IPL 2018, Week 1: Best individual performances 

The Indian Premier League has completed a week filled with excitement, emotion, and thrill which brought a smile on the faces of the fans. The first week witnessed wonderful moments which will be remembered for a long time. These moments included some fine bowling spells, some electric fielding, big hits and last ball thrillers. Week one of the IPL proved to be a fan's delight as the first game became the most watched IPL game in history.

Whilst the teams were trying to stamp their dominance there were a few players who were looking to turn their team's fortune around with their scintillating performances. All games so far have seen some performance or the other, we'll highlight a few such performances where one player took the game away from the opposition in a flash.

On this note, let us take a look at six best individual performances from week 1.

Note: Updated 14th April till Match No. 8 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab

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#7 Shikhar Dhawan dominates by scoring 77*

The 4th game of IPL 2018, the crowd was waiting in anticipation. The Sunrisers Hyderabad were taking on the Rajasthan Royals at Hyderabad, both the teams were coming off a setback as they had lost their captains, David Warner and Steve Smith, respectively. The Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bowl first.

A brilliant effort from the SRH bowlers stopped the Royals from scoring freely, the bowlers restricted them to 125. Chasing a modest target of 126 the Sunrisers had an early blow in the form of Wriddhiman Saha who was out caught. Despite the early wicket, the southpaw Shikhar Dhawan ensured that the Sunrisers do not lose any more wickets.

Dhawan alongside his skipper scored 121 to take the Sunrisers home. The aggressive batsman scored the majority of the runs, he smashed the ball to all parts of the ground as he smashed 13 boundaries and a six. Dhawan's unbeaten 77 helped the home side to overpower the Royals from Rajasthan. He was awarded the man of the match for his performance.

#6 Umesh Yadav destroys Punjab's top order

New team, better performance.

The eight-game of the tournament, the Royal Challengers Bangalore were up against the Kings from Punjab in Bangalore. The side from the north was coming off a dominant performance against the Delhi Daredevils whereas the Challengers were coming off a loss to the Knights from Kolkata. RCB skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to field first.

Chris Woakes had the ball in hand against an in-form KL Rahul who scored 16 off Woakes' first over but what followed was magical. Umesh Yadav took the ball in the second over and destroyed the opposition with his swing, accuracy, and pace. Yadav found Agarwal's edge and found Finch in front of the wicket to take two wickets in two consecutive deliveries.

He dismissed Yuvraj soon after with a delivery that came in brilliantly, it left the veteran southpaw startled. Owing to his performance, Bangalore chased the target of 156 with sheer ease. Umesh Yadav was awarded the man of the match for his figures of 3 for 23 in four overs.

#5 KL Rahul's blitz takes the Kings XI over the line

14 ball fifty? Eh.

The second match of the IPL between the Kings XI Punjab and the Delhi Daredevils was considered to be a battle of the underdogs. The crowd at Mohali was set to witness something they wouldn't have expected. After put in to bat first the Delhi Daredevils scored a respectable 167.

Batting second the Kings XI Punjab were off to a magnificent start with KL Rahul putting every ball into the stands. He scored runs left, right and center. 0 2 0 6 4 4 6 4 1 4 6 6 4 4 0 W his innings read. He scored 24 runs off Amit Mishra's first over to mark his fifty. The Kings XI scored 52 off the first three overs with Rahul scoring 51 of them.

His blitz finally ended when he tried to scoop a low full toss. His sensational knock ended as he received a wonderful reception from the crowd. Rahul was awarded the man of the match award for his 51 off 16 balls.

#4 Russell's power overshadowed as Billings does a Dhoni!

I'll try to be around Dhoni: Billings

The Chennai Super Kings received an overwhelming response as they entered the MA Chidambaram stadium amidst a few protests. The Super Kings received a grand reception as they were playing a home game after 1066 days. The Kolkata Knight Riders were put into bat first, they lost a few quick wickets but Carribean all-rounder Andre Russell ensured the free flow of runs.

Russell powered the Knights to 205 courtesy a 36-ball 88 from the fiery hitter, his innings included 11 sixes a single four. Except for Russell, no KKR batsman scored above 30. The Chennai Super Kings started with a bang as Watson and Rayadu managed to score above 70 from the power play. A stoppage of runs from Dhoni's bat meant that the Kings were put onto the backfoot.

England's Sam Billings scored a gutsy 56 to take the Chennai Super Kings closer to the target. His innings of 56 off 23 balls included 5 sixes and two boundaries. He was dismissed before he could finish the game but Bravo and Jadeja held their nerves to score the winning runs as the Super Kings defeated the Knights from Kolkata. Billings was awarded the man of the match for his quickfire 56.

#3 Mayank Markande's magic creates problems for the Sunrisers

Markande surprised CSK in the first game and carried his form against SRH

Mayank Markande recently rose to prominence after his tremendous performances in the first two games of IPL 2018. He currently holds the purple cap with seven wickets in two games. Markande came as a surprise to the Chennai Super Kings as he picked up three wickets in that game, he later carried his form to Hyderabad by picking up four wickets against them.

The Mumbai Indians scored 147 after batting first on a slow pitch. The Sunrisers were cruising to victory at 77 for 2 before Markande decided to change the game with his wrist spin. The leg-spinner dismissed Saha, Dhawan, Manish Pandey and Shakib Al Hasan to get Mumbai Indians into the game. He dismissed Saha in the power play and later got an in-form Dhawan out.

Despite Markande's heroic effort, he could not lead the Paltan to a win as Deepak Hooda helped them to a victory in the last over.

#2 Roy announces his arrival

Roy proved his worth in his first game of the season

The Wankhede stadium was packed in blue as the Delhi Daredevils were taking on the Mumbai Indians. Both sides had lost consecutive games and needed to register themselves on the points table. The Mumbai Indians were put into bat first on a flat Wankhede wicket where batting seemed easy.

The Paltan started aggressively as the openers went berserk. They scored 84 in the first six overs but DD's bowling in the second half put them off. The home side could only score 196 even after their heroic start. Chasing a mammoth total of 197 the onus was on English opener Jason Roy who was playing his first game of the season.

Roy played splendidly to take Delhi over the line on the final Ball of the game. Despite wickets from the other end Roy continued to score quickly which helped DD register their first victory. He was awarded the man of the match for his 91*(51)

#1 The DJ lights up the IPL in the first game

Bravo marked CSK's return in style

The Chennai Super Kings were returning in the IPL after a gap of two long years. They were facing their arch-rivals the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium which was packed with a sea of blue. The Mumbai Indians batted first and scored 165 courtesy Krunal Pandya's quickfire 41.

The Mumbai Indians bowlers started in fine fashion as they put CSK onto the backfoot straightaway. The Super Kings looked down and out at 84 for 6 before Dwayne Bravo created magic to get the Yellow brigade over the line. In the penultimate over against Bumrah, the DJ smashed three sixes which helped CSK's chances of winning.

Kedar Jadhav ensured their win with a six over fine leg in the final over. Bravo was awarded the man of the match for his unbeaten 68 off 30 deliveries. His innings included 7 sixes and 3 fours.

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