Top 10 All-Round Performances in IPL

In cricket, there usually 2 factions in a team, namely bowlers and batsmen. But, there are players who can dabble in both departments, they are called all-rounders. These players are usually a jack of all trades, master of none. However, there may be some all-rounders who are deadly with the wood and the rubber. Here, we look at the best all-round performances in the Indian Premier League.

Watson’s stats from the game speaks volumes about his performance and what makes it even more special is the stage at which he performed, the semi finals of the inaugural IPL held in 2008. Delhi Daredevils were excellent in the league stages and were favorites to win this match as well as the IPL, but what panned out was beyond expectations.

RR came out to bat and though they had a reasonable start, openers gave away their wickets in quick succession. The move to send Tanvir at no. 3 backfired and RR was facing a possible batting collapse. But Watson had other ideas as he top scored with 52 to propel RR to 192. He then came back and opened the bowling, and broke the backbone of DD’s chase, removing Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhawan and ended up with figures of 3 for 10 and RR comfortably reached the semis.

Who would have even thought that an individual score of 175 is possible in a T20 game? Well, Christopher Henry Gayle seemed to think and do the unimaginable. 175 is what he got from 66 balls, smashing all the Pune bowlers around the Chinnaswamy stadium, sometimes even out of it. He hit 17 sixes, which is one more than the record for most sixes by a batsman in an ODI. That is the impact that he has on the game.

While the big West Indian isn’t well-known for his bowling prowess, he took two wickets for just 5 runs in the only over that he bowled on that day.

The all-rounder’s list would be incomplete if one of the greatest all-rounders of the world is not featured in it. Jacques Kallis has been a legend but hasn’t been that successful in the shortest format. But this performance in the 2013 IPL edition was one to be proud of. Kallis came out to bat at his usual no.3 position, and started playing his shots, the shots that he is known for. He scored 41 runs at an unusually quick pace, at a strike rate of 151. The better contribution came from the ball. He took 3 wickets for 13 runs removing the openers and Thisara Perera and strong-armed KKR in a winning position.

Yuvraj Singh might be playing for KXIP now, but in his Pune Warriors India stint, he made DD pay. He came out to bat at his usual no.4 position and hit 5 humungous sixes to take Pune to 187.

He also did what his frontline bowlers were supposed to do. After they went wicket less, he brought himself on and took 4 crucial wickets giving away 29 runs. Even after this, surprisingly Pune lost the match.

Paul Valthaty did everything he could in the season which belonged to him. He was playing as if he has been around for many years. Though, he was only a one season wonder.

He first took everyone with surprise picking up 4 wickets denting Deccan Chargers batting, and followed it up with a brilliant opening partnership of 100 runs of which 75 were scored by him in just 47 deliveries.

If Shane Watson did it in the semis, it was Yusuf’s turn in the finals. Inaugural IPL saw the rise of Pathan as one of the best in the shortest format. He was the main reason Rajasthan emerged victorious. Yusuf bowled a brilliant spell taking the wickets of Parthiv Patel, Vidyut and dangerous Albie Morkel who could have taken the score above 180 but CSK were reduced to 163.

He came out to bat at a time when RR was reeling on 42 for 3. He batted sensibly and got himself in after which he got berserk, scoring 56 from 39 balls to take RR to the finishing line.

This is inarguably Yuvi’s best performance in the IPL. He was bought for 14 crore rupees by the RCB but wasn’t effective. This performance marked his comeback that year. He came out to bat with a cheer from the crowd in Chinnaswamy and didn’t disappoint them. He scored 83 of just 38 balls which included 7 sixes.

He also delivered with the ball taking 4 for 35 including the wicket of dangerous Watson, but other bowlers failed to deliver and RR pulled off an unlikely win.

It was the newly appointed captain who delivered the goods for his team. DD had lost the wicket of Mayank Aggarwal at the score of 15 when he stepped in. He first steadied the innings and formed an all-important partnership with Shreyas Iyer to consolidate DD’s position. He then smashed the bowlers at the death and took DD’s score to 167.

He then picked up 4 wickets removing Warner and Dhawan in the same over and picked two more wickets to put Delhi in a commanding position.

He is another all rounder who has impressed one and all and this was certainly one of his best for RR. RR needed a strong finish which is what he provided them with. He scored 46 runs which included 19 runs from the Johnson over. He then came back in the second innings to pick up three crucial wickets to make RR victorious.

This has to be the best start that one can make. David Wiese made his IPL debut in the match against MI. Weise picked up 4 important wickets of Parthiv Patel, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu but MI was still able to reach 209.

RCB were on the verge of losing the match when he came out to bat with AB back in the hut. But he gave new life to the chase and along with Iqbal Abdullah took RCB very close to the target, smashing 47 runs from just 25 balls which included 2 sixes. David Wiese is a talented young player and we may see a lot of him in the coming years.