IPL 2018: Team of the Week 2

The second week of the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League witnessed several exceptional individual performances with both bat and ball.

A T20 legend many thought had passed his prime showed what he still could on the cricket field while one of the franchises discovered a new bowling star in the making, amidst the despair of the defeat.

The week also saw Sunrisers Hyderabad lose their first match of the season, thereby making it eight out of eight for all teams to have lost at least one game this season.

Here is a look at the players who made it to the IPL Team of the Week for the second week of the competition:

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#1 Chris Gayle

The Jamaican superstar, not picked for the team's first two matches against the Delhi Daredevils and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, rose from the ashes to first destroy the Chennai Super Kings and then the annihilate the Sunrisers Hyderabad with a blistering century to silence every critic questioning his capabilities as a T20 player.

On Saturday, he once again got the Kings XI off to a flying start in their chase of 192 before rains arrived in Kolkata.

Gayle may be on the wrong side of 30s, but the past week gave enough indications that he still had in him to terrorise opposition bowling and the Kings XI Punjab will be hoping for more such pyrotechnics from him in the upcoming matches, as well.

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#2 Shane Watson

At one point arguably Australia's No. 1 all-rounder, Shane Watson's stocks as a T20 player have been on a slight decline ever since he retired from international cricket in 2016.

However, the 36-year-old showed on Friday night that he was still good enough to produce the goods with the bat, making a century against the Rajasthan Royals at Pune to guide the Super Kings to their third win in the competition.

That win also took to the top of the table and they will look to extend that in the weekend when they face the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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#3 Virat Kohli

His team may have lost both matches this week, but Virat Kohli was among the runs in both those games.

The right-hander stroked his way to a 30-ball 57 against the Rajasthan Royals and then a couple of days, made an unbeaten 92, as he ran out of partners at the other end with his chasing a monumental target against the Mumbai Indians.

Kohli looked set for a big one against the Delhi Daredevils on Saturday, but Trent Boult 'single-handedly' ensured it wasn't to be, plucking arguably the greatest catch in IPL history.

RCB currently find themselves at the 7th spot in the points table and for them to make a move upwards, the others will need to stand up with Kohli and deliver soon.

Samson will have to keep the runs flowing for the Royals

#4 Sanju Samson

In a tough week for the Rajasthan Royals, one man proved to be the silver lining for the first-ever champions of the IPL. Sanju Samson's career began with this franchise in 2013 and five years on, he finally seems to be coming on his own for the side.

On Sunday, against the Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB), the right-hander smashed a sublime 92 off 45 balls, hitting the ball to all corners of the Chinnaswamy Stadium and setting up a target beyond reach for the RCB.

The value of his batting contributions to the team's cause was seen on Friday when he the rest of the side capitulated after he fell for a mere 2 against the Chennai Super Kings.

In a line up studded with the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and others, Samson has clearly stood up as the stand out player for the side and the Royals will want him to keep delivering in the same manner in the future games.

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#5 Nitish Rana

At the beginning of the season, few gave the Kolkata Knight Riders any chance to compete with the others in the competition, but away from the spotlight, the Dinesh Karthik-led side have been quietly hitting the right notes in the competition thus far.

One of the emerging stars for them has been left-hander Nitish Rana, who scored a 35-ball 59 in the big win over the Delhi Daredevils and backed that with a 27-ball 35 in the seven-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals.

While the Indian limited-overs team might be a very tough place to find a spot in at present, there is no doubting that if Rana keeps putting in the performances he will find himself in the reckoning sooner or later.

#6 MS Dhoni (C & WK)

Turning back the clock- the MS Dhoni way

For an ardent cricket fan, who has tracked the career of MS Dhoni, Sunday night at the IS Bindra stadium in Mohali would have been a throwback to his best days as a limited-overs batsman.

With his chasing 198 for a win, the former India captain decided to show up with the bat and how making a 44-ball 79 not out to take his team within inching distance of what might have been a remarkable win over the R Ashwin-led outfit.

In his captaincy as well, Dhoni has hit the right notes on most occasions, making constant changes in bowling to keep the batsman guessing and the Chennai Super Kings will expect more of the same from their talismanic captain in the upcoming matches.

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#7 Andre Russell

There were minor question marks over whether Andre Russell would be able to deliver for the Kolkata Knight Riders coming in to IPL after having served a suspension.

All those fears were pushed to the back seat when the West Indian all-rounder came out all guns blazing with the bat in hand, smashing the willow to all parts of the Eden Gardens against the Delhi Daredevils in a 12-ball 41 to propel the side to 200 in 20 overs.

Not many teams in the league can boast of having an all-rounder as good as Russell and the Knight Riders will hope for the Jamaican to stay fit and fire for the remainder of the competition.

Washington Sundar the batsman shined last week

#8 Washington Sundar

The off-spinner finds a mention on this list not for his bowling exploits but for what he has done with the bat in hand over the past week. Last Sunday against the Rajasthan Royals, Sundar smashed a 19-ball 35.

Sundar has shown in the few matches that he has played that he can be effective with the ball, but if he can elevate his batting a bit then surely he would have solved a headache for Kohli in that lower middle-order.

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#9 Tom Curran

The Englishman who has replaced Mitchell Starc in the KKR squad had a mixed week for his side as he first took 2-21 in the game against the Delhi Daredevils and then backed that spell with 2-19 against the Rajasthan Royals.

With the likes of Sunil Narine and Russell expected to the bulk of the work as the overseas players, Curran has an opportunity to back them and even make bigger contributions on days that they don't fire for the side.

Has Jasprit Bumrah found his mojo back after a poor first week?

#10 Rahul Tewatia

In a rather forgettable week for the Delhi Daredevils, one man stood out for the side. Rahul Tewatia may not be one of the star attractions of the side, but he sure was one with the ball in the past week.

First in the game against the Mumbai Indians, he picked up figures of 2 for 36 in four overs and then against the Kolkata Knight Riders, he backed that performance by picking up 3 for 18 in three overs.

With the limelight squarely on the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris and others, Tewatia has slipped under the radar and proven to be an effective member of the Daredevils franchise this year with 6 wickets in 5 matches.

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#11 Jasprit Bumrah

After a disappointing opening week of the competition, the Mumbai Indians registered their maiden win of the competition against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. One of the men who stood up with the ball and delivered was Jasprit Bumrah who took 2 for 28 in his four overs, which succeeded a 0-27 in 4 overs against the Delhi Daredevils.

If Mumbai Indians are to put together a string of wins in this competition and get back in the reckoning, Bumrah will need to be as consistent as possible with the ball and if he can do that, then Rohit Sharma and co. will surely sleep well.