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The second week of the Indian Premier League 2015 was much more interesting than the first. Nine matches were played during this period and of which four contests went down the wire. We saw two prominent teams- Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians- which were of late bruised raise into resurgence. A 43-year-old Indian cricketer proving age is just a number when it comes to talent and the foreign players making their presence felt.As lot many players stepped on the gas and were impactful in different occasions, here’s a look at the top performers from the previous week and the best eleven that can be picked from them.
#1 Mayank Agarwal- DD
Mayank Agarwal is a dashing opener who hails from Bangalore and initially started his IPL career playing for RCB. The 24-year-old right handed batsman often draws comparison with Virender Sehwag, who is a well-known attacking opener.
In order to recover from a losing streak, imperative it was for DD’s players to show some power out in the middle. Mayank opened the innings to run down a target of 166 set by KXIP. He played a sterling knock of 68 from 48 balls and also shared a 100-run stand with DD’s hot property Yuvraj Singh. Thus, DD won its first match of IPL-2015 which saw a nail-biting finsh with a ball to spare. Mayank proudly took home the Player of the Match award that night.
#2 Dwayne Smith- CSK
Aggressive and powerful, Dwayne Smith plays as an opener for CSK. This West Indian batsman was with MI at the beginning of his IPL career and later made a move to CSK in 2014. He has scored 11 fifties so far in the IPL and has maintained an attacking strike rate of 135.
Smith made two back to back impactful knocks for the Chennai based franchise last week. He made a mockery of the target of 183 set by MI as CSK finished the game with three full overs to spare. Scorecard against his name read a match-winning knock of a 30-ball 62. He carried over this fire-power to the match against RR where he gave a solid start to the side with a score of 40 at an enviable strike rate of 137 plus. Though his start failed to win the game for CSK, he has proved to be their irreplaceable opening option.
#3 Ajinkya Rahane- RR
Rahane has been RR’s batting mainstay and is flexible to play at any position up the order. An young Indian talent that he is, he even has an IPL century to his credit. He is the current holder of the orange cap.
Designed to play three matches last week, RR had a packed schedule but the 26-year-old Rahane didn’t seem to crib much as he notched up two valuable fifties and an impactful 46. His first fifty came against a strong SRH bowling attack and then in the match against CSK he helped RR to their fifth continuous victory this edition as he played for a telling 76 runs which he added during the mighty opening stand of 144 with Shane Watson.
#4 JP Duminy- DD
Carrying dual responsibilities of a skipper and a batting all-rounder, JP Duminy has given DD their money’s worth so far. Duminy makes round as an wholesome package as he lets his bat speak and at the same time spins arm for good returns.
He uplifted the struggling DD side to its first victory after a long time by picking up two important KXIP wickets. Later, on a humid Saturday afternoon at Visakhapatnam, Duminy braved the heat to display a champion performance in front of a vociferous SRH crowd. He first batted for a quick-fire 54 to take DD’s total to 167 and then proved his mettle with the ball by spinning out four SRH batsmen.
#5 Rohit Sharma- MI
Captaining one of the most prominent IPL teams is not an easy job besides having to take care of your batting; Rohit has managed to do it quite comfortably for MI. He has won them an IPL trophy in 2013.
Rohit Sharma has always been a prolific run-getter for whichever franchise he has played for; and for MI he has been the savior of sorts. Having started off his eighth IPL season with a marvelous 98, last week Rohit notched up a fifty against CSK but in vain. His 15-ball 42 on Sunday against RCB in their home ground gifted Mumbai of its first and only win so far this season for MI.
#6 AB de Villiers- RCB
AB De Villiers has now become the world’s most adored cricketer purely for his incredible sporting talent. Captaining South Africa, ABD (as he is fondly known) plays for RCB in the IPL. He is a crowd-puller no matter which city RCB plays at. His assaults against some of the world’s best fast bowlers are a treat to watch.
The destructive right-hander, despite his merciless hitting ended up on the losing side on both the occasions last week. He took the SRH attack out of the park for a 28-ball 46. And on Sunday night his bludgeoning knock of 41 of just 11 deliveries brought RCB within the clutches of a victory against MI in the garden city.
#7 Kieron Pollard- MI
Love him or hate him but you can never ignore this mighty West Indian, Kieron Pollard. He is with MI from 2010 and has been a reckoning force in their batting line-up. Standing over six-feet tall, Pollard boasts of a phenomenal batting strike rate of close to 150 in his IPL profile.
After having scored a fifty against RR in the begining of the week, the strong-hitter helped MI impose a huge total of 183 against CSK with his brutal knock of 64 of 30 balls which includes 5 big ones. Unfortunately for Pollard, MI’s bowlers did little to defend this promising total and let the match slip into the hands of CSK.
#8 Harbhajan Singh- MI
Intent to make a comeback into the Indian side, Harbhajan is leaving no stone unturned this IPL. Famous for his doosra, Bhajji also produced few surprises with the bat in this BCCI sponsored T20 extravaganza.
The veteran off-spinner has been with the MI franchise right from the first edition of IPL. In an otherwise disappointing start to the tournament, Harbhajan has been the only bright spot for them. He already has eight scalps in just four matches and bowled the RCB side out with a three-wicket haul on Sunday.
#9 Umesh Yadav- KKR
Representing Vidarbha in Ranji Trophy, Umesh Yadav is a right-arm fast bowler who plays for the two-time IPL champions KKR. He enjoyed a great run of form during the just concluded World Cup and has reprised the same touch for his IPL side too.
After week’s rest, KKR got to play only one match last week and Umesh Yadav did not let that opportunity pass by as he picked up three wickets against KXIP at Pune as KKR registered their third win in four matches played. Pakistani legend Wasim Akram too recently shared a word of praise about this talented Indian quickie and the way he is improving.
#10 Pravin Tambe- RR
When RR picked the leggie Pravin Tambe in 2013, it raised many eyebrows as he had no top-level cricketing experience to back him. However, he has done justice to the offer made by RR as he been a consistent performer with the ball for his side.
RR has had a tremendous run so far and Tambe has been vital in their victories as he controls the run flow by picking up regular wickets in the middle overs of the match.
#11 Sandeep Sharma- KXIP
Rather an unknown name in the big league, Sandeep Sharma has slowly but steadily improved his bowling over the years. Not many know that he was a prominent player in the 2012 U-19 World Cup propelling India to the title victory.
Playing for KXIP in IPL, Sandeep pulled off a magical performance last week against KKR with a stunning four-wicket haul. His figures read four for 25 in four overs; sadly though, KXIP suffered a defeat despite this rock-star performance.
