IPL 2018: 3 stunning cameos in the tournament

IPL 2018 is nearing its half-way mark. The tournament is now entering an important phase where teams can’t afford to relax. We have witnessed some scintillating knocks in the tournament so far.

Shane Watson and Chris Gayle’s brilliant 100, Sam Billing’s scintillating 56 of 23 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders, Dwayne Bravo’s 68 of 30 balls against Mumbai Indians are some of the best knocks in IPL 2018.

But the ones that we are going to see here are brief scintillating match-winning knocks. A quick-fire 20 or 30 makes a lot of difference in a T20 game. On that note, let’s take a look at the 3 stunning cameos in IPL 2018.

(Only knocks of less than 20 balls are considered for this article)

#3 Krishnappa Gowtham, 33 off 11

Chasing 168 against Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals were tottering at 125 for 6 in the 18th over when Gowtham came to bat. Rajasthan Royals needed 43 off 17 balls against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman.

The Royals’ Rs 6.2 crore signing, Krishnappa Gowtham, smashed two of the best death over bowlers to all parts of the ground and chased the score with two balls to spare. He played a stunning cameo as he finished the game with 33 runs off 11 balls. Royals did not pay 6.2 crores for nothing.

#2 Andre Russell, 41 of 12

Andre Russell is a beast

Andre Russell is known for playing cameos. The West Indies all-rounder is one of the brutal hitters of a cricket ball. He did not disappoint fans in IPL 2018 as he scored a breath-taking 41 off 12 balls against Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens.

Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders were 117 for 4 in the 14th over when Russell came on to bat. He struck his second ball for a six, and then went on to hit five more maximum’s, all of Mohammad Shami. He was dismissed in the 18th over but he already caused enough damage to the Delhi Daredevils. His 41 off 12 balls took Kolkata to a match-winning 200 for 9 in 20 overs.

#1 KL Rahul, 51 off 16

KL Rahul is in stunning form at the moment

KL Rahul now holds the record for the fastest fifty in IPL cricket. The Karnataka batsman, who was signed up for a whopping Rs 11 crores by Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 auction, played one of best IPL knocks of all-time.

Chasing a modest score of 167 against Delhi Daredevils, KL Rahul came down hard on the Delhi bowlers in the power-play. He brought up his 50 off 14 balls in only the third over of the innings, which is the fastest in IPL history. His scintillating innings comprised of six fours and four huge sixes.