IPL 2019: Best Indian XI from first two weeks

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is surely up and running. With 21 games into the tournament, some performances have literally lit up the season. Teams are eyeing consistency as far as results go while certain teams are looking to get off the blocks. It’s been a very competitive season so far with various brilliant performances. However, with the World Cup just around the corner, there’s also an eye out on the ones that will be boarding that flight, especially the Indian players. None of them are leading the batting or bowling charts. But there have been players who have been consistent. Hence, let’s take a look back at the best XI possible, based on the performance in the first two weeks. Here’s the best Indian XI from the first two weeks: 1. Virat Kohli (RCB) Virat Kohli. (Photo: IANS) The Indian skipper has looked in very good touch this season. However, he hasn’t been able to convert his good starts. In fact, in six games so far, he has just one score of fifty or more and that came when he scored 84 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He has a couple of scores in the 40s as well. Hence, he’s been hitting the ball well but has been getting out at wrong times. Virat Kohli has carried this Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batting line-up even this season. The trend has continued season after season and the RCB skipper is feeling the heat as well. The team isn’t doing well as they’ve lost six in a row and now, face a near improbable task of winning eight games in a row. But with 203 runs, he is the second highest run-getter in this tournament amongst the Indians. 2. Prithvi Shaw (DC) Prithvi Shaw. (Photo Source: Twitter) The 19-year-old Mumbaikar has blown hot and cold this season. He made his IPL debut last year but this season, he’s got consistent opportunities. Prithvi Shaw has scored 169 runs at an average of 28.16 and a strike-rate of 152.25. He has had scores of 7, 24, 99, 0, 11 and 28 (latest). That 99 he scored was a scintillating knock. His 55-ball carnage included 12 fours and 3 sixes which put the Delhi Capitals in a strong position to chase down 186. However, it was some poor batting in the last three overs which pushed the game to the Super Over. Even in the game against RCB, he struck successive boundaries off Tim Southee putting pressure back on the bowlers. 3. Shreyas Iyer (DC) Shreyas Iyer. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Delhi Capitals skipper has been one of the most consistent Indian batsmen in this IPL. In fact, he has the most runs by an Indian in this edition of the IPL so far. Despite scoring just one fifty, he is third on the list of highest run-getters of this IPL and has joined the race for the Orange Cap. Shreyas Iyer has amassed 215 runs at an average of 35.83 so far in this season. In his last four innings, he hasn’t been dismissed under 28. He played an excellent knock against RCB as he scored a fine 67, helping DC chase down 150 on a tricky pitch. 4. Nitish Rana (KKR) Nitish Rana of Kolkata Knight Riders in action. (Photo by: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) Nitish Rana has had an impressive start to the season once again. In the last couple of years, the left-handed batsman has begun well and has looked good. However, he has tended to taper off as the tournament progresses. While Russell has hogged most of the limelight, Rana has been one of the quiet performers for KKR. In four innings so far, he has scored 169 runs at an average of 42.25 and a strike-rate of 159.43. He started off the tournament with a couple of really good half-centuries. Rana struck a superb 68 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in KKR’s opening game of the season, setting up the chase. He backed it up with another good knock – 63. He’s endured just one failure so far when he was out for 1 against the Delhi Capitals. Hence, he has become the rock at No. 4 for KKR. 5. Sarfaraz Khan (KXIP) Sarfaraz Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter) Sarfaraz Khan has been in the limelight ever since he made his IPL debut in 2015. He came across as 17-year-old pocket-sized dynamite who could play all those funky shots and give some momentum towards the back end of the innings. He was retained by RCB last year but played only a handful of games (seven to be precise) and the youngster couldn’t justify his retention either. Sarfaraz was then released, only to be picked up by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The franchise has shown faith in him as they are picking him ahead of the experienced Karun Nair. However, Sarfaraz has somewhat repaid the faith. He has amassed 165 runs in four innings at an average of 55.00. We could also say that Sarfaraz has exceeded a lot of people’s expectations as well. 6. MS Dhoni (c & wk) (CSK) MS Dhoni. (Photo: IANS) There is something about Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The franchise simply seems to get the best out of him. In this IPL, he has played four innings and has remained unbeaten on three occasions. He has tried to shepherd the chase or the setting up the total when CSK have batted first. In this 12th season, the CSK skipper has put together 156 runs at a strike-rate of 124.80. He once again starts slowly but if he gets set, then he can implode big time. He did that in the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) when he made that unbeaten 75, smashing the RR death bowlers to all parts of the ground. 