Young Indian Players to Watch Out for in IPL 2018

The Indian Premier League is the perfect combination of youth and experience. The young players who want to make a mark for themselves play alongside some of the best players in the cricketing fraternity.
This has helped in producing some of the most exciting young talents for India in the limited overs format. Players like Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah were all picked in the national squad on the back of some solid performance in the IPL. 

So let's take a look at the top five players who can make it big in this year's IPL

1) Prithvi Shaw: India's U-19 World Cup winning captain has already started to impress one all with his excellent performance for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and in the U-19 World Cup. Shaw averaged 56 in the ten first-class matches he has played and has scored his runs at a blistering strike rate of 73.92. 

Shaw is a wonderful front foot player and his timing of the ball is a joy to watch. Moreover, he is an excellent fielder and a complete package.

Delhi Daredevils spent 1.2 crores to buy Shaw and will be looking at him as a possible opener for them

2) Kamlesh Nagarkoti: Undoubtedly the most exciting player from the Indian U-19 team was Kamlesh Nagarkoti. He became an overnight sensation after the videos of him bowling at 140 Kmph went viral online.It was his spell of 3/29 against a strong Australia side which stole everyone's attention to him. He will be playing alongside Mitchell Johnson which would be a great chance for him to develop as a bowler. 

3) Shubhman Gill: Another batsmen from the U-19 team that raised everyone's eyebrows was Shubhman Gill. It was his unbeaten 102 against the rivals Pakistan that drove him to fame. 

Post the World Cup, Gill hit a fantastic 123* (122) against a strong Karnataka side in the Vijay Hazare Trophy which was particularly impressive because his side was in a difficult situation and he pulled them out of trouble. He will be a very exciting player in the upcoming IPL and is already a favorite among KKR fans

IS VIRAT REALLY AS GREAT AS SACHIN, GAVASKAR OR BRADMAN?

IS VIRAT REALLY AS GREAT AS SACHIN, GAVASKAR OR BRADMAN?

The business of comparison is horrible. It means bringing someone big down to make someone else look bigger. Since the past few years there have been discussions of Virat Kohli being as good as Sachin or even better than him. But how do you compare a Don Bradman with Sunil Gavaskar or even Virat with Sachin Tendulkar? All of these players played in different eras of cricket. Bradman and Gavaskar played in an era when there were no restrictions on fast bowlers on bowling short balls and even beamers. Batting against the tall West Indian bowlers requires a completely different set of talent than Kohli batting against a Mitchell Starc or Dale Steyn.

But comparing Virat with Sachin is indeed obnoxious.  It’s like comparing two generations without keeping the context in mind. When Sachin played he batted against some of the world class bowlers of that time which is what is lacking nowadays as the game has become more batting friendly. Sachin had to face bowlers like Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Murlitharan and many more who are in themselves great players.

Sachin played 200 Test matches and scored 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78. He played 463 ODIs and scored 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83. On the other hand Kohli has played just played 54 Tests and scored 4,451 runs at an amazing average of 51.76 and 179 ODIs scoring 7,775 runs at an average of 53.12. As the statistical comparison go there is nothing to compare as yet.  Sachin is miles ahead of Virat in the number of matches played. Also averages tend to dip as you play longer. There will be low phases in career. So in order to compare Virat with Sachin we have to wait till he plays atleast 100 Tests.

While into comparison let’s not forget other factors as well. The quality of bats has undergone a massive change. An edge or even the poorly timed shots clear the boundary ropes easily these days. Earlier any ball not hitting the sweet spot of the bat would carry to the fielders. The protective gear has changed as well which has allowed batsmen to play shots like the hook, pull, scoop shot, switch hit and all sort of improvisation which players like Sachin, Gavaskar or Bradman who would have never thought of.  

