Unsung heroes for each team in the league stages of the IPL

Indian Premier League (IPL) is heading towards its business end and the playoffs battle between the teams was intense as expected. This season there have been exceptional performances from both Indian as well as overseas players. The future of India Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant, Basil Thampi, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana and so many youngsters have lit up the tenth season of this extravaganza with some amazing consistency. Also, International players like Ben Stokes, David Warner, Kieron Pollard and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have proved once again why they are hailed so much when it comes to the shortest format of the game, albeit they are even better in the other formats. Teams have benefited with some extraordinary cricket by their key players this year but every team has that one player who has contributed in almost every game in every aspect. These players seldom get the credit for what they have done. Their performances have always been under the shadow of the other players’ magical knock or spell. But there are some players who need to be credited for the consistency and professionalism they have shown throughout the season and have been a team player. Here we look at the unsung hero of every team who has been exceptional for his side but has gone unnoticed most of the times. Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians) Harbhajan Singh. (Photo Source: Twitter) Harbhajan Singh, the off-spinner, has been a vital cog of the Mumbai Indians side from the inception of the tournament. He was dropped from the side for the first game this season which was termed as ‘tactical’ by Rohit Sharma. But he had to include him in the playing XI from the next game as you cannot keep a player of Bhajji’s experience out from the team. Mumbai, this year, had so many exceptional performances from their players but Harbhajan has been the silent warrior. He has quietly gone through his spells without conceding too many runs and has stifled the opposition, be it in the powerplays or in the middle overs. This year his economy has been 6.48 which was 5.81 before the game against Kings XI. Though the southpaw has taken only 8 wickets, his wily off spin bowling has kept the batsmen quiet which has resulted in fall of wickets. Mumbai Indians will require Harbhajan’s experience in the playoffs and he would be keen to make a mark in coming matches as well. Manish Pandey (Kolkata Knight Riders) Manish Pandey. (Photo Source: Twitter) Kolkata Knight Riders are very fortunate to have a player like Manish Pandey. When all the attention was grabbed by the likes of Chriss Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa and the skipper Gautam Gambhir, Pandey has made the opposition pay every now and then. He has been the crucial middle order player for them and this year he has proved it yet again. This season most of the games have been finished by the KKR top order but there have been quite a few games when they were in serious trouble and Pandey had to rescue them. He has scored 396 runs in 13 innings this year with a staggering average of 49 which proves that he has finished games for his teams. He played a couple of match winning knocks, one being 69* while chasing 169 against DD; he came to bat when his team was reeling at 21/3. Opposition teams should try to get him out early else he could be a serious threat to them in the knockout stages. Manoj Tiwary (Rising Pune Supergiant) Manoj Tiwari of Rising Pune Supergiant. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Manoj Tiwary is the main reason why Rising Pune are in the top 4 in the points table. He has batted at every position in the middle order from 4 to 7 as per the team’s need. The most important thing is that he has scored runs at crucial junctures. His flexibility to bat anywhere has allowed Pune to shuffle the batting order. People hailed Tripathi, Smith, Stokes, Dhoni for being the key players and their performances overshadowed Tiwary’s small but match turning contributions. He has accumulated 259 runs in 11 innings with an amazing strike rate of around 144. These stats are huge considering he has batted at 5 or 6 and has seldom got to play more than 10-15 deliveries. Tiwary did not disappoint even when he was pushed up the order and gave the stability to the innings by holding one end up. He will be important to Pune’s fortunes in the playoffs. Siddarth Kaul (Sunrisers Hyderabad) Siddarth Kaul of Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) The defending champions have conquered the orange cap and purple cap since a long time this season. Warner has been brilliant with the bat and Bhuvi has been superb in the powerplay and in the death overs. When all the glory has been shared by cap holders and Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul has made telling contributions with the ball in hand. He has scalped 16 wickets in only 9 matches, 4/29 being his best figures. In T20 cricket, there is a theory that the best bowler of your side bowls the penultimate over while defending. But again there should be a bowler who can bowl that nervous last over. Kaul has been that bowler for Sunrisers hands down and he has improved as he has bowled more. He came into the side after 5 matches and has bowled all the difficult overs for them since then and more often than not has come up triumphant. His temperament against the renowned hitters at the death makes him stand out and undoubtedly he is the unsung hero for Sunrisers this year. Mohit Sharma (Kings XI Punjab) Mohit Sharma of Kings XI Punjab. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Kings XI somehow kept themselves in contention for knockout stages by beating top teams in their last couple of games until the last league game before bowing out following a tame performance against RPS. Mohit Sharma has come to the fore exactly at the right time for his side. Credit goes to skipper Glenn Maxwell and team management for sticking with Mohit as the bowler had a poor start to the season. He had an economy of around 10 with no wickets in 5 matches. But Mohit repaid the faith shown in him by picking 13 wickets in next 9 matches and his economy has come down to 8.97. Though it is still on the higher side, it is acceptable given that he has been bowling in powerplay and death overs where batsmen go ballistic. His slower balls and now his ability to bowl the knuckleball has kept batsmen in check. His last over against Mumbai Indians a few days ago was absolutely fantastic as he did not give the mighty Pollard any chance to hit the ball and defended 14 to keep his side alive. Pat Cummins (Delhi Daredevils) Pat Cummins. (Photo Source: Twitter) Delhi Daredevils yet again failed to make it to the top 4 this year but the youngsters in the team have impressed one and all. Coming into the tournament, their bowling was always going to be their strongest suit. They proved it yet again by defending 168 against the Rising Pune Supergiant. When the players like Pant, Samson, Nair, Iyer have been in the limelight all through the season, Cummins has performed to his potential and has gone unnoticed. The Australian, has shown great fitness and has bowled with full pace and clicked 145 kph more often. His fiery pace has hustled and bustled the batsmen and was economical on flat decks where runs were racked up in plenty. He picked 15 wickets in 12 matches which has made him a reliable bowler. Basil Thampi (Gujarat Lions) Basil Thampi. (Photo Source: Twitter) Gujarat Lions this season never looked settled with their playing XI and made constant changes to their side. But one player who turned up consistently in all the games and has been the stand out amidst all the attention was on Suresh Raina for being ever consistent across seasons. Basil Thampi has been one of the emerging players this season. He has impressed many cricket experts with his pace and the ability to bowl pinpoint yorkers. This season he has plucked 11 wickets in 12 matches. Thampi has been expensive conceding runs at the economy of 9.49 but he will only improve as he will play more games. Yuzvendra Chahal (Royal Challengers Bangalore) Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: Twitter) Royal Challengers Bangalore are had a torrid time this season winning only 2 out of 13 matches. They have not clicked as a unit and inconsistent performances from their key players have led to their downfall. Amidst that, Yuzvendra Chahal has been that one player who has bowled his heart out and tried to keep his side in the hunt in every game. Twelve batsmen fell prey to his leg-spin bowling and his economy is only 7.62 which is exceptional for a bowler in T20s. Regardless of his team’s performance, Chahal has been hailed by everyone including his captain Virat Kohli.

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