7. Hardik Pandya (MI) Hardik Pandya. (Photo: IANS) 102 runs and 4 wickets might not seem great numbers. However, the impact Hardik Pandya has had on Mumbai Indians (MI) this season has been immense. The MI batting hasn’t really hit the mark and hence, the onus has fallen largely on Hardik to take them to a competitive score and he hasn’t disappointed so far. India’s premier fast-bowling all-rounder is striking at the rate of 178.94. Time and again, the younger Pandya has given MI a flourishing finish. 32 off 14, 31 off 19 and 25 off 8 are some of the sparkling innings he has played so far. With the ball, he did well against CSK, picking up 3/20 and helping MI register a good win. 8. Shreyas Gopal (RR) Shreyas Gopal. (Photo Source: Twitter) Shreyas Gopal has been very impressive this season. He’s been Rajasthan Royals’ best bowler so far in the tournament. He did go wicketless in one game but in the other matches, he’s been right on the money. He bowled just one over in the game against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) but once he got the ball for a longer time, the leggie made an impact. He picked up 3/27 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) before producing one of the spells of the tournament so far. Gopal took 3/12 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Jaipur. He got the big wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shimron Hetmyer. This is the second time Gopal has dismissed the two big guns of RCB in the same innings. The Karnataka leggie has a great knack of picking up big wickets. He was a tad expensive in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but was the only wicket-taker for the Royals in the game. Hence, he has 8 wickets so far in the tournament at an average of 12.75 and an economy of 6.37. 9. Deepak Chahar (CSK) Deepak Chahar of Chennai Super Kings. (Photo by IANS) Deepak Chahar has become an important part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set-up. He played 12 games last season in CSK’s title-winning triumph. MS Dhoni loves using him in the powerplay and tries to finish his quota by bowling all his four overs right at the top. Nothing has changed this season as well. Chahar has continued to bowl in the powerplay and has done well. In five games, he has taken five wickets at an economy of 6.15. In the absence of Dwayne Bravo, Chahar also bowled at the death. 10. Yuzvendra Chahal (RCB) Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: IANS) RCB is languishing at the bottom of the table with six losses out of six games. However, Yuzvendra Chahal has done really well and he held the Purple Cap for quite some time in the last week. He’s been one of the most reliable options in the bowling department for RCB. In six games, he has taken nine wickets at an average of 18.33 and an economy of 6.87. Barring the latest game against the Delhi Capitals, Chahal has picked up a wicket in every game. He picked up 4/38 against Mumbai Indians on what looked like a belter of a pitch at the Chinnaswamy. Hence, he’s been one of the shining lights for the Bangalore-based franchise in what has been a disastrous season for them so far. 11. Sandeep Sharma Sandeep Sharma of Sunrisers Hyderabad in action. (Photo by BCCI/IANS) In a team filled with international stars and fast bowlers, it is a little surprising that someone like Sandeep Sharma has emerged as the best pacer from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He might’ve picked up just six wickets in five games but the Patiala-born pacer has impressed a lot. After a couple of expensive outings in the first two games of the season, Sandeep Sharma has roared back nicely. He picked up 3/19 against RCB before returning with economical figures of 1/25 and 1/20 in the next couple of games. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul have blown hot and cold and hence, Sharma’s good form has taken the pressure off the two senior bowlers. [interaction id=”5ca62f506a636de1241632a8″] Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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IPL 2019: Best Indian XI from first two weeks

These players have been shining for their respective teams this season.

5. Sarfaraz Khan (KXIP)

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