Though Virat has a realistic chance of having a better career draft than Sachin if he manages to remain injury free. There cannot be another Sachin or Bradman or Gavaskar, but Virat has amazing talent. Yes, there is no doubt that Virat is the most exciting batsman in contemporary cricket. He has been a prolific scorer and has proved his enormous talent in challenging circumstances. If there’s one batsman who can carry the tag ‘great’ on himself it has to be Virat Kohli.  

IPL 2016 GL v/s DD :- Chris Morris efforts go in vain as Gujarat win by 1 run. Top Moments, IPL Stats.

The match between GL v/s DD was yet another thrilling contest in this year’s IPL as the Gujarat Lions beat the Delhi Daredevils by 1 run at Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi. At the toss Zaheer won the toss and elected to bowl. Put in to bat Gujarat Lions had a blistering start with Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum smacking the ball all round the park. Gujarat Lions got off to a flyer thanks to a fifties from Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith. But once the pair departed, the innings faltered and in the end, they had to be content with 172/6, when it looked as though they would be on course for a total in excess of 200. But Delhi came back in the match on both occasions. First with the ball restricting Gujarat under 200. In replay, Daredevils got off to the worst possible start as they crawled their way to 22/3 at the end of the power play. JP Duminy and Chris Morris kept DD alive and when Duminy fell, it looked as though the jig was up but Morris kept them alive but a fantastic final over from Bravo meant it was the Lions who got the win.

 

Here are the top moments from this game:- 

 
1)      McCullum and Smith’s opening stand: - As they both have been doing it for CSK previously they continued this in this year’s IPL for Gujarat Lions. Smith took the initiative from the start as McCullum joined him as the pair smashed the Delhi bowlers at will. The duo brought up 50 on the scoreboard in just 3.5 overs – the fastest in this edition of the IPL.They kept up the scoring even after the power play overs as the 100 came up in just 9 overs.

 
2)      Chris Morris doing it both with bat and ball: - It was Chris Morris who turned the game on its head both with the bat and ball. Morris bowled a brilliant 12^th over of this game taking 2 wickets of McCullum and Suresh Raina which was crucial in restricting Gujarat under 200. With the bat as well Morris smacked the Gujarat bowlers to keep Delhi alive and almost winning the game. He smacked 32 ball 82 including 8 sixes.

 

3)      Dhawal Kulkarni’s New ball Magic: - Though he might not be considered as dangerous fast bowler but he can surely swing the ball and cause problems to the batsmen. Kulkarni picked up three early wickets to wrestle the momentum away from Delhi. Two of those scalps were Karun Nair and Sanju Samson – two of his former teammates at Rajasthan Royals while the dangerous Quinton de Kock also fell to the medium pacer.



4) Brilliant death bowling by Gujarat Bowlers: - Though everyone is talking about the excellent last over by Dwayne Bravo but the 19^th over bowled by Praveen Kumar went for just four runs, thus putting the pressure back on the opposition. Bravo complimented Kumar really well and should have had Morris dismissed of the first ball only for James Faulkner to let an easy catch through his hands.

Equally bad efforts by Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Karthik meant Morris faced the final delivery with four runs required, but Bravo remained focused and bowled another peach of a delivery to win the match for Gujarat.

 

Here are the IPL Stats from this game:-

1)      Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum became the fourth opening pair to record 1000+ runs in the IPL.

2)      Chris Morris got to his fifty off just 17 balls. That was the joint-third fastest fifty in the history of the IPL and fastest for DD. Only Yusuf Pathan (15) and Suresh Raina (16) are the only two batsmen to have to get to their fifty faster than Morris.

3)      Zaheer Khan conceded 18 runs in his first over, which is the most by a bowler in the opening over of an innings in this year’s IPL.

4)      Gujarat Lions got to their fifty off just 23 balls, which is the fastest team 50 in this IPL.

5)      Brendon McCullum became only the third batsman to score 300 T20 sixes.

[ STATS Courtesy www.Sportskeeda.com]

IPL 2016 MI v/s KXIP: Parthiv and Rayudu Partnership helps Mumbai Win an all important contest. Top Moments IPL stats.

