5 Debutants who have been the most impressive in IPL 2018

The annual Indian Premier League (IPL) makes as well as unmakes players. While expectations from some remain sky-high due to their past performances and their heavyweights get reflected in the auctions, others produce magic during the tournament the set up the tone for the following year. The 2018 edition of the IPL has been no different either as some players, who were expected to make it big, failed to fire while others, who were little known till the beginning of the tournament, turned into household names by playing consistently well. There are also those who lived up to the expectations of their respective franchises. Here, we look at five top players who have impressed with their batting, bowling and all-round skills in this IPL: 1. Mayank Markande (Mumbai Indians): Mayank Markande. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mayank Markande was not known much before his debut IPL this year but the MI youngster impressed in his very first game, taking three wickets against Chennai Super Kings (one of his scalps included Mahendra Singh Dhoni) even though the defenders lost the game closely. Markande is currently placed second in the list of best bowlers of IPL 11 with 11 wickets (topper Siddharth Kaul of Sunrisers Hyderabad also has 11 wickets but has a better average). The 20-year-old Punjab leg-spinner has impressed with his consistency and showed little fear against even the biggest of opponents in his debut season. Markande took four wickets in his second game against the Sunrisers to become the Purple Cap holder. Markande’s wicket-taking run took a dip after 7 wickets in two games (he got 4 in next 6) which made Sunil Gavaskar believe that he lost his initial spark. But the lad is far too young to lose out and will definitely learn a lot more on how to keep up the momentum. Markande might not go down to the closing stages since MI have put up a pathetic show this year but he is certainly one of the finds of this year’s IPL. 2. Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Daredevils) Delhi Daredevils’ Prithvi Shaw celebrates his half-century. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS) For Prithvi Shaw, 2018 has proved to be a memorable year. In January, he led the India U19 team to lift the World Cup in New Zealand, and now playing in his first-ever IPL, the 17-year-old caught all eyes by slamming a 44-ball-62 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi and did not get eclipsed by new skipper Shreyas Iyer’s blitzkrieg innings of 93 not out. Shaw, the Mumbai batsman who has been making marks in the domestic circuits by scoring centuries on debut in Ranji and Duleep trophies, has played only three games in the IPL so far but already showed his mettle. 3. Krishnappa Gowtham (Rajasthan Royals) Krishnappa Gowtham of RR celebrates after winning the game. (Photo Source: Twitter) Krishnappa Gowtham is one of the top buys of RR who have made a comeback to IPL after serving two seasons of suspension and he proved his utility in the match against Mumbai Indians in Jaipur where he blasted an unbeaten 33 off only 11 deliveries to drive his team home. RR were in a tricky situation at 6 for 125 in 17.1 overs, needing another 43 runs in 17 balls. Twenty-nine-year-old Gowtham, who hails from Bengaluru and plays for Karnataka in domestic leagues, has also taken 5 wickets from 7 games so far in this IPL, which speaks about his all-round ability. 4. Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Kings XI Punjab) Mujeeb Ur Rahman of KXIP celebrates a wicket. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Afghans have made their names in the IPL and 17-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been one of the star attractions this year. The offspinner, born in the 21st century and the youngest player to feature in the IPL, has taken 7 wickets in as many matches for KXIP and has also bowled 61 dot balls, which places him at No. 8 rank in the list of the top miserly bowlers of this IPL. He took 2 wickets for 28 runs against DD on debut in Mohali, seeing the back of the ballistic Collin Munro and talented Rishabh Pant besides effecting the runout of former skipper Gautam Gambhir. He also produced another gem of a performance in the second game against DD in Delhi by defending 16 runs in the last over by taking in-form Shreyas Iyer’s wicket to give his team a 4-run win. After the likes of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, Mujeeb is another cricketer from Afghanistan who has impressed the IPL audience. 5. Evin Lewis (Mumbai Indians) Evin Lewis of Mumbai Indians in action. (Photo by IANS) Evin Lewis is the latest Caribbean to hold the West Indies’ rich legacy at the IPL high. Though the left-handed opening batsman is playing for a team which has struggled in this edition, he himself nevertheless made a mark, scoring 194 runs in seven games, a tally which is just two runs short of the top scorer for MI this year – their skipper Rohit Sharma. Lewis, the 26-year-old from Trinidad, played an important role in the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mumbai after his team was reduced to 0 for 2. Lewis counter-attacked to score 65 off 42 balls and though was eclipsed by Sharma’s unbeaten 90-plus innings, still his talent did not go unnoticed.

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5 Debutants who have been the most impressive in IPL 2018

Here, we look at five top players who have impressed with their batting, bowling and all-round skills in this IPL:

3. Krishnappa Gowtham (Rajasthan Royals)

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