IPL 10: Best Indian XI of the season

The 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) finally came to an end with possibly the fitting ending. Mumbai Indians, the team that lifted the coveted silverware eventually, was arguably the team to beat throughout the season. They had finished as the table toppers of the season and hence it would only be fair to say that they indeed were the most prolific lineup in the season. Coming to the other finalist, the Rising Pune Supergiant, had a dream run this season. At the commencement of the season, none had given them a sniff in the tournament. However, they stunned all the critics and pundits to emerge as the first finalist of the season this year. RPS had been a thorn in the bouquet for the Mumbai Indians camp this season. Coming into the finals, they had a 3-0 lead against their Maharashtra neighbors. But it was the law of averages that caught up eventually to see the MI camp beat RPS. While the reasons for the success of both teams were many, one that stood out from the rest was the performances of the Indian players. The likes of Jaydev Unadkat and Jasprit Bumrah rose to prominence this season. The domestic talents were not only the key for these teams but for the other teams has. It was indeed a pleasure to watch the young native guns come out all guns blazing this season and setting the big stage on fire. Here we pick eleven such native players who form the Best Indian XI of the tenth season of the IPL. Read on to find out who makes it to the list: 1. Gautam Gambhir (c) – Kolkata Knight Riders Gautam Gambhir of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo: Dhananjay TK/IANS) The Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front this season. He was not only spot on with his individual batting brilliance but emerged as an exciting skipper too. The way he marshaled along with his troops, especially in the batting order, proved to be very successful for the Knight Riders this season. Gambhir often stood firm ground for the team in occasions when the other inexperienced batsmen succumbed to pressure. During the Eliminator against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR were in a spot of bother at 12/3 in their run chase of 48 in 6 overs. However, it was a steady head Gambhir who absorbed all the pressure to remain unbeaten on 32 to steer his side to a win. In the season, he finished as the second leading run-getter with 498 runs to his name in 16 matches with an average of 41.50. He batted with a strike rate of 128.02 with 4 fifties to his name along with a top score of unbeaten 76. 2. Shikhar Dhawan – Sunrisers Hyderabad Shikhar Dhawan of Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Coming into the season 10 of the Indian Premier League this year, Shikhar Dhawan was under immense pressure to perform. This was largely due to his mediocre showings in the recent times that had seen him slip a spot in the Indian national side as well. The veteran Delhi batsman silenced all critics as he finished as the third leading run-scorer of the season with 479 runs to his credit. Playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Dhawan was a key player in the lineup. His batting heroics along with his opening partner David Warner saw SRH cruise through multiple victories. Dhawan was happy to play the second fiddle to Warner when he saw his skipper going all guns blazing at the other end. He batted with an average close to 37 this season with 3 fifties to his name. Shikhar was on top of his game as he hit 53 boundaries in the 14 matches that he played this year. 3. Rahul Tripathi – Rising Pune Supergiant Rahul Tripathi of Rising Pune Supergiants in action. (Photo: IANS) Rising Pune Supergiant batsman Rahul Tripathi was the young star of the tournament this year. Tripathi was exceptional with the bat at the top order for his team. When his senior opening partner Ajinkya Rahane was seen struggling with the bat, it was Tripathi who held the fort for the RPS top order. Even in the games when he found no mention for his efforts, he silently kept contributing to the team’s cause. During the course of the season, there was a time when Tripathi had six consecutive scores in excess of 30. That in itself is a testimony of how good he has been. His form dwindled towards the fag end of the season but his efforts in the initial stages cannot be ignored. His superlative knock of 93 against the Knight Riders is etched fresh in the minds of the fans. He aggregated 391 runs in 14 matches with a strike rate of 146.44 averaged almost 28. 4. Suresh Raina – Gujarat Lions Suresh Raina. (Photo Source: Twitter) Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time in the history of the tournament. Raina was surely let down by his team this year and he would have none to blame but self for the lackluster show of the Lions. He failed to keep his troops motivated this season. However, on the personal front, Raina was a top performer. He played 14 matches in the league stages to finish 5th in the list of leading run-scorers of the season. He amassed 442 runs with 3 fifties to his name. He was unlucky to have often seen his efforts were overshadowed by some or the other knock from the opposition. Raina averaged 40.18 with the bat and hit with a strike rate of 143.97 this year. He would want to come up with an improved showing next year. 5. Parthiv Patel (wk) – Mumbai Indians Mitchell Johnson and Parthiv Patel of Mumbai Indians. (Photo: IANS) Mumbai Indians wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel brought all his experience to best use this season. Parthiv managed to be one of the leading performers for his team. He played a key part in taking Mumbai Indians to the title triumph this season. He was the most successful wicket-keeper with the bat as he finished 5 runs short of the 400 run mark this season. The veteran Indian cricketer amassed 395 runs this season in the 16 matches that he played. Albeit his average failed to tick over 25, his strike rate was almost 135. Patel was instrumental in giving his team flying starts this season. He hit two fifties and shared good opening partnerships with English batsman Jos Buttler and West Indies batter Lendl Simmons. 