Virender Sehwag: Fabulous end to a thrilling IPL 9

Virender Sehwag 09:15 31/05/2016
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  • Champions: Sunrisers showed great resolve to win the IPL title.

    It was quite a fascinating final. Bangalore’s batsmen did well to score 200 in a tense game but that wasn’t enough. And that’s because Sunrisers bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman handled the pressure much better than their counterparts.

    While star players on both sides did their job, I feel what made the biggest difference was the final over bowled by Shane Watson that went for 24 runs.

    Ben Cutting got those extra runs which proved crucial in the end as Sunrisers won by eight runs. If that final over had not gone for so many runs, Bangalore would have chased a total of less than 200, which would have been gettable.

    But Hyderabad showed great fight and deservedly won the title. Now that the dust has settled on the tournament, I present to you my picks of the 2016 IPL:

    Best batsman

    It’s a tough one. David Warner was brilliant throughout the IPL, carrying the entire burden of batting for Sunrisers as he knew his team mates were not in the best of form.

    Full marks to him for delivering almost every match, including the final where he scored 69. But for me, Virat Kohli was the batsman of the tournament. To score four centuries in one T20 tournament is an incredible achievement and the way he churned out the big runs with regularity set him apart.

    Best bowler

    We all know what a world-class bowler Mustafizur Rahman is and he performed according to expectations. For me, the stand-out: “He led from the front. He is an inspirational character who is very positive and aggressive at the same time. His nature has rubbed off on a lot of youngsters,” Laxman was quoted as saying by iplt20.com.

    “The way he has batted, despite being under pressure of being one of the most important members in the side, has been phenomenal.

    He has had an impact on each and every outing.”

    For Laxman, the best part about Warner’s captaincy was the way he understood the bowlers and gave them support.

    “I think he is a bowler’s captain, giving freedom to them. When things are not going your way, you need your captain to back you and that’s what our bowlers got from their captain. He is not an experienced captain, but the way he has led the team has been sensational.

    I hope that he keeps on continuing that. He is a match-winner and a great person to lead us,” Laxman added.

    Warner hailed Hyderabad for staying cool in the heat of an IPL final. The big-hitting Aussie powered his team to a massive 208.

    But Chris Gayle came out with all guns blazing, hitting four fours and eight sixes in a 38-ball 76.

    The West Indies superstar put together a 114-run opening stand with Virat Kohli (54) to give Bangalore hope, but Hyderabad’s bowlers stayed focused.

    “A guy like Chris Gayle, he is always going to keep going. The hardest thing is to try and maintain our composure while he is going and playing like this,” Warner said after the win.

    “So for us it was about staying composed and having belief and that’s what the players showed when we were out there.”

    They have simple actions which batsmen can read. But they still grabbed more than 20 wickets each to be the top two wicket takers in this edition. Top marks in my book.

    Best new talent

    There have been quite a few players who have grabbed the headlines. But the ones who I really liked are Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya and Shivil Kaushik. Rishabh played a couple of good knocks for Delhi Daredevils and I feel he has a good future ahead of him. Krunal was a revelation.

    His left-arm spin was effective while with the bat he showed his true potential, especially against Delhi when he hit 86 off just 37 balls. Shivil did well despite the limitations because of his unusual action, getting six wickets.

    Best innings

    There were many excellent knocks played during the IPL but for me, the best one was by Delhi’s Quinton de Kock against Bangalore.

    The Daredevils were chasing 192 and de Kock finished the game on his own, batting until the end and remaining 108 not.

    Nobody expected Delhi to chase that total but de Kock stunned one and all with his efforts.

    Biggest disappointment

    Pune did not live up to expectations this IPL. It was their debut season but MS Dhoni’s team fell well short despite having some very talented players. Looking at individuals, I can say that a majority of foreign players were not up to the mark. Every team can field four foreign players and that means there were 32 slots available in the tournament.

    However, we saw that maybe less than 10 foreign players did well this IPL while the rest struggled to make their mark or even hold on to their spot. So the foreign contingent as a whole disappointed me.

    Best match

    That has to be the match between Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions. It was a high pressure game as the tournament was nearing the half-way mark. Delhi were chasing 173 against a very good Gujarat bowling attack and were reduced to 57 for four.

    But from there, Chris Morris (above) played a blinder of an innings. He scored 82 off just 32 balls but Delhi still lost by one run.

    That game taught us a lot about cricket. It showed the value of one run because had Delhi won that match, they could have eventually made it to the qualifiers.

    It was an excellent lesson to young kids that every run matters and all extra balls that can be avoided should be avoided because one day it can cost you dear.

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