IPL 9: Best XI of week 5

The week 5 of the IPL 9 began in a thrilling fashion with Royal Challengers Bangalore edging past the Kings XI Punjab by just one run. The week saw Sunrisers Hyderabad emerge on top of the points table and the highest total of the season being posted by RCB against the Gujarat Lions. The Lions succumbed to heavy defeats this week and now are looking to regroup. Rising Pune Supergiants could not put an end to their losing streak and slipped to the bottom of the points table. The week was a witness to two thunderous centuries by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. With the tournament looking wide open for the top 6 teams, the coming week will see intense competition for the top four places in the points table.

1. Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore):

RCB skipper Virat Kohli continued his rollicking form at the top and hit his 3rd century of the season. The Gujarat Lions were the victims of the Kohli carnage for the second time this season. With a belligerent knock of 109 off 55 balls, Kohli took a country mile lead in the race for the Orange Cap. The Indian ace batsman was spot on with his captaincy too and has kept the chances of his team staying alive in the competition. His rare failure came against the Mumbai Indians when he was dismissed for a single digit score for the first time this season.

Also check out – IPL 2016 Weekly Roundup: Week 5

2. David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad):

The Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper has been shouldering the batting duties of his team almost singlehandedly this season. He hit 46 off 30 balls against the Delhi Daredevils this week. He top scored for his side in the low-scoring game and was the only SRH batsman who looked settled at the wicket. He followed it up with a gritty half century against the Kings XI Punjab. He scored 52 off 41 balls to race past AB de Villiers and move to the second spot in the race for the Orange Cap. This was his 6th half century this season and the Aussie opener has shown some masterly captaincy skills too, taking his side to the top of the points table.

3. Murali Vijay (Kings XI Punjab):

The Kings XI Punjab skipper Murali Vijay led from the front in a bid to resurrect his team’s fortunes in the tournament. Vijay brought up two half centuries in this week. The first one came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Mohali. He blasted 89 off 57 balls and had his team almost over the line but ended up losing by 1 run. He scored an unbeaten 54 against the Mumbai Indians to guide his team to an emphatic 7 wicket win over the defending champions.

4. AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore):

The South African batsman AB de Villiers was at his best this past week. AB produced two match-winning innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored 64 off 35 balls against Kings XI Punjab and then followed it up with 129 off 52 balls against Gujarat Lions. In between these two knocks was one uncharacteristic innings of 24 off 27 balls in RCB’s six-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians. Barring that knock, AB was the star player of the week. The RCB camp would be hoping for the batman to continue his good form.

5. Marcus Stoinis (Kings XI Punjab):

The Australian all-rounder has come good for the Kings XI Punjab this season. He is arguably the most successful overseas player for the struggling KXIP in this edition. This week too, he was in action for the Kings. He picked up 4/15 against the Mumbai Indians to restrict the batting heavy Mumbai Indians to 124. In the next match against Sunrisers, he was economical though he did not pick up a wicket. Against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he came good with the bat and scored an unbeaten 34.

6. Yuvraj Singh (Sunrisers Hyderabad):

The Sunrisers Hyderabad middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh is getting back to his usual best and is clicking at the right time. The stylish left-hander struck 42 off 24 balls against the Kings XI Punjab and showed glimpses of vintage Yuvraj. He got starts in the matches against the Mumbai Indians and the Rising Pune Supergiants. With the ball too, he has not given away runs. He returned with figures of 0/10, 0/11, and 0/11 against the Rising Pune Supergiants, Delhi Daredevils and the Kings XI Punjab respectively.

7. Krunal Pandya (Mumbai Indians):

Krunal Pandya has been the revelation for the Mumbai Indians this year. If it was Hardik Pandya who took the limelight last season, it is the senior Pandya who is making the headlines this time around. He singlehandedly powered the Mumbai Indians to a thumping win over the Delhi Daredevils. He hit 86 off just 37 balls to propel Mumbai Indians to a 200-plus score. With the ball, he scalped 2/15. In the match against RCB, he picked 1/15 in his quota of overs.

8. Chris Morris (Delhi Daredevils):

With 5 wickets in his last 3 matches, Chris Morris has been a regular face in the changing Delhi Daredevils this season. He bagged 2/30 against the Kings XI Punjab and followed it up with 1/19 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the next match that he played, he picked 2/34 against the Mumbai Indians. With the bat too, he got starts. He is definitely going to be one of the key members in Delhi’s quest to win the remaining three matches.

9. Adam Zampa (Rising Pune Supergiants):

Adam Zampa didn’t get a chance to play in the first half of the tournament, but when he did, he made sure that he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. With a couple of wickets in his first game, Zampa showed he is here to stay. In the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad last week, Zampa returned with herculean figures of 6/19 in his four overs. Zampa became the first spinner to bag a six wicket haul in the IPL history.

10. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Sunrisers Hyderabad):

While Mustafizur Rahman has been the talking point of Sunrisers bowling, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has slowly added wickets to his tally. By the end of this previous week, Kumar ended up being the second leading wicket taker and one wicket away from the Purple Cap. He has bowled a couple of maidens in the previous week. He started off with 1/23 against the Mumbai Indians and then followed it up with 1/20 against the Rising Pune Supergiants. In the last match, he bagged 2/32 against the Kings XI Punjab.

11. Yuzvendra Chahal (Royal Challengers Bangalore):

Royal Challengers Bangalore spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was the standout performer with the ball for RCB this past week. Chris Jordan bagged a four-wicket haul but has been largely expensive in the other games. Chahal has been economical throughout. He has bagged five wickets in 3 matches in the previous week. He picked a wicket each against the Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab. In the match against Gujarat Lions, he picked up 3/19 in his 4 overs.

Also check out – IPL 2016: Top 10 moments of week 5