The Indian Premier League is now gathering serious momentum as matches are getting tighter and tighter with every passing day. Yesterday we witnessed the two closest matches of the season so far – the winner wasn’t decided until the 40th over in both the games.
The first game, which was played between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders, was stretched up to the penultimate delivery. DD and KXIP fought hard until the very end, but it was KKR and SRH who kept their nerve throughout.
Both the matches proved one point though – the future of Indian batting is bountiful and brimming with talent. Sanju Samson (38 off 25), Rishabh Pant (38* off 16) and Manan Vohra (95 off 50) shone brighter than everyone else in yesterday’s double header. While all three of them ended up on the losing side, their effort was noticed and appreciated by one and all.
Two people who really stood up in their respective matches were the two captains. Both Gautam Gambhir and David Warner led with vigour and made inspired decisions on the field – decisions that helped get their teams over the line.
Let’s look at the leading run scorers and leading wicket takers after the SRH v KXIP match –
Leading run scorers –
| Position | Player | Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | Highest |
| 1 | David Warner (SRH) | 5 | 235 | 78.33 | 137.43 | 0 | 2 | 76* |
| 2 | M. Pandey (KKR) | 5 | 221 | 221 | 150.34 | 0 | 2 | 81* |
| 3 | Gautam Gambhir (KKR) | 5 | 196 | 65.33 | 142.03 | 0 | 2 | 76* |
| 4 | Nitish Rana (MI) | 5 | 193 | 38.6 | 133.1 | 0 | 2 | 53 |
| 5 | Steve Smith (RPS) | 4 | 180 | 60 | 135.34 | 0 | 1 | 84* |
| 6 | Manan Vohra (KXIP) | 5 | 174 | 34.8 | 165.71 | 0 | 1 | 95 |
| 7 | Sanju Samson (DD) | 4 | 173 | 43.25 | 146.61 | 1 | 0 | 102 |
| 8 | Keiron Pollard (MI) | 5 | 164 | 32.8 | 142.61 | 0 | 1 | 70 |
| 9 | Brendon McCullum (GL) | 4 | 153 | 38.25 | 139.09 | 0 | 1 | 64 |
| 10 | Rishabh Pant (DD) | 4 | 141 | 35.25 | 169.88 | 0 | 1 | 57 |
Leading wicket takers –
| Position | Player | Matches | Wickets | Overs | Runs | Economy | Best Figures |
| 1 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) | 5 | 15 | 20 | 108 | 5.4 | 5 for 17 |
| 2 | Rashid Khan (SRH) | 5 | 9 | 20 | 145 | 7.25 | 3 for 19 |
| 3 | Chris Morris (DD) | 4 | 8 | 14 | 93 | 6.64 | 3 for 21 |
| 4 | Imran Tahir (RPS) | 5 | 8 | 20 | 161 | 8.05 | 3 for 28 |
| 5 | Andrew Tye (GL) | 2 | 7 | 8 | 51 | 6.38 | 5 for 17 |
| 6 | Zaheer Khan (DD) | 4 | 7 | 15 | 117 | 7.8 | 3 for 20 |
| 7 | Mitchell McClenaghan (MI) | 5 | 7 | 20 | 173 | 8.65 | 2 for 20 |
| 8 | Pat Cummins (DD) | 4 | 7 | 15.1 | 115 | 7.58 | 2 for 23 |
| 9 | Chris Woakes (KKR) | 5 | 6 | 18 | 179 | 9.94 | 2 for 30 |
| 10 | Axar Patel (KXIP) | 5 | 6 | 20 | 141 | 7.05 | 2 for 33 |
Before DD v KKR yesterday, Nitish Raha was leading the Orange Cap race, with 11 runs more than Gambhir. Then, Gambhir made 13 and took the orange cap. Immediately after that, Manish Pandey’s match-winning 68 guided him past Gambhir.
However, the overtaking wasn’t done for the day. Warner walked out to bat against KXIP and while completing his half century, overtook Pandey on the list. Meanwhile, Rana has dropped to number four on the chart he was leading at this exact time yesterday.
That’s how competitive and dynamic the IPL is!
The Purple Cap table also showed significant changes everywhere except for the top spot. In yesterday’s article, we mentioned that Bhuvi had three wickets more and one game lesser than the then number two Imran Tahir. That meant that he had some breathing space.
However, he ended up with a career best 5-19 and scalped the all important wicket of Vohra in the 19th over. Kumar has been sensational to the say least.
Also Read: IPL 2017: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab, Player Ratings
Wickets yesterday helped Rashid Khan, Chris Morris, Zaheer Khan, Axar Patel and Pat Cummins to climb up the rankings as well. However, Kumar is still 7 wickets ahead of his teammate Khan, who has 8 tournament wickets to Kumar’s 15.
Let us look at the points table now. It stands at a very interesting position after yesterday’s encounters.
Points Table –
| Postion | Team | Played | Won | Lost | No Result | Net Run Rate | Points | Last Result |
| 1 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1.013 | 8 | Beat DD by 4 wickets |
| 2 | Mumbai Indians | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.302 | 8 | Beat GL by 6 wickets |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.549 | 6 | Beat KXIP by 5 runs |
| 4 | Delhi Daredevils | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.635 | 4 | Lost to KKR by 4 wickets |
| 5 | Kings XI Punjab | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -0.302 | 4 | Lost to SRH by 5 runs |
| 6 | Rising Pune Supergiant | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -0.942 | 4 | Beat RCB by 27 runs |
| 7 | Gujarat Lions | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | -1.084 | 2 | Lost to MI by 6 wickets |
| 8 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | -1.095 | 2 | Lost to RPS by 27 runs |
Both Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians are looking extremely strong right now. The fate of teams like DD, KXIP and RPS lies on how they fare in the tighter matches. They would not be able to create an impact on the tournament if they keep losing close matches against big opponents, like they did yesterday.
GL and RCB both need a win desperately and they face each other today. The losing team will automatically take the last spot. It would be interesting to see how Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli handle their troops in the field today.
We will be back tomorrow with the analysis for that very match. Stay tuned!
