This edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) turned out to be a run-fest with as many as eight batsmen racking 500 runs each in the season.
While it was Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson who topped the batting charts with 735 runs, there were plenty of individual batting performances that played a key role in their team’s progression throughout the tournament.
On that note, let us take a not of the top five knocks of this year’s IPL:
MS Dhoni (70* off 34) against Royal Challengers Bangalore
Of the many positives that Chennai Super Kings gained during their triumphant run, this IPL was to see MS Dhoni being back at his destructive best.
Dhoni returned to the vintage form that got CSK to overhaul Royal Challengers Bangalore’s strong total of 205. CSK were 74/4 before out walked Dhoni. With Ambati Rayudu, he put on a game-changing 101-run partnership before taking it to the RCB bowlers.
With 70 needed off 28, Dhoni finished the game with two balls remaining – smashing 71 runs in the last five overs. He remained unbeaten having hit one four and seven sixes, the final hit taking CSK to the top of the table.
Rishabh Pant (128* off 63) against Sunrisers Hyderabad
Two days after being dropped from India’s Twenty20 squad for their tour of Ireland and England, Pant displayed his six-hitting prowess with a swashbuckling unbeaten 63-ball 128 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, albeit in a losing cause.
Pant left the field with his head held high, however, having destroyed arguably the tournament’s best bowling attack to register the highest IPL score by an Indian player.
The southpaw dismissed two of the most economical bowlers, Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Chris Gayle (104* off 63) against Sunrisers Hyderabad
In just his second outing for Kings XI Punjab, Gayle struck the first century of IPL 2018 and his 21st T20 ton overall. After seeing off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first spell, Gayle took off the KXIP innings when he hit four boundaries in seven balls, including three leg-side sixes off Chris Jordan and Rashid Khan.
Gayle terrorised Rashid by taking him for four sixes in one overs and taking 42 off 16 balls off his bowling at a strike-rate of 262.50.
Gayle managed to hit 11 sixes in total, propelling KXIP to 193/3, a score that proved too much for Sunrisers.
Shane Watson (117* off 57) against Sunrisers Hyderabad
When he took 10 balls to get off the mark, not many would have assumed Watson to explode in such a fashion that CSK would gallop home with as many as nine balls and eight wickets remaining.
After taking some time to settle in, Watson tore into one of IPL’s best bowling attacks in a fine exhibition of clean hitting.
He treated Sandeep Sharma with disdain, taking him four sixes in an over that fetched 27 runs and put the game out of Sunrisers’ reach. From 0 off 10, he had gone to 100 off 51 (41 balls technically) as CSK lift their third title.
Jos Buttler (94* off 53) against Mumbai Indians
From being on the brink of elimination to making it to the Playoffs, Rajasthan Royals owe Jos Buttler big time.
In the last six innings, before he left to resume national duty with England, Buttler piled 389 runs, the most significant of which was an unbeaten 94 against Mumbai Indians in a must-win encounter.
Chasing 169, Buttler steered the Royals’ innings with a fifth consecutive half-century to help his side register their third straight win.
After seeing off the Powerplay, the England wicketkeeper went berserk to move from 55 to 94 in just 15 balls. Buttler played a key hand in Royals collecting 67 runs between the 13th and the 18th over to see his side home.
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