Both the teams were eager to win this game and get back to winning track. Mumbai though had an upper hand in this crucial contest. David Miller won the toss and elected to bowl first. Put in to bat Mumbai had a terrible start with Rohit Sharma getting out on a duck of the 2nd ball of the innings. After Rohit's wicket Rayudu and Parthiv held the innings together with a massive 135 runs partnership. Rayudu made 65 of 37 and Parthiv with his career best score of 81 of 58. For Punjab the two Indian pacers Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma bolwed well at the death to restrict Mumbai to a total less than 200. They finished with 1 for 20 and 3 for 38 respectively. In the 2nd innings Kings XI Punjab never had upper hand in the chase. Maxwell and Marsh had a good partnership for the 3rd wicket but it was not enough to take Punjab home. McClanaghan, Jasprit Bumrah and Tim Southee continued there good form with the ball. They finished with 2 for 32, 3 for 26 and 2 for 28.

Here are the top moments from this game:-

 1) Rayudu finds the perfect track: - His brilliance in batting has been restricted to IPL itself as he could not replicate his talent at the international level. Parthiv provided the start for him to pick up and take the teams total to 189.  He smacked his way to 65 in just 37 balls.

2) Parthiv proves himself: - As the in-form Rohit Sharma got out for a duck, he took it upon himself to score as he piled up 81 runs in 58 balls to give his team the start they needed. His innings, which won him the man of the match award, didn’t go in vain as Mumbai won the match by 25 runs.

3) Bowling firing for Mumbai: - Combination of playing three frontline fast bowlers seems to work well for Mumbai. Kiwi duo of Southee and McClanaghan as well as Bumrah are continuing to perform well. In this match too they played a very crucial role in defending the target of 189. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 26.

 4) Sharma duo's late damage: - Mohit Sharma took his first steps towards a comeback with a brilliant last over that almost made people forget the 34 runs he gave in his first 3 overs.2 2 0 0 W W was how his last over read—stopping Mumbai to override the 200 runs margin with his brilliant last 6 balls. Sandeep Sharma too bowled extremely well taking big wicket of Rohit Sharma early in his spell and then bowling some good overs at the death.

5) Maxwell finding some form: - Punjab were struggling with the early loss of their openers, but stabilized thanks to two Aussies Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell.  Today was one of those days when Maxwell was in the mood of smacking them all over. He faced only 39 balls, but scored 56 runs from them. He might as well have won them the game if would have been there till the end.

 Here are the IPL stats from this game:-

1) This was Maxwell's 2nd IPL fifty on Indian soil. He has total of 5 fifties in IPL cricket.

2) Rayudu crossed the 3000-barrier in his T20 career when he drove Axar Patel through the cover boundary. He became the 15th Indian batsman to reach the landmark.

3) It has been 6 times that Kings XI Punjab has successfully chased targets of 190 plus. It is the most by any team in the league followed by Rajasthan Royals with three such chases.

4) 4 Consecutive matches lost by Kings XI against the Mumbai Indians in Mohali. Their overall record against Mumbai is also pretty dire with only three wins as against seven losses at the venue.

 [Statistics Courtesy;-www.Sportskeeda.com]

IPL 2016 MI vs DD:- DD clinch victory from Mumbai's Hands. Top moments IPL Stats.

The Delhi Daredevils notched up their third win on the trot defeating Mumbai Indians by 10 runs to make their way up to the second spot in the 2016 IPL. Put in to bat by Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson and JP Duminy helped Delhi register 164 runs in their 20 overs before a disciplined bowling effort saw the hosts condemn Mumbai to their fourth defeat in six matches. Coming in for a chase Mumbai Indians had a horrible start with Parthiv Patel running himself out. Rohit, Ambati Rayudu and Krunal Pandya gave the visitors a breezy start in their run-chase, but the Delhi bowlers came back strongly to swing the match back in favour of the hosts and ultimately win the match by a margin of 10 runs.

