5 instances when IPL teams relied on a single player

3. Laith Malinga (MI) (2011)

Malinga has been MI’s spearhead for a long time now

Lasith Malinga kept the Mumbai Indians floating in the 4^th season of the IPL and showed what he is made of with some stellar performances with the ball. The slinging right-arm fast bowler rattled the batsmen with his toe-crushing Yorkers. His best figures till date of 5 for 13 at the Feroz Shah Kotla against Delhi Daredevils came in that season.

He went on to scalp 28 wickets in 16 matches at an astonishing average of 5.95 in 2011. The franchise has ensured that stays with them by always retaining him during the auctions.

4. Glen Maxwell (KXIP) ( 2013)

Glenn Maxwell won the player of the tournament award in 2014

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, over time has established a reputation for having only one solution to every problem - attack. Irrespective of the situation of the game, Maxwell plays his strokes and when they come off, he is a hero.

In the 2014 season, Maxwell played a pivotal role in Punjab reaching their first IPL final. In their tournament opener, Maxwell plundered the Chennai Super Kings bowlers, racing to 95 runs from just 43 balls, and followed it up with a 45-ball 89 against the Rajasthan Royals. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he picked up his third consecutive Man of the Match award, a rare record in the IPL, after scoring a 43-ball 95. In all, in 16 games in the season, he piled on 552 runs, averaging almost 35 with a whopping strike rate of 187.75. Prior to that, he had largely fruitless seasons with Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai.

Punjab’s performances this season highlighted how much they depended on this man last season to make it to the last 4 stage.

5. David Warner (SRH) (2015)

Warner almost carried SRH in to the playoffs this season

David Warner was the mainstay of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting line-up this season. Every time he came out to bat, he made sure he scored runs and provided a good start for the team, thereby making up for the lack of depth in their middle order. His performances almost ensured a berth for SRH into the playoffs but they unfortunately missed out due to their loss in the do-or-die game against champions Mumbai Indians.

Overall, Warner aggregated 562 runs in 14 matches and won the orange cap. Even though the Australian did well, he unfortunately did not receive much support from his teammates apart from Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques.