IPL 2019: 5 players who might be perfect finishers for their team

The Indian Premier League is known for its full-fledged entertainment, which is definitely half-done without the big boundaries and nail-biting finishes.

Over the years, the top-order batsmen like Matthew Hayden, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist have managed to enthral the crowds but it is the pressure cooker situations that seem to be worth the money for the fraternity.

We witnessed the likes of the great MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Kevin Pietersen, Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan, David Miller, and many more stepping up at the crux and getting their sides over the line on plenty of instances.

Here is the list of 5 batsmen who will be the perfect finishers for their respective franchises in the upcoming IPL season:

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#5 Shimron Hetmyer (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Shimron Hetmyer is another batsman who made it to the T20 extravaganza by performing against the Indians at their den. He was a part of the Windies setup that travelled last year and gained a lot of success.

The 22-year-old slammed 259 runs in the ODI series, most for his team, that included a century and a fifty. The remarkable fact that led to his maiden IPL contract was his strike rate, which was 140 in the series.

The Royal Challengers bagged his services to strengthen their middle-order, which lacked power through most part of their IPL journey. The franchise who is renowned for its explosive top-order has failed on numerous occasions in finishing off the games, the biggest of them being 2016 final against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Grabbing the southpaw for INR 4.2 crores definitely indicates that he might be the perfect finisher for RCB and who knows, could well be the final step for them to hold their maiden IPL title.

#4 Sam Billings (Chennai Super Kings)

Billings has played 21 IPL matches so far

Sam Billings is one of the rising English talents, who is yet to make a mark at the international level. He is one of the modern-day batsmen who love to play cheeky shots and at the same time, possess enough power to target the V.

The 27-year-old considers AB de Villiers as his idol and has all the ingredients to follow his footsteps. The wicket-keeper batsman played for Delhi Capitals in 2016 & 2017 editions, before he was bagged by the yellows in 2018.

Billings had a rough season last year for Chennai Super Kings, though he pulled off a match-winning 56 off just 23 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders. If he adds consistency to his game, he can surely be the go-to man for CSK.

In the upcoming season, Billings might be given more opportunities to finish the innings with Dhoni moving slightly up in the batting order.

#3 Ben Cutting (Mumbai Indians)

Cutting won the man of the match award in SRH's title-winning final in 2016

Australia has a knack of producing seam bowling solid striking all-rounders and Ben Cutting is another of those products. The right-hander generally bats in the middle-order at 5,6,7 and is capable of bowling his full quota of overs, especially in the shortest format of the game.

The 32-year-old even opened the innings for Brisbane Heat at the fag end of the Big Bash League 2018-19 season and gained a lot of success. Though Mumbai already has a long list of opening contenders like Evin Lewis, Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, it is more likely that Cutting will join the Pandya brothers at the middle.

Furthermore, the factor that makes the Australian's case stronger is the downfall of Kieron Pollard, who has lost his shine with the bat of late and he has bowled a mere 11 deliveries across the last two seasons.

#2 Nicholas Pooran (Kings XI Punjab)

He went unsold in last year's player auctions

The young Windies wicket-keeper batsman gained limelight in their last tour to India when Nicholas Pooran smashed his way to an unbeaten 25-ball 53 to rack up the attention of many Indian fans. He has an ability to play 360 degrees and is definitely not an easy customer for the bowlers.

Kings XI Punjab, who were in search of an overseas striker, got hold of him for INR 4.2 crores. The 23-year-old is all set to play a crucial role in the KXIP's set up as a genuine finisher.

The Punjab-based franchise has banked upon at David Miller for quite a long time, who in return, has performed in bits and pieces through his journey of 7 IPL seasons and 69 games. Though the South African has been retained in the squad, it is likely that Pooran will be getting a long rope for the role.

#1 Colin Ingram (Delhi Capitals)

Ingram scored 33 runs in the recently concluded BBL edition

Colin Ingram started his IPL career way back in 2011, making his debut for the Delhi-based franchise. The South African left-hander failed to make an impression in the three games he played in the cash-rich league & even for his country due to inconsistency.

The 33-year-old is currently in the form of his life, getting loads of success in franchise cricket all around the globe. Delhi Capitals made a hit & brought him back in their scheme of things for the forthcoming edition.

Having plenty of Indian youngsters like Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Manjot Kalra in their batting setup, Ingram might be a perfect choice for finishing the innings for Delhi Capitals, having plenteous batting skills and pressure handling capabilities.

This will further allow the young guns like Pant to go all guns blazing with the experienced Protean as a cushion.

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