IPL 10- The Extravaganza of Cricket

So the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League has come to an end. And in what a way it ended with Mumbai Indians defeating Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run in the final. Throughout the tournament Pune dominated Mumbai as it defeated the Rohit Sharma led-team thrice in their previous three encounters.

This season saw the emergence of young Indian players who thrived while playing with and against some big names. The likes of Rishabh Pant, Rahul Tripathi, Basil Thampi, Shardul Thakur, Siddarth Kaul, Nitish Rana, Manan Vohra, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan made strong statements with their performances.

Pune had bought England all-rounder Ben Stokes for Rs.14.5 crores in the auction held in February and it worked for them as he ended this IPL with the Most Valuable Player Award, scoring 312 runs and picking 12 wickets to help his side secure a play-off birth which seemed highly unlikely at the start of the season when they lost three out of four games. As the IPL progressed, Pune built a team to reckon by including leg-spinner Imran Tahir, 17 year-old spinner Washington Sundar and Daniel Christian under the leadership of Steven Smith.

Jaydev Unadkat was their trump card as he bowled key spells at crucial junctions of some matches and ended up second in the race for the Purple Cap. He even took a hattrick and became the first Indian to take 2 five-wicket hauls in the IPL-history. MS Dhoni, who became the first player to feature in 7 IPL finals, was at his usual best by taking the responsibility of the team while batting and guiding the young bowlers in pressure situations.

Mumbai Indians, who usually start the tournament slowly, began on a high note by winning most of their initial matches with only Pune conquering them initially. The emergence of young middle-order batsman Nitish Rana only made their team stronger. They had players like Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, who won them matches single-handedly even when their captain Rohit Sharma was not in form. They played as a team rather than focusing on individual performances, which led them to the top of the points table at the league stage. Karn Sharma only improved their bowling once they reached the Play-Offs. Mumbai Indians became the only side to win the IPL trophy 3 times in the 10-year history of the tournament.

This IPL would also be remembered for the batting exploits of mystery-spinner Sunil Narine who opened the innings for KKR, and attacked the bowlers like the other players of his country, in the process, becoming the joint-fastest to score IPL fifty in 15 balls (Yusuf Pathan being the other one).

The brutal batting of Chris Lynn and the deadly death bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar would not be forgotten.

A unique record was created in this IPL when two hattricks were taken on a single day. Samuel Badree of RCB took a hattrick against MI and Andrew Tye achieved the same feat for GL against RPS on 14th April.

This IPL witnessed the rare failure of the trio of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers as their team Royal Challengers Bangalore slumped to the last position in the points’ table.

The next IPL would see the players being shuffled in different teams and there would be a return for the teams of CSK and RR in the IPL after a two-year ban. The list of awards won by the players in this IPL is as below:

1. Winner: Mumbai Indians

2. Runners-up: Rising Pune Supergiant

3. Orange Cap (Most runs in tournament) - David Warner (SRH)

4. Purple Cap (Most wickets in tournament) - Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH)

5. YES Bank Maximum Season Award (Most sixes in tournament) - Glenn Maxwell (Kings XI Punjab)

6. Vodafone Superfast Fifty Award - Sunil Narine (KKR)

7. Vitara Brezza Glam Shot of the Season - Yuvraj Singh (SRH)

8. FBB Stylish Player of the Season - Gautam Gambhir (KKR)

9. Fair Play Award - Gujarat Lions (GL)

10. Emerging Player Award - Basil Thampi (GL)

11. Most Valuable Player - Ben Stokes (RPS)

12. Pitch and Ground Awards - Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)

13. VIVO Perfect Catch of the Season - Suresh Raina (GL)

14. Man of the match in the final - Krunal Pandya (MI)