'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League has reached the half-way stage. The first half of this season saw some mind-blowing matches with thrilling finishes. When it comes to the individual performance aspect of the tournament, the level has been quite high as not only some big names proved their name-value but some new faces, both domestic and foreign, have made quite an impact with their skills and impressed fans in the season.
There have been players like Ambati Rayudu and Sanju Samson, who have reinstated their claims as top cricketers of the tournament and there have been uncapped players like Mayank Markande, Ankit Rajpoot and Siddhant Kaul who have impressed with their talents and intelligent understanding of the game.
The Indian players have dominated this season more than the overseas recruits. Here we take a look at such Indian cricketers who have stolen the show on numerous occasions. They have been extremely successful for their respective sides in the first half of the season and their teams hope that they continue the momentum in the second half of the season as well.
Openers:
#1 Ambati Rayudu (CSK)
Ambati Rayudu is in the form of his career. Rayudu has opened for the Chennai Super Kings as well as played a vital role in the middle-order. He has been very efficient in both cases as reflected by the Orange Cap on his head.
At the half-way stage in the tournament, Rayudu leads the list of top scorers in the tournament. He has scored 370 runs in the eight matches with an average of 46 and strike rate of 133. His best came against RCB when he scored 82 off 53 to guide CSK’s chase of 205.
#2 KL Rahul (KXIP)
KL Rahul has been in a splendid form this season. He has been a key player for KXIP. He registered a half-century in 14 balls against the KKR in the KXIP's first game of the season which is the fastest fifty in the history of the IPL.
Rahul continued his momentum his with a string of good scores in the matches that followed to boast KXIP's opening partnerships.
Another brilliant inning that came off his bat was against the KKR where he hammered a splendid 60 in the match. Currently, he has 268 runs to his name in seven matches and is the seventh highest run scorer so far in the IPL 2018.
Middle Order:
#3 Virat Kohli (RCB)
While Kohli has not been very successful as a captain this season, he has been playing quite well. He ranks third in the list of leading run scorers and had briefly held the Orange Cap as well. As of now, he has scored 317 runs in seven matches with an average of about 63.
Kohli has scored three fifties so far. First one was against Rajasthan Royals where he scored a quick 57 in a losing cause.
A similar situation happened again in the match against the Mumbai Indians where Kohli scored unbeaten 92.
#4 Sanju Samson (RR)
Sanju Samson has been the most successful batsman in the Rajasthan Royals dugout so far. Samson kicked-off the season with a solid 49 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and continued with vital 37 runs against the Delhi Daredevils that fetched him the Player of the Match award.
His best performance was witnessed in Bengaluru where he tortured the RCB bowling attack with an unbeaten 92 off only 45 deliveries.
In the most recent game against the Mumbai Indians, he scored another half-century. So far, he has scored 279 runs in seven matches at an average of 46.5 and a splendid strike rate of 147.61.
#5 Nitish Rana (KKR)
Nitish Rana has been the dark horse of the KKR. He has been handy with the bat by playing some crucial innings in the middle order.
He has scored 188 runs and scalped four wickets in eight matches.The lad from Delhi took everyone by surprise by changing the course of the match by picking up the wickets of AB De Villiers and Kohli on two successive deliveries.
He enjoyed similar success with the ball against the RR as well when he dismissed D'Arcy Short and Ajinkya Rahane. As of now, he is the player with the best bowling average of 5.50 in IPL 2018
Wicket-keeper:
#6 MS Dhoni(c) (CSK)
Dhoni has been sensational this IPL season, both as a captain and as a batsman. Dhoni has scored 286 runs in eight matches at a splendid average of 71.5 with a thunderous strike rate of 169.23 thus far.
Dhoni has played a couple of brilliant knocks and has guided CSK to win on a couple of occasions.
Dhoni played a knock of unbeaten 79 against the KXIP but failed to lead his side to win despite a last-ball six.
He was in a similar situation against the RCB but this time in a winning cause where he finished off in style by scoring 70 off just 34 balls.
All-rounder:
#7 Krunal Pandya (MI)
Krunal Pandya has been an integral part of the MI dugout. He has proved his abilities in the T20 format of the game as a vital all-rounder who has risen to the occasion to deliver with the best of his skills.
A part of the Mumbai Indians squad for the third consecutive season, he has scalped eight wickets in seven matches so far.
Pandya has been decent with the bat too. Pandya has put the opposition in trouble with his slow orthodox style of spin bowling and has bowled with an economy rate of 7.17.
When you see him play, you know he is confident out there and will try to deliver the best he can. It will be interesting to see how he contributes for MI in upcoming matches.
Spinner:
#8 Mayank Markande (MI)
Markande made his debut for the Mumbai Indians and has proven to be one of the best finds of the IPL this season.
With his spin bowling, he has troubled the opposition and has made a name for himself.
He rose to the occasion against CSK where he took three wickets by conceding 23 runs. He took crucial wickets of Dhoni and Rayudu with his unplayable googly.
In the next match against the SRH, he did even better by adding four wickets to his name.
He is the fourth highest wicket-taker of the IPL 2018 with 10 wickets in seven matches.
Fast Bowlers:
#9 Umesh Yadav (RCB)
Umesh Yadav has been very efficient with the new ball and has made a name for himself this season.
He has been bowling with precise line and length complimented by impressive pace and bounce. He has taken nine wickets in seven matches so far and currently ranks sixth in the list of leading wicket-takers.
In the match against KXIP, he scalped three wickets in the same over by dismissing Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch and Yuvraj Singh with his accuracy and pace.
In the match against MI, he took two wickets on the very first two balls of the match and put MI on the backfoot.
#10 Jasprit Bumrah (MI)
The right-arm pacer from Gujrat is a key player for Mumbai Indians for the last three seasons.
He has taken crucial wickets and bowled economically. So far, Bumrah has played seven matches and scalped eights with an economy rate of 7.21.
Bumrah is a phenomenal option in death overs and he has proven it time and again with impressive yorker lengths and pace variations to put batsmen in trouble.
#11 Siddharth Kaul
Siddarth Kaul has been the most successful Indian pacer in the first half of IPL 2018. Kaul has picked up 11 wickets in the eight matches played by SRH thus far. He tops the list of leading wicket-takers of the season. He has bowled with an impressive economy rate of 6.87.
This season, he has been a force to be reckoned with and has decimated the opposition camp with his accuracy, bounce and pace.
The Purple Cap on his head speaks volume for his performances.
Our tournament homepage has IPL live score, Match Analysis, Detailed Stats, Fantasy Tips, Controversies, Match Predictions and much more. Bookmark it now!
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download Cric Rocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more!
