IPL-3 is in final stage with Mumbai, Bangalore, Deccan and Chennai qualified for the semi finals. Mumbai will take on Chennai in the final and rest two will fight for the 3rd spot.
Teams like Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders have only themselves to blame, they had plenty of riches within their ranks for their vapid show, others like Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab neither had the firepower nor the form to help their cause.
These four teams, which failed to make to semi final, paid the price for the lack of form of their key players, names which promised a lot, but delivered a little. Let’s have a look at performance of top players from these four teams.
Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI Punjab)
Matches: 14
Runs: 255
Highest: 43
Average: 21.25
S/R: 128.14
He was in news for all other reasons except his batting!!
Stripped from captaincy, Yuvraj didn’t do his reputation any good by being one of the biggest flop stories of this campaign. Even Yuvraj did come out with his own statement saying there is no problem within the side.
Kumar Sangakkara (Kings XI Punjab)
Matches: 13
Runs: 357
Highest: 56
Average: 29.75
S/R: 138.91
If the outgoing captain of Kings XI Punjab was struggling to find form, the incumbent fared only marginally better. Kumar Sangakkara’s 42-ball 56 against Mumbai Indians was a match-winning effort, but most of his other contributions were forgettable may be because of captaincy pressure on him.
S Sreesanth (Kings XI Punjab)
Matches: 6
Wickets: 3
Best Bowling: 2-24
Average: 63.66
E/R: 10.05
The Kerala speedster is never in the news for his performances. In the inaugural edition, we remember him for crying in public after the ‘Slapgate’ incident.
But this year, we won’t remember S Sreesanth at all.
Look at the figures above and you will know what we mean. Besides, there were no controversies on this occasion.
Brett Lee (Kings XI Punjab)
Matches: 4
Wickets: 0
Best Bowling: -
Average: -
E/R: 10.27
In the four matches he played, Brett Lee was hit all over the park. And, considering Kings XI Punjab rested an in-form Juan Theron to accommodate the Australian, it turned out to be an exercise in.
Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils)
Matches: 14
Runs: 356
Highest: 75
Average: 25.42
S/R: 163.30
He was indeed one of the biggest disappointments of the third edition. The stats above are an indicator of how much the 30-year-old struggled to assert him in the tournament. More importantly, the one factor that fans always expect from Sehwag’s batting is flamboyance. That was found lacking in the last few weeks.
Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Daredevils)
Matches: 11
Runs: 277
Highest: 72
Average: 30.77
S/R: 127.64
He missed three matches owing to injury wherein he headed to Sri Lanka to have ayurvedic treatment. And he wasn’t as convincing after his return. Maybe, it was due to the pressure of captaincy, or lack of form. But, fact remains, if Delhi failed to qualify for the last four it was primarily because their highly-rated top three failed.
David Warner (Delhi Daredevils)
Matches: 11
Runs: 282
Highest: 107 not out
Average: 28.20
S/R: 147.64
He didn’t feature in Delhi’s first three matches, but played in all the 11 outings thereafter. He started with just six runs in his first match, against Chennai Super Kings, but the next three contributions were significant — 57 against Deccan Chargers, 33 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore and a match-winning 107 not out against Kolkata Knight Riders.
That was just about it!
Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Matches: 14
Runs: 493
Highest: 88
Average: 37.92
S/R: 117.66
He scored too many and took a few spectacular catches as well to assert his commitment to the game. But his role as a captain failed. KKR is the only team not to have made it to the last four in any of the three editions. Many hardcore fans won’t agree with this, and there maybe various counter arguments regarding the same.
Chris Gayle (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Matches: 9
Runs: 292
Highest: 88
Average: 32.44
S/R: 158.69
The West Indies captain failed yet again, for the third year on the trot. Most of his subsequent forays to the crease were disappointing. And the only time he played according to his reputation was in a spectacular 42-ball 88 against Kings XI Punjab.
Ishant Sharma (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Matches: 7
Wickets: 7
Best Bowling: 2-33
Average: 33.71
E/R: 9.44
Seven matches, seven wickets. And an economy rate of almost 10 runs per over. This is enough to judge his performance.
Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)
Matches: 14
Runs: 333
Highest: 100
Average: 27.75
S/R: 165.67
His 100 off 37 balls in Rajasthan Royals opening match against Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne was a spectacular knock even though RR couldn’t win the match. However, in other matches that he featured in, Yusuf Pathan contributed nothing. Rajasthan Royals’ too much dependence on Yusuf cost them.
Shaun Tait (Rajasthan Royals)
Matches: 8
Wickets: 10
Best Bowling: 3-22
Average: 26.40
E/R: 8.47
He took 10 wickets in eight matches for Rajasthan Royals, including superlative efforts against Deccan Chargers (3-22) and Kings XI Punjab (3-22). However, he was expensive on occasions, and that cost his team. Considering their batsmen were struggling to put runs on board.
Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi
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