Mumbai Indians successfully defended their title in the recently concluded IPL 2020 tournament. In this article, we look at the most valuable players from various teams who demonstrated their brilliance in the world’s most popular T20 league. Jofra Archer, who also won the official title, leads the pack.
p>If we had to pick one player who made an impact on almost every game he played, our choice would be Jofra Archer. Consider his stats. In 14 matches, Archer took 20 wickets at 18.25 with his best bowling figures of 3/19. He had a brilliant economy rate of 6.55 and a strike rate of 16.70. Archer also let his bat speak when he got the opportunity, making 113 runs at 18.83, with a top score of 27 not out and a strike rate of 179.36. Though he had his best bowling returns in a lost cause against Delhi Capitals, his unbeaten innings of 27 in 8 balls at a strike rate of 337.50 helped propel RR to a score of 216 against Chennai. Archer had tough competition in his own team in the form of such players as Samson (375 runs in 14 matches), Stokes (285 runs in 8 matches) and Tewatia (255 runs and 10 wickets in 14 games).
Mumbai Indians –
Mumbai Indians – Kieron Pollard
"https://www.cric-life.com/player/kieron-pollard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pollard was a tough choice to make in a team that had many match-winning players who left their mark on games whenever they could. Pollard managed to score 268 runs in 16 games at 53.60 and made a top score of 60 not out. Interestingly enough, he often made those runs in the last two overs of the innings. His 15 fours with 22 sixes and a strike rate of 191.42 tell the tale. Pollard also contributed with the ball and though he took only 4 wickets, those wickets came at crucial moments. Boult (25 wickets in 15 games) and Bumrah (27 wickets in 15 games) were the other Mumbai players who had a massive impact. Hardik Pandya also made a huge contribution but his inability to bowl saw him lose out to Pollard on the impact scale.
Delhi Capitals – Mar
Delhi Capitals – Marcus Stoinis
he likes of Kagiso Rabada and Shikhar Dhawan, Stoinis’s consistency tilted the scale in his favour, making him a candidate to be named the most valuable player. He made a big impact with both bat and ball. In 17 matches, Stoinis scored 352 runs at 25.14, including his top score of 65, with a strike rate of 148.52. He would have made an even greater impact if DC had used him as an opener – a role he played in the last two games — from the very start. As a bowler, Stoinis grabbed 13 wickets at 21.76 with the best bowling figures of 3/26. Rabada’s 30 wickets at 18.26 in 17 matches included his best bowling figures of 4/24 and an economy rate of 8.34 and earned him the Purple Cap for the most wickets in the competition. Unfortunately for the South African, he was unable to take early wickets in the powerplay overs. Dhawan made 618 runs at 44.14 with back-to-back tons but fell short in crucial games.
Kings XI Punjab – Nicholas Poo
Kings XI Punjab – Nicholas Pooran
.com/player/nicholas-pooran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pooran scored 353 runs in 14 matches at 35.30 with a top score of 77. We have chosen him over KL Rahul (winner of the Orange Cap with 670 runs at 55.83 with a top score of 132 not out at a strike rate of 129.34) because of the greater impact Pooran had on the results of games, best reflected in his strike rate of 169.71 as well as his 23 fours and 25 sixes scored in the competition. And who can forget his brilliant fielding?
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Rashid Khan<
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Rashid Khan
n 16 matches, Rashid Khan had a greater impact than his illustrious teammates such as David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson. Rashid had the best bowling figures of 3/7, but the most telling stat was his economy rate of 5.37. Opposition teams had to play out Rashid Khan before they could set about making a reasonable score or chasing a target.
Chennai Super Kings – Ruturaj Gaikwad<
Chennai Super Kings – Ruturaj Gaikwad
of few bright spots in a disappointing tournament for CSK that saw the three-time title winners fail to reach the playoffs for the first time. He made 204 in 6 matches at 51.00 with three fifties, including his top score of 72. A hallmark of his batting was his use of cricketing strokes to keep the scoreboard moving, but that did not deter young Gaikwad from hitting 6 sixes. Ruturaj’s accomplishment was even more impressive as he was dropped from the team following a failure to score in his first match. Unfortunately for CSK and Gaikwad, Dhoni was a little slow in realising the young batsman’s value at the top of the order.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Devdutt Pallikal
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Devdutt Pallikal
atches to emerge as the most consistent batsman for RCB who had the likes of Virat Kohli and De Villiers in their ranks. Padikkal scored at an average of 31.53 and made 5 fifties, including a top score of 74. De Villiers came closest to competing with Padikkal for the impact stakes, with 454 runs from 15 matches at an average of 45.40 and a strike rate of 158.74. But where Padikkal got ahead was in his sheer consistency. As an opening batsman, he kept one end going, allowing an attacking batsman at the other end to do his thing. Though he had a relatively modest strike rate of 124.80, he was no slouch at the wicket and had 8 sixes to show for his effort.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Varun Chakravarthy
Kolkata Knight Riders – Varun Chakravarthyatches at 20.94 with his best bowling figures of 5/20 and an economy rate of 6.84. Eoin Morgan gave him the toughest competition in KKR, with 418 runs from 14 matches at 41.80 and with a top score of 68 not out. Varun’s best performance came in a must-win game against DC. Chasing 195 to win, DC were drawn into a downward spiral by Varun whose 5/30 included the wickets of Iyer, Pant, Hetmyer, Stoinis and Patel as Delhi collapsed from the relative comfort of 76/2 to a final score of 135/9, keeping KKR in contention for a playoff spot.
