From controversies to defining moments: Highlights of IPL 2016

May 30, 2016 at 1:58 PM

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From controversies to defining moments: Highlights of IPL 2016

Yet another IPL season comes to end and we witnessed some great knocks, great bowling spells and great fielding efforts; ultimately the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) crowned a new champion – Sunrisers Hyderabad; breaking the tradition of the past six years. Since IPL 3 in 2010 till IPL 8 in 2015, the trophy has been won by either Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (2010, 2011), Gautam Gambhir’s Kolkata Knight Riders (2012, 2014) or Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (2013, 2015).

Here we take a quick look at the highs and lows of Indian Premier League 2016.
A breathtaking final1464579172_sunrisers-hyderabad
The batting display of RCB captain Virat Kohli has been the biggest talking point in the ninth season of Indian Premier League. The 27-year-old destroyed every individual batting statistic in this edition, bringing up a few in the final on Sunday.

All that remained unachieved was for him to claim the first IPL title for him and his team to end an exemplary season. However, it finished with heartbreak on home turf as David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad clinched an eight-run victory in a thrilling, high-scoring final played in front of a packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Sunrisers celebrated wildly after their bowlers held their own reputation against the imposing RCB batting unit. The Hyderabad boys were the first team to opt to bat first after winning the toss in Bengaluru this term, but they emerged the sixth winner after electing to bat first in nine editions.
Virat Kohli’s form&NCS_modified=20160518213338&MaxW=640&imageVersion=default&AR-160518970
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper looks to be the latest victim of the Orange Cap jinx which has been proving to be a nightmare for the leading run-scorers and their franchises in the IPL. Just once in nine editions of the league has an Orange Cap holder went on to lay hands on the coveted trophy.

There have been seasons where Chennai Super Kings were the team to catch up with. This time it was Virat Kohli throughout the competition. With four massive centuries and 973 runs to his name, Kohli was the problem that most of the teams had no solution to. He actually owned the cover drive, ran like an African gazelle and displayed intent and planning with every shot. He even notched a century with a split webbing. Everybody believed Kohli will get to 1000 runs in the final. However, at the end of 40 overs on the final night, Kohli was seen with a deserted look on his face in the RCB dugout after his team had lost the final battle on the big night against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But one thing for sure, comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar are not over the top.
AB’s sixesfiles-cricket-t20-ipl-ind-bangalore_6ede8b4e-23f0-11e6-86a8-6aa3f93e5d3e
AB de Villiers smashed 37 sixes in this IPL — the highest– but one stands head and shoulders above the rest. It came in that heist of a match against Gujarat Lions in Bangalore. Trying to aim for his leg stump, Praveen Kumar actually delivered a low full toss. Going down on his right knee, de Villiers swept the ball over the deep fine leg and sent the ball to the roof of the stadium. That highlighted the South African’s repertoire, which frankly was a treat to watch. Despite losing the final, the South African hard-hitter finished this season as the third highest run-getter with 687 runs.
Chris Gayle’s sexist commentskkr-rcb-ipl-match-in-kolkata_7041bdf8-23f0-11e6-86a8-6aa3f93e5d3e
To not watch Chris Gayle bat well is bad enough. To have him staring at other women and openly ask them if they have had threesomes makes it really unacceptable. The IPL has witnessed too many controversies in the past. The last thing it would have wanted is a cricketer openly bragging about how well-endowed he is. To make matters even worse, neither the BCCI nor RCB has come out openly to condemn Gayle’s sexist comments.
Mustafizur’s yorkersipl-match-in-vizag_6d70a22e-23f0-11e6-86a8-6aa3f93e5d3e
Here was a player who knew neither English nor Hindi and had to rely on the signs used by his skipper to realize what exactly he wanted out of him. Still Mustafizur ‘Fizz’ Rahman bagged 17 wickets in his first IPL, in fact, his first tournament outside Bangladesh. He is a special talent and even teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar admitted he can’t read his slower cutters. Yet Rahman’s standout delivery has been his fast and accurate yorkers that have floored the likes of Andre Russell. In the final also it was Sunrisers’ bowling department who turned things around and this Bangladeshi lad played a significant role to create history.
Pathan turning back the clockipl-in-kolkata_6e222c2e-23f0-11e6-86a8-6aa3f93e5d3e
Had Yusuf Pathan played just one special innings no one would have complained. Like Chris Gayle, Pathan is the type of player not expected to churn out match-winning innings frequently. This year, Pathan surprised everybody. Not only was he responsible for a majority of KKR’s wins this season, he also hammered 13 sixes, most of them without wearing a helmet which brought back the memories of the Yusuf Pathan of Rajasthan Royals.
The unending injury listipl-2016_71a3f80a-23f0-11e6-86a8-6aa3f93e5d3e
After a wonderful auction, Rising Pune Supergiants would have fancied their chances of making it to the playoffs. But by mid-tournament, they had lost Kevin Pietersen, Mitchell Marsh, Faf du Plessis and Steve Smith. Ashish Nehra was injured two times. Yuvraj Singh missed half the league phase because of an ankle injury. Lasith Malinga and Samuel Badree never saw action. Even Kings XI Punjab couldn’t cope with the loss of Shaun Marsh and later, Glen Maxwell. All in all, many were missed this year.
Competition stretching till last gameipl-match-in-bengaluru_6f911304-23f0-11e6-86a8-6aa3f93e5d3e
The fact that the playoffs were decided in the last match was just what the IPL required to bolster its image as a premier competition. So close was the competition that at one time six teams were fighting for the last four and even Mumbai Indians could have made it despite losing their last match. And it was a topsy-turvy ride also. Gujarat Lions finished top but not without enough hiccups. Sunrisers Hyderabad should have sealed the second position but RCB came out nowhere to take it.
Bangar-Zinta controversypriety-zinta-ipl9-12-1463038960
As if finishing bottom of the heap wasn’t enough, Kings XI Punjab were also involved in a controversy where co-owner Preity Zinta had allegedly misbehaved with team coach Sanjay Bangar. It infuriated Zinta who took to social media to strongly deny the allegations. All this could never have a good bearing on Kings XI who had to change skipper mid-season. But even Murali Vijay couldn’t stop the slide.
Virat’s angeripl-match-in-bengaluru_70e62e2e-23f0-11e6-86a8-6aa3f93e5d3e
‘Virat ko gussa kyon aata hai’ could be the name of a short film on the instances of Kohli’s misplaced anger despite being on top of the world with an outstanding form. The first qualifier was another example of Kohli giving aggression a bad name. Shane Watson was getting the stick from Eklavya Dwivedi in the 19th over but Kohli cut it short by taking a blinder of a catch. However, what he did next had no explanation. Angry as hell, Kohli slammed the ball into the ground and walked back to the boundary rope for a drink. The behavior made the umpires assume that Kohli had not caught the ball cleanly. The confusion was cleared after the third umpire was called in but it could have been avoided if Kohli had been a little more in control of his emotions.

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