6. Manish Pandey – Kolkata Knight Riders Manish Pandey. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Kolkata Knight Riders tried their level best this season but fell short at the penultimate stage of the tournament. Manish Pandey was one of the key members of the team this season. Manish was unfortunate to have succumbed to an injury just before the playoffs. At the business end of the season, when the team needed his services the most, Manish bowed out due to an injury. His absence certainly hurt the Knight Riders. However, in the matches that he played, Manish held the fort for his team in the middle-order. In the 13 innings that he batted, he scored 396 runs with a top score of unbeaten 81. He averaged 49.50 with the bat and that shows the kind of consistency he had this season. He finished with 2 fifties to his name this season. 7. Krunal Pandya – Mumbai Indians Krunal Pandya. (Photo Source: ESPN cricinfo) Mumbai Indians all-rounder Krunal Pandya has really come of ages. The young dynamic Baroda all-rounder showed his mettle this season. Pandya was a clinical performer with both bat and the ball this season. Midway through the season, he had sit out of the action due to an injury. But when he came back, he made sure that he had his presence felt by the oppositions. In the 13 matches that he played this year, he aggregated 243 runs at an average of 34.71. He batted with a strike rate of 135.75. He was the man on the night of the finals. When the chips were down for Mumbai Indians at 79/7, it was Krunal’s 47 that helped them post a decent 129 on the board. With the ball, he finished with 10 scalps and had an economy rate under 7. 8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – Sunrises Hyderabad Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo Source: Twitter) Veteran Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed to win the Purple Cap for the second consecutive occasion this year. He was the proud holder of the cap last year and bagged it yet again this time around with 26 scalps to his name. The Indian swing bowler bowled magnificent lines upfront with the new ball. He was very effective in the death overs with some perfectly aimed yorkers coming out of his hand every time his team needed him. He boasts of a five-wicket haul to his name this season as well – 5/19. He averaged 14.19 with the ball and had an economy rate of 7.05. His strike rate with the ball was highly impressive too – a mere 12.07. Bhuvneshwar played the ideal role in guiding the other pacers of the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp. 9. Sandeep Sharma – Kings XI Punjab Kings XI Punjab player Sandeep Sharma celebrates fall of Virat Kohli’s wicket. (Photo: IANS) Kings XI Punjab pacer Sandeep Sharma deserves a special mention in this list of Best Indian players of the season. Albeit his team could not make it to the playoffs, the efforts of Sandeep cannot be undermined. He was one of the top performers for his team this year with 17 wickets to his name. He was the leading wicket-taker for the Kings XI Punjab this season and was the 7th leading wicket-taker overall in the 2017 edition of the tournament. During the league stages, he had the distinction of winning two consecutive player of the match awards. His superlative spell of 4/20 had bundled out the Delhi Daredevils for just 67 in the season. In the next game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he became the first player to take the wickets of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers in the very same innings of the game. He bowled with an average of 23.41 this season. 10. Jaydev Unadkat – Rising Pune Supergiant Jaydev Unadkat. (Photo Source: Twitter) Jaydev Unadkat was, by and large, the most impressive pace bowler in the season. Coming into the Rising Pune Supergiant scheme of things quite late in the league stages, Unadkat stamped his authority in the team right away. He became the second bowler in the history of the IPL to take two five-wicket hauls. Also, he was the first Indian to do so. His effort came against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. En route his spell of 5/30, he even bagged his first ever hat-trick. In the season, he played 12 matches and finished with 24 wickets – just 2 short of the Purple Cap winner Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He averaged 13.41 with the ball – the best among all bowlers this year. He had the bowling strike rate of 11.45 – the best among all bowlers this year. Unadkat bowled with an economy rate of 7.02. 11. Jasprit Bumrah – Mumbai Indians Jasprit Bumrah of Mumbai Indians. (Photo: Dhananjay TK/IANS) Young Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has made giant strides in the world of cricket. He has slowly been making his impression of the ideal death bowler of the country. He showed some exceptional skills on the night of the finals as well. Bumrah bowled some superlative deliveries in his last two overs to build the pressure on the Rising Pune Supergiant batsmen. Earlier in the tournament, he was asked to defend 11 runs in the Super Over against the opening duo of Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum of the Gujarat Lions. Bumrah gave away only 6 runs to show his mettle with the ball. In the tournament, he finished as the third leading wicket take with 20 wickets to his name with a best of 3/7. He averaged 22.2 with the ball and had an economy rate of 7.35. Needless to say, he deserves his place in the Best Indian XI of the season.

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IPL 10: Best Indian XI of the season

Here is a look at the best Indian performers of the season.

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