Here are the top moments from this game:-

1) Samson steps up to the task:- The dismissals of Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair meant Samson had to keep his scoring instincts in check and steady the ship along with the experienced Duminy. The wicketkeeper-batsman did just that bringing up a well deserved half century along the way and was dismissed was 60 as he looked to go after the big shots towards the end.

2) Duminy's late flury:-   JP Duminy has been struggling to make an impact in the IPL so far, but he certainly put a foot in the right direction with his unbeaten knock of 49 today.While Sanju Samson provided the stability that the Delhi Daredevils needed following three early wickets, it was Duminy who helped the side cross the par score on the Kotla pitch with some meaty blows towards the end.Duminy's knock included three boundaries and two sixes.

3) Zaheer Khan and Chris Morrisdeath bowling :- Zaheer Khan and Chris Morris bowled exceptionally well at the death to win the game for Delhi. Both bowled great line to keep Pollard and Rohit from scoring runs.

4) Leg spin duo doing it once again:- Eyebrows were raised when Delhi Daredevils decide to drop the hard-hitting Carlos Brathwaite in favour of South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir making their overseas line-up an all-Proteas affair.
Though he failed to pick up any wicket, Tahir conceded only 29 runs off his four overs despite feeling the heat of Krunal Pandya's bat, thus playing a crucial role in curtailing the Mumbai Indians' run-rate. The night, however, belonged to his less-fancied leg-spin companion Amit Mishra who troubled the opposition batsmen all-day long. He outfoxed Ambati Rayudu first and then more crucially Jos Buttler, with googlies, to give his side two crucial breakthroughs.

5) Krunal Pandya continues to impress:- Krunal bowled four economical overs before taking the match away from Delhi with a number of mighty blows after being sent in to bat at No 4. He overshadowed his skipper who was going at a brisk rate himself striking at a rate of more than 200. He could have done more damage, but was unfortunately run out for 36 off 17 balls.

Here are the IPL stats from this game:-

1) Delhi Daredevils are now the second team in the IPL, after Royal Challengers Bangalore, to win a match after batting first.

2) Rohit Sharma has scored a fifty in each of the three innings he has batted second in the IPL so far.

3) Delhi Daredevils have made the most dismissals through run-outs by any team in the IPL.

4) Harbhajan Singh has now been dismissed for the most times for a golden duck in the IPL.

5) Shreyas Iyer's knock of 19 runs was his first score that reached double figures in this IPL. His previous three scores were 0, 3 and 0.

IPL 2016 SRH v/s GL:- Warner and Shikhar unbeaten stand gives 2nd consecutive win to Sunrisers. Top moments, IPL stats.

Warner's blistering innings and Shikhar's patient knock grant Sunrisers a 10 wicket victory over the Gujarat Lions. They both put up an unbeaten 133 run partnership. Earlier at the toss Warner called it right and put the Gujarat Lions to bat. Suresh Raina was the only positive for the Gujarat Lions. Suresh Raina cracked 75 but Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to restrict Gujarat Lions to 135 for eight in 20 overs. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar being the pick of the bowlers with figures 4 for 29.

Here are the top moments from this game:-

1) Suresh Raina 'the lone man standing':-  Suresh Raina was the only positive from this game for Gujarat Lions. He has been struggling with his form since the Asia cup. Even in the T20 World Cup he was not able to contribute. In this match he cracked 75 but the Gujarat Lions could only manage 138 for 8.

2) Warner ' The Boss':- Everything has been going well for Warner in the last two games both with the bat and as a captain. In this game his captaincy was quite impressive. He was precise with his bowling changes. With the he played a captains innings once again. He scored a quick fire 78 of 48 balls which allowed Shikhar Dhawan to take time and pace his innings.

3) Dhawan fine some form:- Its been a while since Shikhar Dhawan has scored a half century in T20 cricket. His last big innings came against Australia in Australia. His innings of 53 of 41 against Gujarat would certainly make him feel confident the next time he will come out to bat.

