IPL 2018: Chris Gayle's century, Jofra Archer's yorkers and Trent Boult's catch part of our weekly round-up

Ashish Peter - Senior Writer 19:30 23/04/2018
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    • Gayle's sixth IPL ton stood out in week two. Image - IPL/Twitter.

    There has been no dearth of entertainment as the 2018 edition of the IPL veers towards the half-way stage. There have been plenty of last-over thrillers so far.

    After an exciting opening match week, fans have been treated to another week of swashbuckling cricket with the league table shaping up nicely.

    Here, we take a look at the best performances of the past week in the IPL.

    BEST BATTING

    CHRIS GAYLE – 104*(63)

    KINGS XI PUNJAB V SUNRISERS HYDERABAD

    The week belonged to Chris Gayle and Kings XI Punjab. The Jamaican lit up the tournament with three sensational knocks for his new franchise after not being picked for the initial matches for his new franchise.

    Gayle’s unbeaten century against Sunrisers Hyderabad takes the cake for the simple fact that it came against the most decorated bowling unit in the tournament.

    The 38-year-old smashed a staggering 11 sixes in the knock, which is the most by any batsman in this year’s competition. The ease with which Gayle destroyed Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, smashing him for four sixes in an over, was breathtaking.

    BEST BOWLING

    JOFRA ARCHER – 3/22

    RAJASTHAN ROYALS V MUMBAI INDIANS

    The most sought after uncapped cricketer in the T20 format, Jofra Archer had been missing from the IPL due to an injury until Sunday. The West Indies-born all-rounder however wasted no time in showing why the Royals shelled out the big bucks for him in the auction with a man-of-the-match performance on his debut.

    Mumbai Indians were cruising at 130-1 after 14 overs before Archer turned the game on its head with an exceptional spell of T20 bowling. Mixing up fast yorkers at 149 kmph along with slower balls, the 23-year-old showed his complete range of tricks as the defending champions could only muster 167-7 in their over 20 overs after it had looked like they would cross 200 .

    That sublime death bowling proved to be the difference as the Royals scripted a three-wicket win with two balls to spare.

    BEST CATCH

    TRENT BOULT

    DELHI DAREDEVILS V ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

    Trent Boult might not have lit up the IPL with his bowling so far but he has taken the catch of the tournament. The Blackcaps pacer’s one-handed stunner on the boundary ropes to dismiss Virat Kohli will be shown on IPL highlights reels for years to come.

    Fielding at deep square-leg, Boult leapt high in the air to catch the ball one-handed with his weaker arm before showing extraordinary awareness to avoid touching boundary ropes.

    Kohli himself summed it up best when he said: “I was stunned when he took it, that’s a brilliant catch. It happens in the IPL especially. Good to see. That’s a catch when you look back, you don’t feel bad about getting out.”

    SURPRISE

    KRISHNAPPA GOWTHAM

    RAJASTHAN ROYALS V MUMBAI INDIANS

    Rohit Sharma’s face as Krishnappa Gowtham struck the winning six for Rajasthan Royals against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday said it all. The defending champions had all but sealed a second win after reducing the hosts to 125-6 in their chase of 168.

    With all of Rajasthan’s big hitters back in the pavilion, Gowtham came out of nowhere to script an improbable win. The all-rounder struck two sixes and four boundaries in an 11-ball unbeaten stay at the crease which fetched 33 runs.

    That the 29-year had previously been a part of the Mumbai franchise without playing a single game will rub more salt into the wounds of Rohit’s men.

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