India swear.