IPL 2020: In a season that witnessed play-off stages being open until that last day, it is needless to say that it was one of the most competitive seasons of IPL. A tournament that saw astronomical heave and ho right since day one also bore witness to the meek submission of former stalwarts of the fray.
The teams that made to the play-offs, did deserve a spot in the top four, thanks to some incredible consistency and mind-blowing tenacity. However, the teams that did not make the playoffs were also battling with the same intent only to bow out on the basis of net run rate.
We will look at the combined eleven of the players from the teams that did not qualify for Play-offs in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
Openers: KL Rahul and Faf Du Plessis
KL Rahul was altogether from a different league in the ongoing edition of the tournament. Not only did he put some monumental performances he matured significantly and played some resonating knocks that left his opponents in arrant disarray. He has been leading the race to Orange Cap by lightyears with 670 runs from 14 matches at an average of 55.83.
Faf Du Plessis was the solitary warrior in the ranks of Chennai Super Kings. He played a few incredible knocks and in the process left the audience stunned with his greatness. His aggression at the top of the innings did galvanize some hope for Chennai only for the middle order to fritter it all away. He mastered 449 runs from 13 games at a strike rate of 140.75.
Middle-Order: Chris Gayle, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tewatia
Chris Gayle was kept on hold for some unforeseeable reason for the first seven games in IPL 2020. Rahul kept on promising that the Universe Boss will return and right since his arrival he rocked the bowlers in a known fashion. He racked up 288 runs from 7 innings that saw him scoring at an average of 41.14 and a strike rate of 137.14.
Nitish Rana was off to a dismal start in the tournament but recovered himself shortly with a few decent showdowns. His best two knocks in the tournament came against Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings. He managed to gather 352 runs from 14 games at a breezy strike rate of 138.58.
Eoin Morgan was the best bet in Kolkata’s camp with the bat. Leading from the front, captain Morgan hammered 418 runs from 14 games in IPL 2020 at a brisk rate of 138.41 and an astonishing average of 41.80. He was handed over the captaincy of the team in the middle of the tournament.
Sanju Samson had one hell of a tournament as he managed to garner 375 runs from 14 games that also drew him considerable flak from the supporters after he failed consistently in the middle games. His batting order was also experimented with, in IPL 2020, and the wicket-keeping batsman showed a lot of promise with the adaptability to the demands.
Rahul Tewatia proved himself to be a surprise package as the all-rounder stunned everyone with the bat that included a magical thrashing of Sheldon Cottrell at Sharjah while his figures with the ball were equally impressive. He managed to string 255 runs from 11 innings that saw him stringing together a brilliant 55.
Bowlers: Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy
Sam Curran seemed like the only player who carried on the baton of excellence for Chennai Super Kings in an otherwise dampened situation. He was aggressive with the bat and equally brilliant with the ball. He managed 13 wickets from 14 games and bowled at a decent economy rate of 8.19.
Jofra Archer was the intimidating fast bowler who took away the sleep of the batsmen with some nasty deliveries all over the body. He was clocking regularly at 150 clicks and the way he kept on moving the ball both ways was nothing short of stunning. He managed to pick up 20 wickets from 14 games in IPL 2020 at an economy rate of 6.55.
Varun Chakravarthy was the find of IPL 2020 as his mystery bowling notched him up a place in India’s tour of Australia. He is an enigmatic customer and can bowl really quickly in the air with the ball turning a good deal. He managed to scalp 17 wickets in this tournament that saw him dismissing MS Dhoni twice, a rare feat.
Mohammad Shami was absolutely brutal with the swing that he showcased at a min-boggling speed of 145 plus kays. He was striking the deck hard right since day one and the variation in his arsenal was an absolute beauty to witness. He picked up 20 wickets from 14 games, bowling at an economy rate of 8.57, in IPL 2020.
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