4) Bhuvaneshwar Kumar's 4 for 29:-  The first ball Bhuvaneshwar bowled was an unplayable ball which even got over the inform Aron Finch. His last over also was tremendous taking 3 wickets by giving just 6 runs. This bowling figures were his career best bowling figures in IPL cricket.

5) Mustafizur Rehman continues to impress:- Ever since Mustafizur  started playing international cricket he has been in the news for his bowling talent. He impressed once again with his change of pace. Though he got only one wicket of Jadeja he bowled exceptionally well against Brendon McCullum . He finished with figures of 1 for 19.

Here are the IPL stats from this game:-

1) 3 Consecutive fifties scored by David Warner in T20s while chasing targets. This was his fourth such performance in 2016.

2)  4 – Number of century partnerships between Warner and Dhawan in the IPL.

3) 75 – Runs scored by Raina which is the second most without a single six in all IPL matches.

4) 30 – Number of innings between Raina’s previous half-century and this one.

5) 4 – Wickets taken by Mustafizur Rahman during the end overs in this IPL.

IPL 2016 MI v/s RCB:- Rohit's brilliance and Pollards destruction helps Mumbai to win there second game in IPL. Top Moments, IPL stats.

In the previous encounter between this two side in  the 2015 IPL edition at Wankhede Royal Challengers Bangalore piled up a mamoth target with Virat and AB putting up an unbeaten 200+ stand. This time around the match didn't went in RCB's favour. Put in to bat first RCB could only manage 170 on the board.  Krunal Pandya and Jaspreet Bumrah impressed once again taking 2 for 27 and 3 for 31 repectively to restrict RCB to 170.
In reply Rohit Sharma played a match winning innings of 62 and at the end a destructive innings by Pollard sealed an easy win for Mumbai. Iqbal Abdulla was the pick of the bowlers for RCB picking up 3 for 40 in his spell.

Here are the top moments from this game:-

1) HITMAN show at Wankhede:-  Rohit Sharma has been one of the most important players for Mumbai Indians. When he is in form the team looks different. He is considered to be one of the most exciting talent of cricket. He surely proved it in this match. Rohit Sharma made 62 of 44 balls to help Mumbai chase down 170.

2) Pollard 'The Big Man' is back :-  Pollard has looked scratchy in the first few games as he was making a comeback after injury. He came up with a quick-fire knock, smashing four boundaries and three sixes to steer his team to second victory in the IPL-9. He made 40 of 19 balls.

3) Youngsters stepping up to the task for Mumbai:- Two young bowlers bowled exceptionally well to restrict the Dangerous RCB batting lineup to a score below 200. Krunal Pandya and Jaspreet Bumrah impressed once again taking 2 for 27 and 3 for 31 repectively to restrict RCB to 170.

4) Iqbal Abdulla the pick of the bowlers for RCB:- Iqbal Abdulla was the pick of the bowlers for RCB picking up 3 for 40 in his spell. He was not afraid to toss the ball up. He took three very crucial and big wickets of Ambati Rayudu, Jos Butler and Rohit Sharma to keep RCB in the hunt.

5) Travis Head shows his talent:- Though he may appear to be small in height but this guy really packs a punch with his bat. The six he hit to Hardik Pandya went like a tracer bullet. He scored 37 of 24 balls to help RCB post a respectable total on the  board.

Here are the IPL stats from this game:-

1) Rohit Sharma crossed the landmark of hitting 150 sixes in the IPL.

2) Harbhajan Singh played his 200th T20 match.

3) Rohit Sharma is now the highest run-scorer for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

4) Rohit Sharma has now been named man-of-the-match most times in the IPL.

5) Only Virat Kohli and Harbhajan Singh are the two players to have featured for the same team in all nine seasons of the IPL.

6) This was the first time in the last five T20 innings that Virat Kohli has missed out on scoring a half-century.