As the curtain falls on yet another hectic period of Indian Premier League action we take time to reflect on the moments that will live long in the memory for reasons both right and wrong.
Best match
Mumbai v Rajasthan
Best knock
Virender Sehwag
122 off 58 balls against Chennai Super Kings
The Kings XI Punjab opener had been having a relatively quiet IPL until the Second Qualifier against Chennai. The 35-year-old produced a batting masterclass smacking 12 fours and six sixes. This chanceless knock also paved the way for the team’s entry into the final for the first time.
Best captain
Gautam Gambhir
The Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper takes the honours for backing his players during their lean run and making smart moves while shuffling his potent bowling attack. Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan repaid the captain’s faith at crucial times and they won nine matches on the trot to clai mthe IPL title.
Best bowler
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The Sunrisers Hyderabad medium-pacer stole the show with a fantastic exhibition of swing bowling and claimed 20 wickets from 14 matches. Among the fast bowlers with more than 10 games this season, he had the best economy rate (6.65). Incidentally, it was his best showing in the IPL to date.
Best batsman
Robin Uthappa
It was not just the 660 runs that the Kolkata Knight Riders opener scored in 16 matches but his amazing consistency that stood out. He notched 40- plus scores in 10 consecutive innings and more importantly gave fluent starts to the team as they chased and won seven of their last nine games.
Best bowling display
Praveen Tambe
3-26, including a hat-trick against Kolkata Knight Riders
The 42-year-old Rajasthan Royals leg spinner spun a rare feat when he claimed three Kolkata batsmen off successive deliveries for the only hat-trick of the tournament. In effect, it was a two-ball hat-trick, as one dismissal was off a wide ball. More importantly, it broke Kolkata’s back and Rajasthan ended up winning a match they were on the verge of losing.
Best debutant
Lendl Simmons
A last-minute replacement after Mumbai Indians lost all-rounder Jalaj Saxena to injury, Simmons hit the ground running. In fact, the defending champions’ fortunes began to turn the moment they inducted this dashing 29-year-old Trinidadian in their playing XI. In eight matches the West Indies opener scored 394 runs at an impressive average of 56.28. He scored the tournament’s first 100 and notched up three fifties.
Best young player
Akshar Patel
The 20-year-old Kings XI Punjab all-rounder displayed an admirable composure for a debutant. Of the eight innings that he batted, he scored a match-winning 42 not out but it was with the ball that the left-arm spinner really excelled. He claimed 17 wickets and topped the economy charts with a miserly 6.13. His 4-0- 21-0 in the final when the match rate was 10-plus an over was another highlight. His IPL showing has fetched him rich dividends as he made it to India’s ODI squad.
Worst bowler
Amit Mishra
The best Indian bowler in IPL with 102 wickets from 86 games came a cropper in this edition. The Sunrisers Hyderabad leg spinner went for over 50 runs twice and ended up with his worst display in IPL. He had just seven wickets from 10 matches at an economy rate of 9.06.
Biggest flop
Chris Gayle
Nothing went right for the dashing Royal Challengers Bangalore opener as he struggled with a back injury that forced him to skip the first four games. But he did return to the bating crease, the spark was missing and he managed just 196 from nine games at a strike rate of 106.52, his worst record in the IPL.
Worst moment
Kieron Pollard v Mitchell Starc
Having exchanged words after whizzing a bouncer past Pollard's nose, Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler Starc followed Pollard as he backed away from the next delivery. The Mumbai Indians all-rounder got so infuriated that he gestured to throw his bat at the bowler with it slipping out of the West Indian's hand and landing at his feet. Both players got away with a fine when they should have been banned for a few games.
