IPL 2018: 5 surprise moves that paid off

The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League is over and like always has given the cricket fans all over the world another 50 days of brilliant cricket.

The tournament that was won by the comeback side Chennai Super Kings was unique in many aspects. There are very few fans of IPL who wouldn't agree to the fact that this season was one of the most closely contested seasons ever.

The captains and the team management were on their toes and pulled out many heroic moves that sometimes worked and sometimes failed but deserved to applauded. We have compiled 5 such moves from this year's edition that proved to be a gamechanger for their team.

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#5 Kings XI Punjab including Gayle in the playing XI

Chris Gayle was unsold twice when he was bought into the auction this year. The franchises might have thought of him as an empty pistol but Kings XI Punjab picked him at his base price.

Gayle sat on the bench for the first two matches and was included in the side in the match against Chennai Super Kings. The Jamaican superstar scored 63 off 33 balls and followed it up with tournament's first century in the next match vs Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Gayle, overall, scored 368 runs in 11 matches. His decline in form in the second half of the league was one of the reasons for KXIP's ouster but he proved his worth and reminded everyone that he still is the boss of the T20 cricket and is not done yet.

To quote him, "Virender Sehwag saved the tournament by picking him up".

#4 Krishnappa Gowtham in powerplay

When a player of 20 lakh base price was bought at 6.20 crores by Rajasthan Royals it made headlines and left many people curious as to what is so special about Krishnappa Gowtham. We all know how he played a blinder of 33 runs in 11 balls against Mumbai Indians but it turned out to be a masterstroke when captain Ajinkya Rahane started to bowl him in power play.

In one crucial must-win game against Punjab, Gowtham bowled the first over of the innings and kept the game tight. He forced the batsman to take the risk and ultimately got Chris Gayle out. Rajasthan ultimately won the game by five runs despite KL Rahul's heroics and Gowtham was the man who set the tone.

His favourite wicket off his own bowling in the tournament was that of Brendon McCullum, who was also dismissed in the powerplay.

#3 Suryakumar Yadav opening

The former Kolkata Knight Riders vice-captain, Surya Kumar Yadav played like he was meant to wear Mumbai Indians jersey all this while. His promotion as the opener was one of the highlights for Mumbai Indians this year who had their opening combination sorted throughout.

Surya Kumar, who was wasted by Kolkata at number 5-6-7 until last year, scored as many as 512 runs in this year's edition and ended up as Mumbai's highest run scorer ahead of stalwarts like Evin Lewis and Rohit Sharma.

#2 Jos Buttler promotion

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders - IPL T20

Nothing was going right for Rajasthan Royals in the first half of the tournament. They were caught in the lower half of the points table and chances of them making it to the top four looked bleak. But then they promoted Jos Buttler as an opener and the rest is history.

Buttler scored five consecutive fifties in the tournament and thus equalled the record of Virender Sehwag which the latter created in 2012. The Englishman consistently provided much-needed boosts at the top and got Rajasthan off to quick starts.

His surprise recall in them English cricket team left a dent in Rajasthan's line-up who ultimately crashed against Kolkata in the eliminator which many thought would have been different had Buttler been a part of it.

#1 Rayudu's promotion in the batting order

Ambati Rayudu has won four IPL Trophies now - three with Mumbai and one with CSK. His performances for Mumbai Indians were brilliant but it goes without saying that his batting in this year's IPL was a treat to watch.

He underwent a purple patch under MSD's captaincy and mercilessly thrashed bowlers at the top of the batting order, making the most out of the powerplays. He made contributions in almost all the matches and even scored a century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were considered to be the best bowling unit of the IPL.

In a team that boasted of Shane Watson, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rayudu top-scored for Chennai Super Kings and amassed 602 runs, ending up as a 4th highest run-getter of the tournament.