The race to the playoffs has caught up pace with the two new sides, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants putting up an impressive show on their IPL debuts.
While the Titans are at the helm of the points table with 16 points, Lucknow are following them at two with 14. Apart from these two, the Rajasthan Royals is another unit which has looked in good touch.
KL Rahul raises his bat to celebrate half a century. He scored 77 in 51 balls before being dismissed by Shardul Thakur. Sportzpics for IPL
These sides have specifically been riding on some individual performances in the tournament which is a major reason for the good run so far. While Buttler has been notching up hundreds for the Royals, Rahul Tewatia and David Miller have shown nerves of steel while chasing a target and have taken the team over the line.
We now take a look at the top performers from the last week of the competition.
KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants)
The Lucknow Super Giants’ skipper Kl Rahul has been in sublime touch in this IPL 2022 and has scored runs consistently for his side. After an unbeaten hundred against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium, the right-hander was dismissed early for 6 against his former side Punjab Kings in Pune.
But Rahul made a solid comeback in the clash against Delhi Capitals on Sunday Wankhede Stadium. After a steady start, LSG lost opener Quinton de Kock but KL along with Deepak Hooda kept things in control as the two stitched a stand of 95 runs for the second wicket before Hooda departed for 52 off 34. Rahul eventually scored a 51-ball 77 as his side put 195/3 in 20 overs. Later, the Lucknow team held their nerves and defended the total to win the game by 6 runs after restricting the Capitals to 189/7 in 20 overs.
Mohsin Khan (LSG)
Lucknow Super Giants’ bowler Mohsin Khan rattled Delhi Capitals while they were chasing a target of 196 in 20 overs on Sunday at Wankhede Stadium. Mohsin first scalped the David Warner after Badoni held on to a fine catch in the mid-wicket region.
After losing a couple of early wickets, DC got back on track as captain Rishabh Pant and Mitchell Marsh went for a counter attack and scored runs at a brisk pace.
The two looked pretty steady at one stage before K Gowtham removed Marsh after he was caught behind by De kock. Marsh’s wicket forced Pant into a shell as the left-hander looked very cautious after the initial blitz.
Mohsin returned to the attach in the 13th over and set Pant up nicely with some short stuff which was followed by a fullish delivery angled into the pads. Pant tried to work the ball towards the on side but missed it completely to be dismissed for a 30-ball 44.
The pacer didn’t stop here and scalped another important wicket of Rovman Powell on the first ball of the 17th over. Powell had begun to cut loose just before he miscued a stroke and was caught by Krunal Pandya at deep mid-wicket for 35 off 21.
Mohsin followed this with another wicket in the same over as he removed Shardul Thakur after the batter went across the stumps to slog the delivery over deep mid-wicket but couldn’t time his shot and was caught by Pandya for 1 off 2. Khan returned with figures of 4/16 in 4 overs as LSG restricted DC at 189/7 to win the match by 6 runs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK)
The Chennai Super Kings batter Ruturaj Gaikwad finally showcased his class during the encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pune on Sunday.
Gaikwad hadn’t really been in best of forms in the competition. He had scored a half-century against the Titans earlier but the Super Kings’ fans and team management wanted some more valuable contributions from him and he did unveil a knock of his class. The right-hander missed out on a well-deserved ton after he got out for 99 but chipped in with a stand of 182 runs for the first wicket with Devon Conway. Gaikwad’s 57-ball 99 comprised of 6 maximums and as many fours. On the other side, Conway remained unbeaten at 85 off 55 as CSK posted 202/2 in 20 overs and later restricted the Sunrisers at 189/6 to win the match by 13 runs.
Kuldeep Yadav (DC)
The resurgence of Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian Premier League is nothing less than a Bollywood movie script. From being benched in earlier editions to getting released by his former franchise to being one of the top wicket-takers in this season, it has been a roller-coaster ride for the left-arm spinner. Kuldeep has been in a terrific form after joining the Delhi Capitals and has picked up wickets consistently for them.
The left-arm bowler has already picked 17 wickets in 9 matches for his side which also include a couple of four-fers.
Interestingly, both of his four-wicket hauls came against his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
While he returned wicket-less in the last match against Super Giants, Kuldeep played an important role in the side’s win against KKR at Wankhede stadium last week.
He returned with figures of 4/14 in three overs as KKR were restricted to 146/9 in 20 overs. The Capitals later on chased down the target with four wickets in hand.
R Ashwin (RR)
Rajasthan Royals’ R Ashwin produced a brilliant spell of bowling against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The right-arm spinner used his experience when it was most needed.
RR had managed to score 144/8 in 20 overs, courtesy an unbeaten fifty from Riyan Parag and needed the bowling unit to step up. Ashwin didn’t disappoint and picked up three wickets which included the dismissals of Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed and Suyash Prabhudessai and returned with figures of 3/17 in 4 overs. Apart from him, Kuldeep Sen scalped four wickets as RCB were bowled out for 115 to lose the match by 29 runs.
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