Pant’s 128*, de Villiers’ 90*: Top 7 IPL 2018 Batting Performances
Here’s a look at the top seven batting performances in IPL 2018.
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We are into the final stage of the Indian Premier League 2018. But the drama is far from over. Kolkata Knight Riders pulled back the Eliminator game against Rajasthan Royals in their favour to win the match by 25 runs in Kolkata on Wednesday, 23 May.
At the end of the 14th over, Rajasthan were cursing at 109/1, while chasing KKR’s total of 169/7. But the Kolkata bowlers put the brakes on and eventually restricted Rajasthan to 144/4 in their 20 overs.
Even in the Qualifier 1 match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, the latter team was in a great position when CSK were tottering at 92/7. But opener Faf du Plessis played a fantastic innings to help the men in yellow win the match by two wickets with five balls to spare.
The IPL has lived up to the entertainment expectations once again. As we move towards the end of the tournament, here’s a look at the top batting performances in IPL 2018.
1. Rishabh Pant’s 128* vs SRH
Absolute carnage would have been the words running through your mind, if you watched Rishabh Pant smash 128 runs off 63 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 10 May.
He came into bat when Delhi Daredevils were in a precarious position at 21/2. Pant immediately got into the act, when he smacked Siddarth Kaul for three consecutive boundaries in the sixth over.
Even as wickets fells around Pant, he just kept striking the ball brilliantly. Pant smashed 15 fours and 7 sixes in his whirl-winding innings. The 20-year-old scored 68.45 percent of Delhi’s total – 187/5.
2. Shane Watson’s 106 vs RR
Shane Watson, who started his IPL career with the Rajasthan Royals, proved his prowess against his old team in the best possible way. The Australian batted for 19.5 overs, scoring 106 runs off 57 balls.
Watson showed his intent right from the word go, when he struck Stuart Binny for two consecutive boundaries in the first over. However, he was dropped by Rahul Tripathi in the fifth ball of the match.
Watson made full use of the life, hitting 9 fours and 6 sixes in his innings.
3. Chris Gayle’s 104* vs SRH
Chris Gayle’s name had to be called three times in the IPL auction before he was taken by Kings XI Punjab at his base price of Rs 2 crore. While many franchises thought that Gayle was done and dusted, he reminded everyone about his strength in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Gayle struck 104 runs off 63 balls at a strike rate of 165.07. He didn’t want to deal in fours and therefore he smashed just one four and a whopping 11 sixes during his innings. The second highest scorer in the Punjab team was Karun Nair with 31 runs.
4. Ambati Rayudu’s 100* vs SRH
Ambati Rayudu notched his first-ever T20 century in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pune on 13 May. While chasing Hyderabad’s total of 179/4, Watson and Rayudu got CSK off to a great start. They added 134 runs in 13.3 overs.
Once Watson and Raina were dismissed in quick succession, Rayudu continued playing his game and brought up his century in 62 balls. The 32-year-old struck 7 boundaries and 7 sixes during his innings.
5. Jos Buttler’s 95* vs CSK
Beating CSK is always a difficult task, but imagine chasing down a big total single-handedly. Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler took it upon himself to chase down CSK’s total of 176/4.
As wickets fell at regular intervals, opener Buttler kept ticking the score board. Eventually, Rajasthan needed 12 runs off the last over. Buttler picked three twos and hit a six off the fourth ball of the last over to take the Royals home.
Buttler’s 60-ball 95 included 11 fours and 2 sixes.
6. Sanju Samson’s 92* vs RCB
Virat Kohli won the toss and put the Royals into bat at Bengaluru. After Ajinkya Rahane and Darcy Short’s decent 49-run opening stand, Sanju Samson walked into bat. The 23-year-old ripped the RCB bowling apart, smashing 2 fours and 10 sixes.
In the last over of the innings, Samson smashed Umesh Yadav for two sixes, propelling Rajasthan’s score to 217/4. The Kerala cricketer scored 92 runs off 45 balls.
7. AB de Villiers’ 90* vs DD
Delhi Daredevils had posted a challenging total of 174/5 or so it seemed before AB de Villiers came out to bat. The Royal Challengers Bangalore lost early wickets and were in a spot of bother when Virat Kohli was dismissed in the 11th over. RCB were 92/3.
But, then de Villiers took full responsibility of RCB’s chase. He smashed Harshal Patel for two sixes and a four in the 13th over. The South African went on to score 90 runs off 39 balls, which included 10 fours and 5 sixes. RCB won the match by 6 wickets with 2 overs to spare.
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