The Heavyweights; 10 Game Changers in the IPL

The Heavyweights; 10 Game Changers in the IPL: Indian Premier League is a T20 based format and the fate of a game gets changed in a matter of some deliveries. A side ends up being the losing side even after getting into a situation where defeat might seem absurd. Such an amplified rate of unpredictability is solely due to the presence of some IMPACT players in the game. Throughout the years, we have seen a number of such performances where a player, in a single handed fashion succeeded in changing the course of the game. Here goes the list of The Heavyweights; 10 Game Changers in the IPL : 1. Chris Gayle: Chris Gayle RCB. (Photo Source: BCCI) Leading the chart is none other than the player with most number of sixes (221) in the tournament. Also, he is the player to have scored 175* runs in a single T20 innings off 66 deliveries. He has also got as many as 5 IPL centuries and 18 times Gayle surpassed the score of 50 in IPL. The West Indian is now the fastest player to reach to 3000 IPL runs. He has been the pivotal character in the batting line up for RCB and once he gets going, the opposition can sense nothing but an inevitable and a harsh defeat. Gayle has scored 3065 runs in 76 matches. 2. Dwayne Bravo: Dwayne Bravo CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) This West Indian all-rounder is one of the best in the game. Dwayne Bravo is capable of playing some destructive cameos lower down the batting order. He has played a number of such innings for Chennai Super Kings in the recent seasons. We all know how good a fielder Bravo is be it saving boundaries or taking acrobatic catches he somehow manages to get to the ball. He maintains a consistent wicket-to-wicket line and varies his pace incredibly well which makes it difficult for the batsmen. Along with that he is an electrifying fielder and has great reflexes which have proved to be impactful in the tournament. He also stands as one of the leading wicket takers in IPL with 95 wickets. 3. AB de Villiers: AB de Villiers RCB. (Photo Source: BCCI) AB de Villiers is the inventor of a number of unorthodox shots in cricket. At the same time, he is quite much reliable as a batsman and has also got an IPL century by his name. He possesses the capability of winning the game for his side all by himself and has proved the same for a number of times. Like for instance, AB’s match winning knock of 89 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad last year sealed the game for RCB from literally nowhere. He has got 2360 runs in 98 matches along with a healthy strike rate of 141.82. 4. Sunil Narine: Sunil Narine KKR. (Photo Source: BCCI) The mystery spinner from the Caribbean stole the show for KKR in 2012. Sunil Narine was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in that season and was the prime reason behind KKR’s success. Batsmen seemed to be kind of helpless in front of him and most of them chose to just bat through his overs without taking any risk. Narine has been a brilliant death over bowler and his economy rate (5.92) sums it up all. He has bagged 69 wickets in 52 matches. Lately, due to some changes in his bowling action, he seemed to have lost a bit of his rhythm. 5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni: MS Dhoni CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) Captain Cool from CSK is undoubtedly an impact player for them. His brilliant captaincy skills also enhance Dhoni’s impact for the team to a considerable extent. He knows how to extract the fullest from each of his players and that is one of the reasons behind his success as a captain. Not only that, MSD is also one of the best finishers of the game. And he has been a revolutionary wicket keeper, is undoubtedly one of the best wicket keepers of the game. Dhoni has scored 2839 runs in 122 matches with a strike rate of 140.40. He also has got 56 catches and 22 stumpings by his name. 6. Shane Watson: Shane Watson RR. (Photo Source: BCCI) Shane Watson has been one of the most consistent performers for Rajasthan Royals both with the bat and ball. Once he gets going with the bat, he can pose a severe threat for the opposition. Watson has scored 2218 runs in 74 matches with a whooping strike rate of 141.00. Add to that the 57 IPL wickets that he has picked and one realizes we are talking about one of the best all-rounder’s that has taken part in the tournament. Watson opens the innings for RR now and has played some fine knocks and has given RR some brilliant starts throughout. 7. Lasith Malinga: Lasith Malinga MI. (Photo Source: BCCI) Malinga is the leading wicket taker in the IPL with 134 wickets in 93 matches. The above statement speaks much about his impact in the tournament. Lasith Malinga is also the bowler who has bowled as many as 5 maiden overs in IPL. His Yorkers have always been the talking point, how batsmen have struggled to negotiate the toe crushers which are sometimes impossible to defend. Slinga has led the pace attack of MI since the first season and has made serious contributions behind the success of MI. On most occasions he is economical with his bowling and has adds value even without picking a wicket. 8. Suresh Raina: Suresh Raina CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) He can easily be called Mr. CSK if not Mr. IPL; Suresh Raina is the only player to have played in each of CSK’s matches and is the most capped player in the tournament. And he has performed on most number of occasions for the team. Raina is also the highest run scorer in the IPL at present with 3581 runs in 125 matches with a strike rate of 140.65. Not only that, he has been a superb fielder for CSK and has saved a good amount of runs for them. An evidence of him having a safe pair of hands is the 67 catches that he has taken in the Indian domestic league. CSK skipper Dhoni relies on his deputy for bowling at crucial situations in the game and he has come up with the responsibilities vested upon him for most of the time. He has bagged 23 wickets in IPL. 9. Kieron Pollard: Kieron Pollard MI. (Photo Source: BCCI) The big man from the Caribbean made a huge impact in IPL 2010 where he thrashed the bowlers consistently and carved the way for Mumbai Indians to be the runners up. Kieron Pollard has played a number of match winning cameos for MI. He has scored a total of 1591 runs in 87 matches with a strike rate of 147.58. Pollard has hit a total of 98 sixes in IPL so far. He is also a handy bowler with his seam ups, has picked up 54 IPL wickets to his name. He is hugely athletic on the field and players like him amplify the threat over the opposition, Polly is always willing to throw in more than 100% while on the field. 10. Ravichandran Ashwin: Ravichandran Ashwin CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) The right arm off-break bowler has often been the trump card for CSK. Ashwin might not seem that much destructive with the ball but he is capable of posing serious threat to the opposition. He has a decent amount of variety in his bowling, starting from the carom ball to the quicker one; Ash also likes to bowl with a changed action on a few occasions. He has been an expert in providing breakthroughs and breaking important partnerships for Chennai. Ashwin has taken 86 wickets in 90 matches in his IPL career with a decent economy rate of 6.56 which sums up his impact. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal views and opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of Cricket Tracker and CT does not assume any implied responsibility or liability for the same.

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The Heavyweights; 10 Game Changers in the IPL

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