IPL 2016: Top 10 moments of week 5

Week 5 of the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League aka IPL 2016 was something to cherish for one and all. While the cricket on the field was there for one and all to witness, it highlighted yet another aspect of the game. The crowd seemed to come back following 4 weeks of what seemed to be a T20 fatigue all over the country following the conclusion of the World T20. The crowd turn outs also seemed to have a direct influence in the field of play as we final witnessed some insatiable cricket in the fifth week of the IPL. While there were indeed a plethora of moments in the week, we take a look at the top 10 of these moments. 1. Adam Zampa:The ‘Houdini’: Adam Zampa. (Photo Source: BCCI) A couple of months back, Jarrod Kimber had written a post speaking about the importance of leg-spinners in the context of T20 cricket. What is a leg-spinner? Apart from the fact that leggies are cannon fodder and concede runs at will, on their day, they are unplayable. The Rising Pune Supergiants were well and truly looking down the barrel when they played the Surisers Hyderabad. Pride was at stake as MS Dhoni was doing all he could to uphold his reputation. Little did he know that his lieutenant, Adam Zampa was going to be the one to uphold that reputation for him. Zampa may have ended up on the losing side after all, but there was a sinister aspect to the way he bowled on the night. He was quintessentially Harry Houdini. You couldn’t see him. Well, of course, you could see him, but the way the ball turned, he seemed to cast a spell on it. It was Shane Warne-esque. Williamson, Yuvraj, Henriques, Hooda, Ojha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were all foxed by the illusions cast by the Houdini Adam Zampa. 2. Batman and Superman: Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bangalore players Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers during an IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions at Bangalore at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 14, 2016. (Photo Source: IANS) Growing up, marvel comics always taught me that Batman and Superman were always the good guys. They fought the same war, for the same goals and at times, for similar women. Recently, I came across an article that stated that if AB de Villiers was Superman, then ViratKohli was batman. This one struck a chord in m system, especially a someone who takes pride in the fact that he grew up watching these two superheroes in action. While it wasn’t really Batman v Superman as far these two immensely talented RCB players were concerned, it was surely batman and superman when they absolutely decimated the Gujarat Lions bowlers. While de Villiers and Kohli absolutely hate the idea of smashing sixes, the more they hit the ball into the stands, the more invincible they looked. Hitting the ball into the crowd seemed the safest proposition for these two. They slammed twin centuries, perhaps the only time it had happened in the IPL history as we know it. They added 229 for the second wicket in just 90 odd deliveries. A miracle maybe? 3. Yusuf Pathan’s ‘Jack the Ripper’ moment: Yusuf Pathan. (Photo Source: BCCI) The underperforming top order of the Kolkata Knight Riders has seen the likes of Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav and Shakib-Al-Hasan a chance. Among these players, Yusuf Pathan has been the standout performer. Of course there are those who suggest that the 33-year old is past his peak and of course, there are other calling for his exclusion. Yet, he finds a way to keep going. The older of the Pathan brothers has been in a splendid form of late. Especially against the Rising Pune Supergiants, Yusuf slammed the ball to all parts of the Eden Gardens. With rain playing a major part in proceedings, Pathan ensured that the target off a paltry 66 was reached with 4 overs to play. He had slammed 37 off just 18 deliveries including 4 boundaries and 3 sixes. A Kodak moment, check. A smash and grab, maybe. A ‘Jack the Ripper’ moment, definitely. 4. Choc-a-Pandya: Krunal Pandya. (Photo Source: BCCI) KrunalPandya has of late become the more preferred of the Pandya brothers as far as Rohit Sharma is concerned. The southpaw, who looks up to Yuvraj Singh as his idol, may have a few traits of the 34-year old. However, his style, mobility and bowling prowess are a signature only he truly possesses. While a few cameos and Kodak moments with bat and ball have already seen him stamp his authority on the tournament, the 24-year olds’ watershed moment came against the Delhi Daredevils on a diabolical wicket at Vizag. He had one job. That was to neutralize the spin trio of the Delhi attack. However, Pandya didn’t just neutralize it. He hulked them. The spinners were deposited into the stands as a clueless Zaheer Khan stood and watched the innings unfold. The ball travelled into the stands off the bat of KrunalPandya with monotonous regularity. He was quite literally defying the laws of gravity. ‘Anything that goes up comes down?’ The way Pandya batter, when they were hit, they stayed hit. 5. The Royal Jordanian : Chris Jordan. (Photo Source: BCCI) Chris Jordan was drafted into the RCB squad as a replacement to Mitchell Starc. On the back of some impressive performances in the World T20, the Brit made his way into the Bangalore bowling unit lacking some serious bite. Of course, they had Kane Richardson and TabraizShamsi. Yet, something was evidently missing in that awful attack. Things began rather horribly for Jordan as he was whacked all around the park. He had taken just the one wicket in three matches and conceded 132 runs. 12 overs, a wicket and 132 runs. You do the math. Horrific figures to say the least. However, something happened to him when he played against the Gujarat Lions. It was almost fairytale-ish. There were these figures and all of a sudden, he had taken 4/11 in just the three overs he had bowled. ViratKohli must have been scratching his head and saying to himself: “Chris Jordan, where have you been all my life?” 6. Rishabh Pant fizzes out the “Fizz”: Mustafizur Rahman. (Photo Source: BCCI) MustafizurRahman is generally called ‘Fizz’. Although many believe that he is called fizz for his pace, I’d like to think that he is called Fizz for his variations and ability to fox the batsmen. He is the part of a well-constructed bowling unit put together by the Sunrisers. However, like Superman has his kryptonite, Mustafizur has Rishabh Pant. The southpaw, who was part of the U19 World Cup earlier this year, made light work of Mustafizur as they faced each other at Hyderabad. Fizz was bowling with his usual velocity. However, he didn’t expect the starlet Pant to decimate him to the minuscule bits that he did. A six and four and bevy of ones and twos saw Pant un-fizz the fizz of Mustafizur as he coasted to his unbeaten 39. The Daredevils had then reached their target with two overs to spare. 7. How do you like me now? Mohali: Royal Challengers Bangalore players celebrate fall of a wicket during an IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on May 9, 2016. (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Close finishes are something we haven’t seen in this edition of the IPL. At least, it was something we hadn’t seen until the Royal Challengers had made their way out to Mohali to face the lowly Kings XI Punjab. Little did they know what to expect. Shane Watson’s season in the IPL thus far had been somewhat subdued. Mind you, the Challengers had indeed paid good money to secure his services. However, he finally got it right when he bowled a near-perfect penultimate over to deny the Kings a win at their own backyard. He picked an additional two wickets, had an economy rate of 5.50 and almost single-handedly, secured a one-run win for the Challengers. The win was immensely important as it ensured that the Challengers stayed in the hunt for a playoff spot. 8. The Kings XI Royal Rumble match: Mohali: Shaun Marsh of Kings XI Punjab in action during an IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on April 19, 2016. (Photo Source: IANS) Trouble with a capital ‘T’ has allegedly been brewing from the camp of late. Some horrific performances, a change in the guard from David Miller to Murali Vijay has seen many controversies arise. Whether they are true or not, reports suggesting a dressing room brawl and such other incidents has seen a black mark against the names of some of the player. While Shaun Marsh was sent back, the further controversy was some of the alleged comments from co-owner PreityZinta on head coach Sanjay Bangar. In their loss at the hands of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, she certainly didn’t seem too happy with proceedings. 9. Murali Vijay’s gambit: Mohali: Murali Vijay of Kings XI Punjab celebrate fall of a wicket during an IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on May 9, 2016. (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Murali Vijay’s appointment as skipper couldn’t have come at a worse time. His appointment saw a mini ‘civil-war’ break out in the camp. However, Vijay got on with his business as he secured his first win as skipper against the mighty Mumbai Indians. Apart from the devastating bowling, Vijay followed it up with a splendid half-century. Although WriddhimanSahaslammed an important half-century, Murali Vijay was the anchor of the innings. he remained unbeaten on 54 as the Kings picked up a rare yet important win. 10. Virat Kohli: The Winter Soldier: Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli celebrates his century during an IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions at Bangalore at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 14, 2016. (Photo Source: IANS) As mentioned in some of my previous posts, it is getting harder to find words and adjective to describe the man. Even supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is an understatement to what he has done thus far. However, while all his teammates seem to be underperforming, Kohli has stood out with three centuries in this edition of the IPL already. Out of those, two centuries came against the Rising Pune Supergiants and the Gujarat Lions, both yielding wins. He is quintessentially ‘Captain America’ for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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IPL 2016: Top 10 moments of week 5

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