IPL 2016: Top 10 moments of week 2

The second week of the IPL 2016 have seen much more entertainment come to the fore. While the controversies off the pitch continued, the fans seemed more worried about the on-field activities as they should. The second week of the IPL has also seen a few teams come out of their shell and get off the blocks, something that has got the fans much more involved as well. While the novel crowd-participation techniques certainly seem to be working, there were far more interesting moments of the recently concluded Week 2. That said, here are 10 interesting moments of week 2 in the IPL 2016. 1. All hail King Kohli: Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bangalore celebrates his half century during an IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on April 24, 2016. (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) For fans, it is becoming more difficult to expect anything less than a half-century. For journalists, it is becoming all the more difficult to describe Kohli. However, when the latter slammed his maiden century in T20 cricket, he officially crossed the threshold. He had just gone on from being the prince to the king. Moreover, the coronation came on the day of Sachin Tendulkar’s 43rd birthday. Apart from that, it was yet another impressive Virat Kohli batting performance. He scythed right through the heart of the Lions’ bowling attack en route of his century. He was also well supported by the impressive KL Rahul who scored a decent half-century. But in the end his efforts went in vain as GL beat them by 6 wickets. 2. MS Dhoni mixes cricket with pleasure: MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter) MS Dhoni’s retirement has been a question on the lips of many a scribblers of late. However, the 34-year old Indian skipper seems to answer the question each time by sharpening his wicket-keeping skills. The first time someone asked him to retire, Dhoni sharpened his wicket-keeping skills to such an extent that the bails were off in a flash, resulting in many a stumping. Now, a similar case has certainly risen. While keeping against Indian teammate Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni prevented a late cut from reaching the fence by sticking out his foot. Having done that on multiple occasions, Dhoni seems to be mixing cricket with his pleasure, with the latter being football. If you missed out watch it here – Watch: MS Dhoni executes a wonderful save behind the stumps 3. Yadav(s) steal the show: Pune: Suryakumar Yadav of Kolkata Knight Riders in action during an IPL match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Kolkata Knight Riders at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on April 24, 2016. (Photo Source: Nitin Lawate/IANS) The Kolkata Knight Riders have been on a roll in this edition of the IPL. Having lost just the one match against the Mumbai Indians at home, the Knight Riders are seemingly invincible at the moment. Things came to a halt when the Knight Riders locked horns with the Pune Supergiants led by MS Dhoni. To add a touch of irony to the contest, the KKR openers Gambhir and Robin Uthappa who had done the bulk of the scoring until then were dismissed in the powerplay. This brought Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav to the crease. He played with the similar authority that was expected of him by smashing the ball to all parts ensuring a well-made 60. Moreover, his last namesake Umesh Yadav, not known for his massive power-hitting slammed a six in the final over of the match, therefore ensuring a KKR win. 4. The bus driver: Tabraiz Shamsi. (Photo Source: Facebook) Tabraiz Shamsi came into the IPL as a relatively unknown commodity. The South African was named as the replacement for the injured Samuel Badree, expected to make an impact with the ball. His Chinaman bowling ensured that the Royal Challengers had indeed made the right decision by bringing him into the side. Moreover, Shamsi made a lasting impression on the crowd with his unique celebration. The celebration he performed with KL Rahul depicts a bus driver driving the bus, something that has been etched into the minds of one and all. Have you seen him drive his bus? – Watch: Tabraiz Shamsi does the ‘bus driver’ with KL Rahul 5. A Gandhi-Mandela XI: New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils players celebrate fall of a wicket during an IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians at Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi on April 23, 2016. (Photo Source: IANS) The India-South Africa series in 2015 was dubbed as the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series. However, the Gandhi-Mandela XI was first witnessed in the ongoing IPL, wherein a Delhi Daredevils side that took on the Mumbai Indians consisted of 7 Indian players and 4 South African players. The Indo-Protean XI got over the line marginally courtesy of some brilliant death bowling from Chris Morris. Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Chris Morris and Imran Tahir were the overseas players on the day. 6. Pollarding the branches: Mumbai: Kieron Pollard of Mumbai Indians in action during IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 20, 2016. (Photo Source: Sandeep Mahankal/IANS) Pollarding is a process wherein a tree sheds its old branches and encourages the growth of new ones. Prior to the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kieron Pollard had averaged just one run with the bat and without having bowled a single delivery in IPL 2016. To round things up Pollard slammed 39 off just 19 deliveries and the Indians secured a hard-fought win over the Challengers in the sweltering humidity of the Wankhede Stadium. 7. Shikhar Dhawan and the timely ‘form’ arrival: Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner. (Photo Source: BCCI) Shikhar Dhawan’s form had seemingly deserted him during the Asia Cup and then in the World T20 as well. While he was hoping that a change in the tournament may change his fortunes, Dhawan was in for a rude shock. He stuttered in the beginning of the tournament where the Sunrisers lost a majority of their matches to more seasoned sides. However, against the Gujarat Lions, it was a different story. The southpaw slammed 53 runs and remained unbeaten as the Sunrisers steam-rolled the Lions into submission. In a nutshell, Dhawan has finally found and that’s some good news for SRH and David Warner of course. 8. Magical Musta’FIZZ’ur: Mustafizur Rahman (Photo Source: BCCI) MUstafizur Rahman was viewed as a loose cannon when he was signed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, given his control and ability to change things up, Mustafizur’s auction price seems a bit low. While he had been a major part of the side for the most part of the SRH campaign, ‘Fizz’, as he is known, put up a virtuoso performance against the Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. He concluded with figures of 2/9 in his quota of 4 overs, completing what was an absolutely surreal performance and bagged his first Man of the Match in the IPL. 9. Dinesh Karthik 2.0: Dinesh Karthik. (Photo Source: BCCI) Dinesh Karthik’s IPL career was seemingly over after he was inadvertently released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Karthik’s amazing performances against the RCB, in particular with the bat, received a plethora of accolades. He slammed a 39-ball 50, but, this wasn’t your regular T20 half-century. He took the ones and twos while hammering the oddball to the fence. His important knock, although didn’t win him the man of the match award, but won his side the match in the end. 10. McCelnaghan ’s ‘Purple’ patch: Mitchell McClenaghan. (Photo Source: Twitter) It is no secret that the Mumbai Indians are having a rather indifferent IPL season. One of the shining lights however, was the irresistible Mitchell McClenaghan. The Kiwi left-arm pacer has been one of the most consistent performers for the Mumbai as he picked up an impressive 2/31 against the Delhi Daredevils, a performance that eventually went in vain. However, he was awarded the purple cap for his fantastic performances and having picked up nine wickets in the tournament thus far. What were the high’s and low’s of week 2? – IPL 2016 Weekly Roundup: Week 2

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IPL 2016: Top 10 moments of week 2

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