IPL 9: Best XI of week 3

Gujarat Lions continued to dominate and hold the first position in the IPL 9 points table. The week began with Mumbai Indians pummeling Kings Xi Punjab in their den. The Gujarat Lions- Delhi Daredevils class was the most exhilarating match of the week. The thriller which went till the last ball of the game saw GL escape with a close 1 run win over DD. The bowling woes for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiants continued to bring negative results for the respective teams. With the group looking wide open. the coming week will see intense competition for the top four places in the points table.

1. Dwayne Smith (Gujarat Lions):

Dwayne Smith continued his great blistering form with the bat this week too. Smith made 131 runs in 3 games at an average of 43.66, helping GL continue its domination. He began the week with a half-century (53 from 32 balls) against DD in the thrilling contest where his team stole a  narrow 1 run win. He smashed yet another half-century (63 from 37 balls) helping his team chase down the mammoth 195 run target against RPS.  His only failure of the week came against Kings XI Punjab where he failed to make any significant contribution with the bat.

2. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians) (C):

Rohit Sharma was wonderful to watch on the field. Rohit made a total of 153 runs in 3 games which included two match winning half-centuries. The week began dismal note for him after he registered a duck against KXIP. However, Rohit came back strongly to smash scores of 68* and 85* against KKR and RPS to help his team thump the oppositions. MI also maintained a clean sheet last week under his leadership with three successive wins.

3. Steven Smith (RPS):

Steven Smith was the top run-getter last week. After initially struggling to get in the rhythm, Smith went in roll, scoring 192 runs in 3 games at an average of 92. His performances although could not turn the fortunes of his depleted RPS side. His unbeaten 46 against SRH paved way for an easy win for his team. In the following game, he smashed an entertaining 101 run knock against GL. But, unfortunately, the efforts went in a losing cause. He finished the week with a 45 runs innings against Mumbai Indians.

4. Kane Williamson (Sunrisers Hyderabad):

Kane Williamson, who was nursing a calf injury for most of the season, returned this week in the side. Playing against RCB, Williamson (50 from 38 balls) stroked a fluent half-century to help his tea post a formidable 194/5 to defend. SRH eventually won the game by 15 runs. This was the only game he played last week.

5. Ambati Rayudu (Mumbai Indians):

Ambati Rayudu has provided solidity to the Mumbai Indians batting line-up with his consistent batting performances. He has been instrumental in forging many important partnerships for his team. Rayudu enjoyed a good run last week, scoring 119 runs in 3 games. He started off with a 65 runs knock against KXIP. His performances later in the week were rather mediocre compared to his game. He later added scores of 32 and 22 against KKR and RPS respectively.

6. Parthiv Patel (WK) (Mumbai Indians):

Parthiv Patel, who opens for MI, takes the wicket-keeper batsman’s spot in the team. He featured in all three games which MI played, scoring 103 runs. He played only one memorable knock last week. His crucial 81 off 58 against KXIP set up an easy win for his team. Unfortunately, his bat remained silent for the remainder of games.

7. Axar Patel (Kings XI Punjab):

Axar Patel, who was giving really mediocre performance earlier, was wonderful last week. Patel snapped 5 wickets in two games. The first game of the week was rather dismal for him. He could take only one wicket at the cost of 41 runs against Mumbai Indians. However, The left spinner then produced a magical spell of 4/21 against GL including the first hat-trick of the season.

8. Chris Morris (Delhi Daredevils):

Chris Morris gave delightful all-round performances for Delhi Daredevils last game. He started off the week with a breathtaking 32-ball 82 run knock against Gujarat Lions. Courtesy of the knock, DD, from a losing position went to just 1 run shy of victory (DD lost the game by one run eventually). He also picked up 2/35 with the ball earlier in the game. The second game was, however, very dismal for his as he was dismissed for a second-ball duck. But, he made up for the batting failure with a tight 3 over spell of 1/19.

9. Mohit Sharma (Kings XI Punjab):

Mohit Sharma was at his best last week. The right arm medium pacer picked 6 wickets in two games. He started off by registering figures of 3/38 against Mumbai Indians. He topped it with similar performances against Gujarat Lions, picking up 3/32. His economy rate though was bit high. However, the amount wickets he took compensates for it.

10. Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians):

The young right arm fast bowler is now an integral part of the MI pace attack. Bumrah featured in all MI three-game last week and returned with 6 wickets at an economy of 29.67. In the first game against Punjab, Bumrah snapped 3/26. He was unproductive in the following game where he ended up giving 34 runs without any success. But, he came back strongly in the subsequent game, registering numbers of 3/29 against Pune.

11. Ashok Dinda (RPS):

Dinda, playing for the Rising Pune Supergiants got the chance in the playing XI in the 6th game of Pune. In the very first game, he played in this season against SRH, he bagged man of the match award with impressive figures of 3/23 in 4 overs and 1 maiden. The second game was against Gujarat Lions where he was expensive with an economy of 10.00. Again in the 3rd game, he was expensive against MI with an economy 11.00 in 3 overs. Overall, he picked 6 wickets in the 3 games he played so far in this season.

The weekly roundup of week 3 – IPL 2016 Weekly Roundup: Week 3