A team comprising eleven of the finest players in IPL 4
A team comprising eleven of the finest players in IPL4
By Adrian Meredith Before starting my article, I have to make an admission. I picked my eleven best players from IPL4, largely on the basis of statistics and Cricinfo’s live commentary as there is no live coverage of the T20 league this year in Australia. The rules governing the IPL say that no more than four overseas (non-Indian) players could be in a playing XI and I kept that factor in mind while picking my XI. Here’s my choice of the eleven best in IPL4: 1. Chris Gayle - With 608 runs so far, he is good 50 runs ahead of Sachin Tendulkar with the most runs scored in the tournament and, incredibly, from five fewer innings. He has averaged 76 and has slammed two centuries and three fifties in 11 matches. His strike rate of 184.80 is way above anyone. He has quite simply been the player of the tournament. He has also bowled tidily. While he may have taken only six wickets at 35, he has conceded just 6.56 runs per over. Incredibly, Gayle was initially unsold and before he entered the tournament as a replacement player, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were struggling with three losses and just one win. Bolstered by Gayle, RCB went on to win eight in a row – the West Indian winning the man of the match in about half of those wins. They have since lost twice in their last three matches, but Gayle was the difference between winning and losing. Gayle holds the key to RCB’s chances of winning the final against CSK on Saturday. 2. Virender Sehwag - He only scored 424 runs at 38, but Sehwag's strike rate of 176 warrants his inclusion in this list simply for his ability to get his team off to a flier. An average of 38 is still pretty good and is only four behind Tendulkar, who is second on the run scoring list. Sehwag was dwarfed at times by the performances of Chris Gayle, but compared to most of the others, his performances are exceptional. 3. Paul Valthaty - He scored 463 runs at 35 with decent strike rate of 136 and was at one point leading the run scoring. He also took seven wickets and was crucial to Kings XI Punjab's early successes. He did fade somewhat later in the tournament, not just in comparison to Gayle but also in comparison to his teammate Shaun Marsh as well, but nonetheless had a very good campaign and is a star for the future. At the age of 27, hopefully he is not considered too old for national honours. 4. Shaun Marsh - He scored 504 runs at 42 with a strike rate of 146 and in the blink of an eye was at one point leading the run scoring list before eventually finishing in 4th spot. The strike rate is very good and the sheer weight of runs makes him impossible to ignore. After Valthaty was good early in the season, Marsh took over later with four half centuries and all but powered Kings XI to the knock-out stages. 5. Sachin Tendulkar - With 553 runs at 42, Tendulkar hasn't done too badly for a 38 year old. And if it wasn't for Gayle's exploits, Tendulkar's performances would be treasured. Tendulkar has been key to many of MI's successes and he warrants getting in the final XI as he is second in the overall run-scorers’ list. His strike rate of 113 isn't the best, but he has held the innings together at the top on a number of occasions. 6. Virat Kohli - With 522 runs at 47, Kohli was third on the run-scoring list and is a bit hard to ignore. His strike rate is a credible 121 and he provided a solid platform for RCB after the Gayle onslaught. 7. MS Dhoni - While he only took nine dismissals in his 15 matches and was outdone by Kumar Sangakkara in that regards (who took 19), Dhoni's batting was a fair way ahead of Sangakkara. And in this format, that makes all the difference. He has scored 370 runs at an average of 46 and an impressive strike rate of 158, which is good enough to merit him a place on his batting alone, leave aside his keeping. Dhoni may not be the best 'keeper in the tournament, but his captaincy is exceptional - a major reason why CSK have made it to the final. 8. Johan Botha - Statistically, Botha's performances weren't outstanding. He scored 230 runs at an average of 46 and strike-rate of just 116, then took just seven wickets at an average of 34 and an economy of 6.63. But it was simply his X factor that made all the difference. He was shock choice as he was promoted up to No 3, as he usually bats at No 9 internationally, but he scored big runs at a good strike rate and it was his performances that led to Rajasthan Royals being one of the pacesetters early and only just missed out on the finals, in spite of having less money at their disposal than other teams. He overshadowed Shane Warne as the best player for the Royals. 9. Lasith Malinga - Easily the best bowler of the tournament, Malinga was at times unplayable, with his yorkers earning legendary status. He finished with 28 wickets, six clear of the next best, at an average of just 13. His strike rate of 5.95 is one of the best in the tournament. Sadly he didn't open the bowling in the game against RCB on Friday. And after Gayle smashed 27 off the opening over, the match slipped out of MI's grasp. Many felt that had Malinga opened the bowling, MI would have made the final. He was that impressive. 10. Munaf Patel - How did MI fail to make the final when they had the second highest run scorer and Numbers 1 and 2 in the wicket-taking column? Whatever the reason, it certainly wasn't Munaf's doing, as he had a bumper of a tournament, taking 22 wickets at just 16 and also had a low economy of just 6.58. He was a more than adequate support for Malinga and was key to MI's successes. 11. Iqbal Abdulla - Not well known name, Abdulla nonetheless managed to rack up 16 wickets at an average of 19 and an economy of just 6.10. The relatively unknown had a bumper series that helped KKR qualify for the knockout stages. He was at times unplayable, alternating between wicket-taking and economical and combined well with Yusuf Pathan and occasionally Shakib al Hasan to give KKR a formidable slow bowling line-up. Abdullah is certainly a name to watch for the future. At just 21, he should be playing international cricket in the near future. (Adrian Meredith, an Australian from Melbourne, has been very passionate about cricket since he was seven years old. Because of physical challenges he could not pursue playing the game he so dearly loved. He loves all kinds of cricket - from Tests, ODIs, T20 - at all levels and in all countries and writes extensively on the game)