The Chennai Super Kings clinched their third IPL title after thrashing Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in Mumbai on Sunday. Shane Watson, who was suffering from a hamstring injury, guided CSK to victory with a fantastic innings of 117 runs off 57 balls.
CSK recorded the largest victory in terms of wickets and Watson became only the second batsman to score a century in an IPL final.
The eleventh season had it all, from close finishes to brilliant catching, living up the expectations of the fans.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain Kane Williamson won the Orange Cap award for being the highest scorer, while Kings XI Punjab’s Andrew Tye won the Purple Cap award for being the top wicket-taker.
As another IPL comes to an end, The Quint lists down its IPL eleven of the season.
Top-Order Batsmen
1. KL Rahul
Kings XI Punjab’s KL Rahul finished as the third highest scorer in the tournament with 659 runs at an average of 54.91. The 26-year-old scored six fifties in 14 innings.
Rahul contributed 29.8 percent to the total number of runs scored by the Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2018.
2. Jos Buttler
The Rajasthan Royals had to win four of their last five matches to have a chance to qualify for the play-offs. The Englishman Jos Buttler stepped up in the opening slot. With scores of 82, 95* and 94*, Buttler helped Rajasthan win three consecutive matches against Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Unfortunately, Buttler couldn’t guide the Royals to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders, before leaving for home to play a Test series against Pakistan. But Rajasthan managed to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last league match to qualify for the play-offs.
Buttler scored 548 runs in 13 innings at an average of 54.80 in IPL 2018.
3. Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson finished as the top scorer of the tournament with 735 runs at an average of 52.50. The Sunrisers Hyderabad, who won most of their matches riding on the performances of their bowlers, banked on Kane Williamson when it came to the batting department.
The New Zealand player contributed 29.6 percent to the total runs scored by Sunrisers Hyderabad during the league phase.
4. AB de Villiers
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s AB de Villiers rocked the IPL party once again, but his performances weren’t enough for the RCB to book a place in the play-offs. The South African scored 480 runs in 12 innings at an average of 53.33.
De Villiers, who notched six fifties during the tournament, recorded his best score of 90* in the match against Delhi Daredevils on 21 April.
Middle Order Batsmen
5. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant finished as the second highest scorer in IPL 2018 with 684 runs at an average of 52.61. Even though the Delhi Daredevils are the wooden spoon holders of this IPL, Pant managed to perform consistently for the team.
The 20-year-old bagged the Emerging Player of the Season and Stylish Player of the Season awards.
6. MS Dhoni (C & WK)
Chennai Super Kings’ skipper MS Dhoni has reinvented himself in this IPL. Dhoni has become fitter, faster and stronger. He finished off some crucial matches for CSK and also was tactically fantastic as captain.
Dhoni scored 455 runs in 15 innings and effected 14 dismissals with the gloves. He took 11 catches and carried out 3 stumpings.
All-Rounder
7. Hardik Pandya
Mumbai Indians’ Hardik Pandya bowled brilliantly during this season, picking up 18 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 21.16. He can carry out the fifth bowler’s job perfectly.
The 24-year-old didn’t live up to the expectations with the bat this season, but he will be a handy finisher for any T20 side.
Bowlers
8. Rashid Khan
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s trump card in this IPL has been the Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan. The 19-year-old picked 21 wickets in 17 innings at an average of 21.80.
Rashid Khan recorded his season best figures of 3/19 against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Qualifier 2 match in Kolkata on 25 May.
9. Kuldeep Yadav
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Kuldeep Yadav finished as the eighth highest wicket-taker in IPL 2018. The chinaman took 17 wickets in 16 innings at an average of 24.58.
KKR’s captain Dinesh Karthik ensured that Kuldeep bowls during the best possible overs. Whenever a team was running away with the match in the first six overs, Karthik would throw the ball to Kuldeep, who would reward the team with a wicket.
10. Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav provided terrific starts with the ball throughout the tournament for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The fast bowler picked up 20 wickets in 14 innings at an average of 20.90.
The 30-year-old recorded his season best figures of 3/23 against Kings XI Punjab in Indore on 14 May. His heroics helped RCB bowl KXIP out for just 88 runs.
11. Jasprit Bumrah
Mumbai Indians’ star death bowler Jasprit Bumrah had another great IPL season. The fast bowler took 17 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 21.88.
The 24-year-old recorded his season best figures of 3/15 in Mumbai’s second last league match against Kings XI Punjab. Bumrah helped Mumbai Indians win by three runs, while defending a total of 186/8.
12th Man
Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu top scored for the Chennai Super Kings in this season with 602 runs at an average of 43.00. The 34-year-old scored his first-ever T20 century against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pune on 13 May.
And fittingly, he scored the winning runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL final.
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