IPL 2018: Three captains who have made the difference

Of all the 11 editions of IPL, this season has to be the most exciting with regards to a number of last over finishes and very few one-sided games. The fact that the top four teams to qualify for the playoffs was decided only after the last league game goes to show that this year was the most competitive.

This is also the first time that all teams have won a minimum of 5 matches and the margin of first and last placed teams was barely 4 wins. This means that almost all the teams were well balanced.

In a fast-paced tournament like this, we can attribute the captains' role to a major extent for the side's state of affairs. Let's look at the three best captains who have contributed to their teams' fortunes, both with their leadership skills and consistent form with the bat.

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Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson

The leader of the pack is undoubtedly Sunrisers Hyderabad's Kane Williamson. He had to take the responsibility of leading the side after their successful captain David Warner was ruled out before the tournament began.

The major attributes of Williamson has been his calm and collected manner in which has gone about his business.

No doubt that Sunrisers had the best bowling options who revel in defending the smallest of totals, but the deft handling of his bowlers to go with field placements has gone a long way in SRH reaching the finals.

For a person who was not a regular in the playing XI in the previous years, Williamson has quickly adapted to the situation and has led by example and more importantly contributed with the bat on a consistent basis.

#2 MS Dhoni

Dubbed as the oldest team in the tournament, shifted out of their home base after just one game and returning after two-year hiatus, Chennai Super Kings have silenced all the critics by maintaining their invincible record of qualifying for the playoffs yet again and whats more have reached their 7th finals.

During the auctions, the players were picked keeping in mind the home conditions and all of a sudden they were asked to move to Pune due to political reasons. They have adjusted to the new environment quite easily and when it comes to fans' support, CSK is never behind due to the presence of their skipper MS Dhoni.

Before IPL, experts felt Dhoni had lost his finishing abilities and the knack of scoring sixes at will and that might affect the men in yellow. To prove critics wrong, Dhoni has led the side remarkably well with the bat and as always stayed calm on the field.

The former India captain has retained the core team without too much tinkering through the season and that has allowed the players to express themselves freely. Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu have been the perfect examples as they weren't contributing to this extent with the earlier franchises.

#3 Dinesh Karthik

The third captain who needs a mention on this list is KKR's Dinesh Karthik. The Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman had to step into the shoes of former captain Gautam Gambhir who was one of the most successful IPL captains with two IPL titles. Even though he hasn't led any sides in the recent past, Karthik has admirably adjusted to the captaincy role and that too in a high-pressure tournament like IPL.

He is one of the very few captains to have backed the young talent who were a part of the U-19 World Cup winning campaign for India. The likes of Shivam Mavi and Shubman Gill have enjoyed the confidence of his team management and more importantly the captain.

Even though he hasn't scored mountains of runs, he has steadied the ship which has the allowed the likes of Narine, Lynn and Russell to go after the bowling at the other end. On most occasions, in a winning cause, Karthik has made sure he batted right through and got his team home.