IPL 2020: Best XI from first three weeks of the tournament

The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League is underway in the United Arab Emirates, and the first three weeks have been quite entertaining. All teams seemed to have equal strengths and weaknesses after the first two weeks, but the gap between the top and the bottom half teams has widened in the third week. Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore have taken a huge lead over Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Kings XI Punjab, while Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders are in the middle muddle. The next half of the league phase promises to be an exciting one because the mid-season trade window opens soon. The teams in the bottom half would look to work on their weaknesses and try to build a winning streak. Shifting our focus to individual stars now, there have been some exceptional performances in the first three weeks of IPL 2020. Here’s a look at the best XI from the first three weeks: 1. KL Rahul (wk) KL Rahul. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Although KL Rahul has not had a great season so far as a captain, the right-handed batsman has ensured that he plays his role to perfection. After the first three weeks, Rahul is leading the run-charts with 387 runs in 7 matches. He has recorded one century and three fifties in IPL 2020 so far. He started off the season with a decent 19-ball 21 against Delhi Capitals. After that game, Rahul has had scores of 132*, 69, 17, 63, 11, and 74. Unfortunately, his team has won only one game in IPL 2020. KL Rahul has a magnificent batting average of 64.50. His strike rate is 134.84, and he has slammed 37 fours and 10 sixes in this tournament thus far. It will be interesting to see if the Karnataka-based star can turn things around in the second half of the season. 2. Mayank Agarwal Mayank Agarwal celebrates his century. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Another name from Kings XI Punjab to feature on this list is KL Rahul’s opening partner, Mayank Agarwal. It is noteworthy that both Rahul and Agarwal are competing for the Orange Cap. However, their team is languishing at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2020, with just one victory in seven matches. Mayank Agarwal had scored a century against the Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah. Playing against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Agarwal played a fantastic knock of 56 runs. Besides, he had almost won the match for his team against the Delhi Capitals. The right-handed batsman from Karnataka has aggregated 337 runs in seven innings. His average has been 48.14. Agarwal has a strike rate of 158.96, much better than his opening partner Rahul. 3. Virat Kohli (c) Virat Kohli and Shivam Dube. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Virat Kohli made a rusty start to the IPL 2020 season. He did not look in good touch against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab, and Mumbai Indians. However, he has found his form now, and his performances in the recent matches have helped RCB rise up in the points table. The right-handed batsman from Delhi has aggregated 223 runs in six matches. He played a magnificent knock of 90* against the Chennai Super Kings. The best part about his inning against Chennai Super Kings was the way how he paced his inning. Kohli has slammed two half-centuries in IPL 2020 so far. His average is 55.75, while his strike rate has been 128.90. King Kohli will aim to better his strike rate in the upcoming games of IPL 2020. 4. Faf du Plessis Faf du Plessis. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) South African batsman Faf du Plessis has been the most impressive batsman from the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020. He has aggregated 307 runs in seven matches. He stitched an incredible opening partnership of 181 runs with Shane Watson against the Kings XI Punjab that helped CSK win the game by 10 wickets. Faf du Plessis has three half-centuries to his name in IPL 2020. He has a phenomenal batting average of 61.40, while he has scored these runs at a strike rate of 147.59. Besides, du Plessis has also been brilliant on the field, taking some unbelievable catches in the deep. Chennai Super Kings have only managed two victories in seven matches of IPL 2020. Faf du Plessis scored a fifty in both the matches, highlighting his contribution to CSK’s success in IPL this year. It will be interesting to see if he can continue his form in the next games. 5. Kieron Pollard Kieron Pollard & Ishan Kishan. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Mumbai Indians’ all-rounder Kieron Pollard has done a fine job for the defending champions in IPL 2020. Hardik Pandya is not cleared to bowl in IPL 13, but Pollard has ensured that Rohit Sharma does not have a lack of options. He has picked up two wickets with his medium-pace this year. Besides, he has been brilliant with the bat as well. Batting in the middle order, Kieron Pollard has slammed eight fours and 13 sixes, aggregating 163 runs at a blistering strike rate of 208.97. The highlight of his statistics in IPL 2020 is that Pollard has lost his wicket only once in IPL 2020. His average is 163, and MI will expect him to replicate the same performances in the 2nd half of the league. 6. Marcus Stoinis Marcus Stoinis. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Delhi Capitals signed Marcus Stoinis in the IPL Auction 2020 and that has proved to be a masterstroke in IPL 2020 so far. The Aussie all-rounder has performed exceptionally well in both the departments. He played a match-winning role for the team in their first match of the season against Kings XI Punjab. He has scored 162 runs at a strike rate of 176.09. Stoinis has two half-centuries to his name in this season, whereas he has also picked up five wickets with his right-arm medium pace. The only thing that he would want to improve is his economy rate. The opposition batsmen have often targeted Stoinis in IPL 2020. His economy rate has been 9.50. Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer will expect him to keep a check on the run flow in the remaining matches of IPL 2020. 7. Rahul Tewatia Rahul Tewatia. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Rahul Tewatia has been the surprise package of IPL 2020. Delhi Capitals had traded him to the Rajasthan Royals before the season began. While DC would not be regretting because of their envious record in IPL 2020 so far, Tewatia has certainly made a name for himself with his all-round brilliance for Rajasthan Royals. In the first game against Chennai Super Kings, Tewatia picked up 3 wickets with his right-arm leg-spin. The all-rounder followed it up with a brilliant half-century against Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah. Tewatia has scored 144 runs at an average of 28.80 in the season. The left-handed batsman has a strike rate of 150, while his economy rate with the ball has been 7.69. With Ben Stokes expected to be available soon, RR will have two top quality all-rounders in the team. Tewatia will have the onus of performing well in the second half of IPL 2020. 8. Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Bumrah. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Jasprit Bumrah has been the most successful Indian bowler in IPL 2020 so far. He has picked up 11 wickets for the Mumbai Indians in six matches. The right-arm quick bowler recorded his career-best IPL figures of 4/20, playing against the Rajasthan Royals. He did not have a good game against Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, in the last three matches, he has ensured that the batsmen are not able to dominate his pace bowling. Bumrah has figures of 2/18, 2/41, and 4/20 in his last three innings. Considering that the match against SRH, where he leaked 41 runs, happened in Sharjah, one can say that his performance has been of top quality. Jasprit Bumrah’s strike rate is of 13.09. His aim will be to improve his economy rate because his current rate of 8.17 is much higher than his career economy of 8.17. 9. Kagiso Rabada Kagiso Rabada. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) South African speedster Kagiso Rabada is having a dream season in IPL 2020. The right-arm fast bowler’s consistency with the ball has been the key reason behind the Delhi Capitals’ success in the 13th season of the Indian Premier League so far. Rabada is leading the Purple Cap leaderboard with 15 wickets to his name. The Proteas pace bowler has a commendable strike rate of 9.46, while his economy rate has been 7.81. Like Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada has taken a four-wicket haul in this season. He had recorded figures of 4/24 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In his last game against the Rajasthan Royals, Rabada returned with figures of 3/35. He picked up the wickets of Jofra Archer, Rahul Tewatia, and Varun Aaron. The DC pacer will aim to trouble the top order batsmen in the second half of the season. 10. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Royal Challengers Bangalore have achieved much success in IPL 2020. Their premier leg-spin bowler Yuzvendra Chahal has played a vital role in the success achieved by the Bangalore-based franchise this year. Chahal is the most successful spinner in IPL 2020 till now with nine wickets in six games. While Chahal has not recorded a four-wicket haul like Kagiso Rabada or Jasprit Bumrah, he has a couple of three-wicket hauls to his name. The Haryana-based spin bowler dismissed the dangerous trio of Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, and Mahipal Lomror in the game against RR. Captain Virat Kohli will hope that his leading spin bowler continues to dominate the bowlers’ charts in the coming weeks. For the record, Chahal’s economy rate and strike rate has been 7.78 and 15.33 this year. 11. Mohammed Shami Mohammad Shami. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Kings XI Punjab have not had an eventful campaign so far but their top Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has done his job well in IPL 2020. Shami is their leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets in seven games. He had bowled a marvellous spell against the Delhi Capitals in the first game that KXIP played this year. Shami had picked up another three-wicket haul against the Rajasthan Royals, but he gave away 53 runs in the contest. Shami will be keen to improve his economy rate in the second half of IPL 2020. The right-arm fast bowler is the biggest name present in the Kings XI Punjab bowling attack right now. He has the back of Ravi Bishnoi, but being the experienced player that he is, Shami should take responsibility and lead the fast bowling department from the front.

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IPL 2020: Best XI from first three weeks of the tournament

Shifting our focus to individual stars now, there have been some exceptional performances in the first three weeks of IPL 2020.

6. Marcus Stoinis

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