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IPL has spawned a new breed of cricketers — players who chip in with a crucial 10 or 15 runs in possibly less than an over or gain a key breakthrough when the opposing pair is going great guns, typically doing it all without much ado.
Top draw
Heading the list is Chennai Super Kings’ Dwayne Bravo.
The West Indies player has been M. S. Dhoni’s crisis manager since the inaugural year of the IPL, now in its sixth edition.
If the Kolkata Knight Riders bagged the title last year, a large part of the credit should go to the world’s best all-rounder, Jacques Kallis. This South African has been the team’s pillar of strength in batting. And, whenever his captain Gautam Gambhir has asked him to, he has delivered with the ball too.
Another West Indian who has been playing consistently is Kieron Pollard of Mumbai Indians. Known for big hitting, this burly Trinidadian has been chipping in with crucial contributions from the first season of IPL for his franchise.
Shane Watson may be a specialist batsman for Rajasthan Royals but his all-round ability has been one of the talking points of the IPL in the past five seasons. Even today, the Aussie is a dangerous bowler with his seamers in the middle overs. With the team doing well in the sixth edition, skipper Rahul Dravid will be inclined to use him more in the days to come.
Azhar Mehmood’s presence in a low-profile Kings XI Punjab has been one of the redeeming features of the franchise. This T20 specialist from Pakistan varies his pace intelligently to fox the rival batsmen and, coming at crucial junctures, wields the bat with purpose to swing a few close games in favour of his side.
A. B. de Villiers, one of the most consistent middle-order batsmen for Royal Challengers Bangalore, has turned out to be a great finisher after giant Chris Gayle sets the ball rolling with his smashing play. The South African ODI captain is an excellent fielder and, if need be, can also don the big gloves effectively.
Amit Mishra has been having a great run in this edition with the ball for the new franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad. Apart from being in contention for the Purple Cap, a symbol of supremacy among bowlers, this leg-spinner from Haryana is a handy batsman in the lower-order and can turn the tide at vital times.
Not so lucky
Both Pune Warriors India and Delhi Daredevils are languishing at the bottom of the league table.
Pune Warriors’ Yuvraj Singh has been a big let-down. He has 104 runs from five matches with 34 as his highest. His bowling is woefully short of expectations with five wickets from four games. He needs to fire to get the team back to reckoning.
Daredevils’ Irfan Pathan, who was to play the critical role, has just 73 runs from eight games with 23 as highest to show off. His left-arm pace has been terrible. He has just four wickets to show from eight games.
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