IPL 2018: One surprise performer from each side

The eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League has reached its business end and we have witnessed some spectacular performances thus far. T20 specialists like AB de Villiers, Suresh Raina, Shane Watson and Sunil Narine have certainly lived up to the expectations and delivered some stellar performances for their franchises.

Rookie players such as Prithvi Shaw and Mujeeb ur Rahman have stepped up to the plate as well and have impressed many with their heroics. However, there were many some surprises on offer for the viewers in the tournament.

Let’s have a look at the surprise performers from each side who have set the IPL alight.

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Chennai Super Kings - MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

Before the start of the 2018 IPL, former Indian captain MS Dhoni was facing criticism for his batting in the T20 format, in spite of the right-hander scoring two T20I fifties since the start of 2016, two more than what he scored from 2006 till 2015.

But the wicketkeeper-batsman has silenced his critics in the best possible manner as he is bulldozing every single bowler he is facing in the tournament. The balls that were supposed to be his nemesis have been dispatched into the stands.

With 360 runs in 10 innings at an average of 90, the highest by anyone in 2018 IPL, and a strike-rate of 166, the rejuvenated version MS Dhoni's old self is back with a bang.

Delhi Daredevils - Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant

Delhi Daredevils are the first team to get knocked out of the 2018 IPL. Because of this, the fans won't be witnessing a mature version of Rishabh Pant smashing bowlers all over the ground, after the league stages.

This IPL was always going to be important for the southpaw as he was struggling with the Indian team in the Nidahas Trophy. But, he came into the IPL as a completely different player than what we saw in Sri Lanka as he looked more mature as a player.

He is currently holding the Orange Cap with 521 runs in 11innings at an average of 52 and a strike-rate of 180. His performance will be the silver lining in Delhi's disastrous season.

Kings XI Punjab - Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle

Ahead of the 2018 IPL auction, Chris Gayle wasn't retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore, and to make things worse, the West Indian went unsold on the day one of the auction. His name came up for the second time and once again, there were no bidders for him.

The auctioneer called out his name for the third time and Kings XI Punjab poached him for his base price of Rs. 2 crores.

While other things played it safe by not opting for him thinking he is finished, Virender Sehwag and Preity Zinta showed a lot of faith in the Jamaican and it is paying off for them now as the southpaw is in a dashing form in the 2018 IPL, in which he has scored 311 runs in just seven games at an average of 62 and a strike-rate of 150.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Dinesh Karthik

India v West Indies: Group B - ICC Champions Trophy

Ever since the finals of Nidahas Trophy where he scored an unbeaten 10-ball 34 and took India to victory from the jaws of defeat, Dinesh Karthik's stock rose rapidly and a lot of fans and pundits are expecting him to be a part of the Indian squad for the 2019 World Cup.

The Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman had to do well in the 2018 IPL to put him in the driver's seat for a place in the Indian team. With already a lot of pressure on the veteran player, the Kolkata Knight Riders management piled more pressure on him by handing over the captaincy reigns to him. But, Karthik has remained calm and has had a fantastic season as a batsman and an average season as a captain.

Though he might not have scored a fifty in the tournament, the cameos he has been playing for Kolkata has made a big difference for his team. With 321 runs in 11 matches, at an average of 46 and a strike-rate of 148, Karthik is the only batsman in the top-25 run scorers not to have scored a fifty in the tournament.

Mumbai Indians - Mayank Markande

Mayank Markande

Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have been Mumbai Indians' pillars of strengths with both bat and ball this season as they have amassed 435 runs and 16 wickets respectively in 11 matches this season. These two were expected to play a crucial role for Rohit Sharma and co. in the IPL but they have surely punched above their weight.

But, neither of them were surprise performers for Mumbai this season when compared to Mayank Markande, a relatively unknown leg-spinner before the start of the IPL, who has1 created a lot of buzz with his bowling.

With 14 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 20 and an economy of less than 8, Markande is joint-second in the list of bowlers with most wickets this season. Markande has impressed a lot of people with his performances in the tournament.

Rajasthan Royals - K Gowtham

K Gowtham

When Rajasthan Royals splashed the cash on Krishnappa Gowtham in the 2018 IPL auction, everyone was surprised as he didn't even play a single match in the tournament in the past ten seasons.

The moment he made his debut in the 2018 IPL, he showed everyone why he was so expensive at the auction as he surprised everyone with his contributions with both bat and ball. Though he didn't get enough chances to prove himself with the bat, his innings against Mumbai Indians, in which he scored an unbeaten 33 off 11 balls and even smashed Jasprit Bumrah out of the park on a consistent basis.

With the ball, he is RR's second-best bowler after Jofra Archer as he has scalped 8 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 26 and economy of just over 7, numbers that are good for a spinner who bowls a lot inside the power play.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav

The achilles heel for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the past has been their bowling, but in the ongoing edition, the Virat Kohli-led side managed to fix that as they bought Umesh Yadav and Md Siraj in the IPL auction.

While everyone expected Yadav to go for a lot of runs, the Vidarbha pacer surprised everyone by performing consistently throughout the season. He is the joint-second in the Purple Cap list with 14 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 22 and an economy of over 8.14.

With Umesh going for plenty in the end overs, Kohli has been finishing off his spell inside the first 14 overs which has paid dividends for them as Umesh has picked the most wickets by any bowler in the powerplay overs.

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson

When David Warner was banned from playing in the IPL, the Sunrisers Hyderabad appointed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson as the captain of the side for the 2018 IPL. Till then, Williamson was not even a certainty in the Sunrisers playing XI.

Though Warner's absence is a big blow for Sunrisers, Williamson's inclusion in the playing XI as a captain has been a blessing in disguise for the Orange Army as he impressed everyone with his captaincy.

Adding to his captaincy, Williamson has silenced his critics who had issues with the way he approaches in the format as the right-hander is second in the list of Orange Cap with 493 runs in 11 innings at an average of 62 and a strike-rate of 137. The consistency at which he is scoring his runs is surprising for many.