5 Priceless Gems Found in the Bottom 4 Teams in IPL 2020 | 5 new gems who held their own well in the bottom 4 teams in IPL 2020
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has entered into its last week and we are only some days away from finding our champions of this season. We already have got our top four; those obviously played some extraordinary cricket and hence have made it into the playoffs.
The other four teams, though being competitive, missed out by fine margins. But, they surely have found some extremely talented guys, who turned out to be the big positives for them. In this article, I will throw some light on those guys who are expected to play key roles for the success of our bottom four teams in the future. Let’s go.
5. Ravi Bishnoi (Kings XI Punjab)
Among the popular names of Shami, Cottrell and Jordan, there was a young Ravi Bishnoi who made the world notice him through some very impressive performances for KXIP. Bishnoi was the second-most successful bowler for KXIP as he finished with 12 wickets from 14 games with a decent economy of 7.37.
Moreover, he took eight wickets in the first seven games, which consisted literally the worst phase of KXIP in the tournament, as they had lost six games out of those seven. His variations kept the likes of Pant, Morgan and de Kock quiet. And, his brilliant spells were instrumental in some magical victories for KXIP including a low scoring thriller against SRH.
It’s definitely not easy to lead the spin department of your team with such excellence in the very first attempt in a really competitive league like IPL. So, he has definitely shown his capability with the ball and I expect him to win matches on his own for KXIP in future.
4. Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings)
Ruturaj Gaikwad, one of the most talked about openers in the Indian domestic circuit, didn’t originally get his chance in his preferred opening position as he was sent in the middle order in his first few games in the IPL. Its consequence was really bad as he looked clueless in the middle overs.
But, your mental toughness is reflected by the way you bounce back. The young lad overcame his tough days in style by scoring a matured 65* off 51 and thus guided CSK to a comfortable victory against RCB in his 4th match. He then scored two consecutive half-centuries after that knock, with a strokeful 72 off 53 balls against KKR and 62* from 49 balls against KXIP. Moreover, all these knocks came while chasing, which signifies his ability to access the situation and play accordingly, with his incredible control of timing a key feature of his game.
He finished with 204 runs from six innings at a tremendous average of 51. The way he overcame a seriously bad patch and showed his class and maturity, was admirable. It shows his fighting spirit as a player and therefore I expect a lot from him in the future.
Also read: COVID-19 made me tougher – Ruturaj Gaikwad
3. Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings)
If you ask me who is the most exciting global young talent right now, my answer will be Sam Curran. He has showcased his all-round skills so many times in his brief career so far. Although he impressed us to a large extent in his very first IPL season playing for KXIP, his role for CSK was much bigger this season due to the bad form and injury concerns of their first choice all rounder Dwayne Bravo.
It’s only because of his eye-catching performances that Curran is among one of those few names I expect to be retained by CSK. He is going to be their premier all-rounder in the future as his performances this year were noteworthy with both bat and ball. With 13 wickets from 14 games, Curran was the most successful bowler for CSK in IPL 2020. Also, with the bat, he showed his hard hitting abilities whenever he got a chance. Moreover, the kind of talent he has, I am damn sure he going to be a regular match winner for CSK in future.
Also read: Sam Curran is a complete cricketer – MS Dhoni
2. Varun Chakravarthy (Kolkata Knight Riders)
The spin bowling department of KKR seemed to be in a miserable state when Sunil Narine was reported for suspect action and Kuldeep Yadav was ineffective in almost every game. During these tough days, a man named Varun Chakravarthy, with the experience of just one IPL game in 2019, turned out to be the savior for them.
He bowled some memorable spells including a game-changing spell of 4-0-20-5 against the Delhi Capitals. Overall, he took 17 wickets from 13 games at an average of 20.94 and a SR of 18.35. Also, he had an extremely impressive economy of 6.85 this year, which signifies how accurate he was. He dismissed the likes of David Warner, MS Dhoni (twice), Shane Watson, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jos Buttler, which speaks volumes for his quality as a bowler. I was really impressed by the way he bowled in both the middle overs and death overs with equal effectiveness. With Narine being reported for his action frequently and moreover being read easily by the batsmen these days, I expect Varun to lead the spin attack of KKR with utmost success in the future.
Also read: “Surreal” to be selected for India – Chakravarthy
1. Rahul Tewatia (Rajasthan Royals)
Despite playing the IPL since 2014, Tewatia hadn’t really made his mark in the league till that night at Sharjah. He was completely down and out after playing so many dot balls in the middle overs during the chase of a mammoth 224 against KXIP. In came Sheldon Cottrell to bowl the 18th over and suddenly we all witnessed perhaps the greatest cameo of IPL 2020, when Rahul Tewatia smashed him for five sixes in that over.
That magical knock gave him enormous confidence and there was no looking back from him since then. The way he controlled the chase versus SRH and dominated Rashid Khan was marvellous. He finished the tournament with 255 runs from 11 innings at an average of 42.5 and a decent SR of around 140. He also bowled some really useful spells and picked 10 wickets having an impressive economy of 7.09. So definitely, he was the biggest positive for the Rajasthan Royals this year and I expect him to do wonders like these in future.
So, this is my list of the priceless findings of our bottom four teams, viz. KKR, KXIP, CSK and RR, who could play vital roles for the success of their respective teams in future. Have your say!
Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today.
