Revisiting The Top 5 IPL 2016 Performances

The IPL 2016 has finally come to an end. The craze of IPL is gradually declining but the quality, not so much. With the likes of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar giving world class performances, this edition was truly a memorable one. We at EssentiallySports bring to you the top 5 performances of IPL 2016:

Mustafizur Rahman bowled excellently against KXIP and finished with incredible T20 figures of 4-1-9-2 . He bowled 9 dot balls back to back, one of which was a wicket. Mustafizur executed his off-cutters and yorkers to perfection to conclude with the most economical figures in the history of  the IPL. He foxed batsmen with his deceptive slower deliveries during this season, and in the 15 matches he has featured in, he has managed to pick up 16 wickets at an economy of 6.73. Who would have imagined another Bangladeshi making it big at the Indian Premier League after Shakib Al Hasan? Shakib, undoubtedly one of the world’s best all rounders and Mustafizur Rahman, the next big thing in death bowling are the biggest stars that Bangladesh cricket has produced in recent times. They both are now part of the face off list which includes Bravo-Pollard, De Villiers-Steyn etc. The duo of Shakib-Rahman have surely made their country proud by giving good performances in the IPL and helping their respective teams qualify for the play offs.

RCB scored a mammoth 248/3 in 20 overs against the Gujarat Lions. The duo of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers went slam bang against the GL bowlers. AB de Villiers scored an astounding 43-ball century and ended up scoring 129 not out off 59 deliveries. Virat Kohli hit a couple over the boundary in the last over to reach his third century in the tournament and ended up scoring 109 off 55 balls. ABD and Kohli looked unstoppable and built a partnership of 229 facing merely 98 balls. In reply, the Lions bundled up for 104 and RCB won by a record margin of 144.

A great innings emerged from the first playoff between RCB and GL. The mauling was done by one man who brought back a team from a lost game and that man was AB De Villiers. Unfortunately, GL happened to be at the receiving end again. His whirlwind innings of 79 runs (off 47 balls) literally stole the match away from the Lions. RCB were struggling at 68/6 and it was looking tough for them but then De Villiers and Iqbal Abdulla weaved a partnership and took RCB past the finish line. AB has been phenomenal in this edition as he scored 682 runs in 15 matches, that too at a strike rate of 170.7.

The last match for the Rising Pune Supergiants against KXIP produced a fantastic moment. As it turned out, RPS required 23 runs off the last over with Dhoni on strike. He refused to run singles or twos – even when Hashim Amla stopped a certain four off of Axar’s fourth ball. Dhoni hit the fifth ball over the boundary line, and at the end with 12 runs required off 2 balls, Captain Cool smacked the last two deliveries out of the park to secure a win for RPS.

The best moment of IPL 2016 came when RCB made 211 in just 15 over. Virat Kohli top scored with 113 runs off just 50 balls, not to mention he did that despite having nine stitches on his left hand because of a split webbing. Chris Gayle too, amassed 73 off 32 balls. Kohli played a great innings, full of determination and grit which helped RCB win the match. The Orange Cap holder scored his 4th ton of the tournament. In this season, Kohli has impressed everyone with his consistency and has scored 973 runs in 16 matches with 4 centuries at an average of over 80.

This has been an incredible season and we can’t wait to see more power packed action next year! Till then, glory be to the Sunrisers!