IPL 2019: The best playing XI after Week 1

It has been a week since the Indian Premier League has started and it has not disappointed us at all. From high targets being chased to numerous records already being created, the first week of IPL has truly lived up to all its expectations.

There have been numerous individual performances as well as team performances that have stood out. The highlights of the week have been Sanju Samson's brilliant century, Ravichandran Ashwin's mankading controversy, Lasith Malinga's no ball controversy, David Warner's return to form and Russell's extraordinary hitting power and an excellent super over which the whole of 2018 didn't offer to the fans.

The week has had its share of disappointments too especially in the first match of the season which turned out to be very anti-climatic. While some teams have been unbeatable in the first week, other teams have also not yet won a match.

Teams have already settled their best XI and some teams are yet to figure out their best playing combination. Amidst all this, let us look at the best playing XI from all teams after the first week. The team has been selected on the basis of consistency and match-winning performances that have stood out.

Openers: David Warner (c) and Chris Gayle

The duo has been unstoppable this season.

David Warner's return was much awaited and he has been more than up to the mark. He was set from the word go and never looked like he hasn't been playing a lot of cricket recently. He struck a brilliant 85 at a lightning quick speed off just 53 balls. Warner looked high on confidence and got out to a blinder by Robbie Uthappa. He followed his 85 by another match winning 69 which led to Hyderabad winning the game.

The southpaw also unofficially captained his team in the absence of Kane Williamson in the match against KKR.

The Universe Boss doesn't fail to keep himself out of any list. Even at this age, he has been rock solid and performances have been better than ever. He started off his IPL season with a thundering knock of 79 which easily got his team to a solid victory and then in a huge run chase of 177, he struck a beautiful 40 of just 24 balls to ease out the pressure and led his team to victory.

His strike rate is one of the best this year and he should easily make it to the XI as the second opener.

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Middle Order: Sanju Samson (wk), Nitish Rana and Vijay Shankar

Nitish Rana has beautifully led KKR's middle order

The first century of this season was scored by Sanju Samson and his consistency is unmatched. He has been the best No.3 player and has anchored his team on all occasions. His ability to rotate the strike and caress the ball to get it out the park is amazing. Samson's stroke play is just beautiful and in the two innings that he has played, he has shown everyone that he is here to stay.

With a strike rate of 165 and an average of 132, he is the obvious choice for No.3 in the team.

Nitish Rana will make the cut for the No.4 position. Despite his poor outing in the 3rd game versus Delhi, his first two games were absolutely stunning. He has held the Kolkata middle order together and the way he has batted has just been amazing. His scores of 68 and 63 have been extremely important knocks and his team has won both the games in which he has performed. Rana can even bowl and is a partnership breaker. When in the zone, Rana is a match winner and he comes into the best XI of the week after his stellar performances.

Vijay Shankar has been a star performer this IPL. He has scored 40 runs (not out) and 35 runs in the two matches that he has played at an unbelievable strike rate of 192 plus, second only to Andre Russell and Rishabh Pant. He has been a master at hitting those sixes and his ability to rotate strike and finish the innings is second to none. He makes the perfect No.5 for the team and can also chip in with a few quiet overs as well.

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All Rounders - Andre Russell and Hardik Pandya

Russell is the orange cap holder at the end of the first week

The man who has saved his team twice and almost saved it for the third time as well, Andre Russell has been in tremendous form and his strike rate of 243 plus is the best this season. He snatched a victory from the claws of SRH by causing an absolute carnage at the Eden Gardens by hitting a beautiful 49 off just 19 balls under extreme pressure.

Russell followed it up by an even better 48 off just 17 balls. People thought he wouldn't perform in the third match but he kept his critics shut by rescuing KKR from collapse by slamming 62 off just 28 when his team was 61-5 even after he was hit by a quick beamer. Andre Russell is in contention for the MVP award and the way he is playing, he will get it undoubtedly.

Now, Hardik Pandya has been performing beautifully in all his matches but his performance is being overshadowed by that of Andre Russell. He has scored 31 and 32 (not out) while batting and has also picked up a wicket. His strike rate has been astonishing and he strikes at a stunning 180 plus. He makes it to the XI because of his ability to end the innings on a high as well as chip in with quality overs. His fielding is exceptional and he makes a good No.7 for the team.

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Bowlers:- Yuzvendra Chahal, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah

Both these players have bowled like champions

Yuzvendra Chahal is the purple cap holder at the end of the first week of the IPL. He bowled beautifully in his first game giving just 6 runs off his 4 overs which is the best economy rate one could ask for. He followed up this performance by an even better one in his next match where he picked 4 wickets.

Though RCB lost the match, Chahal ran through the top and the middle order and picket 4 out of the top 5 batsmen from Mumbai. His variations and googlies help him make it to the best XI of the week.

It is hard to keep Rashid Khan out of any list and he even makes it to the best playing XI after the first week. He has been absolutely consistent in both the matches that he has played and has picked up a wicket in each match. Despite picking just two wickets he makes it to the team because of his economy rate which is just 6.25 which is absolutely brilliant for a spinner.

The man who got Delhi to a win in the super over, Kagiso Rabada has been absolutely brilliant for Delhi this season. He has bowled so well in the power play as well as in the death and the fact that he gave away just five runs in the power play against the likes of Andre Russell shows what a top player he is. He has picked up 5 wickets in the games that he has played and is highest wicket taker this week along with Chahal and Russell. He is a gun of a player and is a complete match winner.

The perfect death over bowler and the yorker king, Jasprit Bumrah has been so brilliant this season that even Virat Kohli has remarked that Mumbai Indians are lucky to have him. He has been an absolute gem for MI this season and has bowled like a champion. Second highest in terms of wickets and highest in terms of dot balls when he bowls only in the death shows what class he is and there is no way he won't make it to the team of the week.

Thus, these are the players who have performed the best this week and it is going to be fun to see how they win matches for their teams in the upcoming days.

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