7 best performances from foreign players in IPL 2016 that don't fade away

It might be the ‘Indian’ Premier League, but the tournament has always helped foreign players in more ways than one. Indeed, out of the 9 editions that have been played, the MVP award for the best player of the tournament was won by foreign players for an astonishing 7 times.

Many foreign players got their international career on track by playing well in the IPL—just ask Shane Watson. In fact, it is the inclusion of the foreigners that make this league as demandable as it is now.

In the 2016 edition of the IPL, a great many foreigners performed a great many times and created memories that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Let's take a look at the top 7 performances by foreigners:

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#7 Ben Cutting vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

In the most important game of it all, the best performance came from the player from whom it was least expected.

Ben Cutting’s all-round display in the final was the perfect helping hand that shepherded them to their maiden IPL title. When he came to bat, only 4 overs were left to play and SRH had 147 runs on board. By the time he was done, he desecrated Shane Watson for 24 runs in the last over and took the score to a gargantuan 208.

To beat the Challengers, a score of over 200 was a must and his innings just that. Even then, a Gayle inspired RCB were chasing it down with ease, but he once again came in and took the wicket of Gayle to begin the implosion of the Challengers.

He got a man of the match for his brilliance and will remember this game for a long time.

#6 Steven Smith's 100 vs Gujarat Lions

Steven Smith is one of the most feared strikers of the ball. However, not all was rosy for him as he began the IPL in atrocious form. Nothing seemed to be working for him, but out of the blue, he scored a blinder of a century against Gujarat Lions.

It was his maiden century in T20 cricket he made it in only 53 balls to help his team post a formidable target of 196.

In the end, however, his innings went in vain as a Dwayne Smith-inspired Gujarat Lions successfully chased down the total, to the sadness of MS Dhoni.

#5 AB de Villiers 79* vs Gujarat Lions

Gujarat Lions were possibly AB de Villiers' favourite opponent. As luck would have it, Royal Challengers Bangalore faced RCB in the first qualifier and an AB special was in store.

Chasing 159 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Royal Challengers found themselves reeling at 29/5. It became even worse as Stuart Binny fell to make it 68/6.

However, the South African kept his calm and scored a well-paced unbeaten 79 to steer his team’s ship to the coast of victory. This was their 5th win in a row, taking them to the final of the tournament in the process.

#4 David Warner 93* vs Gujarat Lions

It seems like all the bad luck in the world fell in the laps of Gujarat as some of the finest innings were played against them. David Warner's beautiful innings of 93 not out guided his team to the final of the tournament.

Chasing 163, Hyderabad kept losing wickets on one end as David Warner stood at the other and looked helplessly, wondering if any one of his team-mates would actually stick with him and help him reach the final.

In the end, he got help from the bat of Bipul Sharma, but it was his unbeaten 93* that got his team to the final and kicked Gujarat Lions out of the tournament.

#3 Chris Morris' 82* vs Gujarat Lions

When Chris Morris came into bat in this game, his team, Delhi Daredevils, needed 116 runs from the last 56 balls. Fans had given up hope for Delhi—and who could blame them as the Daredevils had lost 4 wickets with their top order back in the pavillion.

However, Chris Morris is no ordinary man. In an extraordinary turn of events, the hammering Morris inflicted on the Gujarat Lions made him score the fastest 50 in this year’s IPL (in 17 balls only). Not only that, his fury brought down the required runs to 16 from the last 2 overs.

But in the end, some brilliant bowling from Dwayne Bravo and Praveen Kumar stopped him from winning the game for his team. An innings that could have been perfect, but fell just short of it.

#2 Adam Zampa's 6/19 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

In a tournament that favoured the batsmen more than anyone else, Adam Zampa’s magical spell against the Sunrisers Hyderabad was among the best moments in this year’s IPL.

For a change, a pitch that was designated to help the bowlers was carved out—and Adam Zampa made full use of it.

In a spell where he destroyed the entire middle order of the eventual champions, he ended up with 6 wickets to his name while only conceding 19 runs in his spell of 4 overs.

His efforts might have gone in vain as Sunrisers won the game in the end, but it was the best spell of bowling that we witnessed in IPL 2016.

#1 AB de Villiers’ 129* vs Gujarat Lions

An AB de Villiers special rounds up the list. When he gets going, only God can stop him—and the Almighty chose to not come to Gujarat Lions' rescue on this occasion.

Royal Challengers had lost their previous tie against Gujarat, rendering this match as a must-win for pride as well as qualification purposes. ABD, according to himself, is not a big thinker—so it doubtful whether he had all that in mind.

He came, he saw and he conquered. Smashing the ball from the word go, he ended his innings with 129* runs from only 52 balls, while also forming a record partnership with Virat Kohli and setting a score of 248 in 20 overs.