HOW EVERYONE ELSE FARED
After a month-and-half of scintillating individual performances and engrossing team shows, MI took the crown. The other teams had their highs and lows, making it an exciting season. A look:
CSK
Old, just short of gold
WHAT WORKED
The ‘Dad’s Army’ gave the younger lot a lesson or two on grinding out wins right till the final. It wouldn’t have been possible without a stellar set of bowlers, four of whom were among the top 12 wicket-takers— Imran Tahir (26 wkts), Deepak Chahar (22), Harbhajan Singh (16) and Ravindra Jadeja (12).
WHAT DIDN’T
Barring MS Dhoni and Faf du Plessis, the other batsmen were inconsistent. The ageing side also didn’t score in fielding.
BEST BUY
Deepak Chahar (~80 lakh) – The fast bowler finished as the third highest wicket-taker.
WORST BUY
Mohit Sharma (~5 crore) – The seamer played only one match, taking one wicket.
DC
Change in name, game
WHAT WORKED
The erstwhile Daredevils halted the trend of not reaching the play-offs. Kagiso Rabada’s (25 wkts) fiery pace and World Cup-snubbed Rishabh Pant’s crucial knocks (488 runs) lifted them up at crucial junctures. Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw too contributed well.
WHAT DIDN’T
Overseas batsmen Colin Munro and Colin Ingram failed in the heat of IPL while skipper Iyer wasn’t consistent enough.
BEST BUY
Ishant Sharma (~1.1 crore) – His economy of 7.58 and 13 wickets in 13 games were good.
WORST BUY
Colin Ingram (~6.4 crore) – Could score only 184 runs in 12 matches at an average of 18.40.
SRH
No firepower in the end
WHAT WORKED
The best opening pair of IPL 2019, David Warner— top-scorer with 692 runs in 12 games—and Jonny Bairstow (445, 10 games) had four century stands. Spinner Rashid Khan was brilliant (17) as usual.
WHAT DIDN’T
Without their overseas openers, SRH were all at sea. The middle order couldn’t handle the pressure with Manish Pande, Kane Williamson and Vijay Shankar never firing in unison.
BEST BUY
Jonny Bairstow (~2.2 crore) – The England keeper-batsman’s strikerate of 157.24 was the best among openers. His keeping was a bonus.
WORST BUY
Deepak Hooda (~3.6 crore) – He scored just 64 runs in 11 matches, at an average of 10.66.
KKR
Fighting within
WHAT WORKED
Andre Russell (510 runs in 14 games, strike-rate 204.81) was the answer to the fans baying for big hits. The Jamaican’s power-packed shows took the game away from rivals many times.
WHAT DIDN’T
Team spirit went up in smoke after a string of losses mid-season. The sub-standard show of bowlers, with Kuldeep Yadav subdued, hurt.
BEST BUY
Shubman Gill (~1.8 crore) – Youngster displayed cool head scoring 296 in 14 matches and cashed in when sent up the order.
WORST BUY
Robin Uthappa (~6.4 crore) – Once key to KKR’s fortunes, the seasoned hand could not boost the middle-order this time.
KXIP
Work half done
WHAT WORKED
KL Rahul (593 runs in 14 matches) and Chris Gayle (490 in 13 matches) helped Kings XI punch above their weight while spinners R Ashwin and M Ashwin spiced up the bowling.
WHAT DIDN’T
Without a good allrounder, KXIP had no plan B if a bowler or batsman had a bad day. Their 5-2 home record meant little as they lost six of their seven away games.
BEST BUY
M Ashwin (~20 lakh) – The leg-spinner maintained an economy of 7.50, keeping things tight.
WORST BUY
Varun Chakravarthy (~8.4 crore) – The mystery spinner played just one match and could take just one wicket.
RR
Falling short repeatedly
WHAT WORKED
As always, domestic players made an impact. Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was consistent and teenager Riyan Parag stole the show in a couple of games. Jofra Archer’s express pace and Jos Buttler’s few innings too stood out.
WHAT DIDN’T
In T20s, one good over with bat or ball can make the difference. Smith being handed captaincy midway and Rahane’s inconsistency hurt.
BEST BUY
Shreyas Gopal (~20 lakh) – The leg-spinner was the fourth highest wicket-taker of the edition with 20 scalps.
WORST BUY
Jaydev Unadkat (~8.4 crore) – The left-arm pacer, a hot pick, took 10 wickets in 11 matches at an economy of 10.66.
RCB
Kohli, ABD, that’s it
WHAT WORKED
When a team has Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, one can’t look beyond them. Both scored over 440 runs to be RCB’s best batsmen. Navdeep Saini’s fast bowling was a positive.
WHAT DIDN’T
No other batsman, be it domestic of foreign, stood up to the challenge—a recurring theme for RCB. Umesh Yadav didn’t show control in the death overs.
BEST BUY
Navdeep Saini (~3 crore) – The fast bowler took 11 wickets in 13 games at an economy of 8.27.
WORST BUY
Shivam Dube (~5 crore) – The all-rounder did not make an impact with bat or ball and played only four games.