Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
Top 10 Batting Performances of IPL 2020 | Looking back at the top 10 best batting performances of IPL 2020 | Indian Premier League 2020
The biggest and the toughest T20 league saw some brilliant batting performances by the players for their respective teams. The three grounds on which the games were played were true and provided ideal opportunities for the batsman to score big. Especially on wickets like Sharjah in the early stages of IPL 2020, every ball seemed to clear the ropes as the batsman dominated.
However, not all the masterly innings resulted in triumphs. But, the performances were noteworthy to get some recognition. Here’s a look at the top 10 knocks from the tournament.
10. Sanju Samson 74 (32) vs CSK
Sanju Samson, the dynamic wicket-keeper batsman came into bat at no.3 after the departure of their opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in the powerplay. And when he was in the zone, he made the most of the ground dimensions, going after opponent’s experienced spinners and made sure that his team comfortably got to a 200+ score. His innings of 74 came in no time with a strike rate of 231.25, which included nine mammoth sixes with most coming the V-region over the bowler’s head.
He dominated the experienced spinning duo and took the game away from CSK. He added 121 runs for the second wicket with captain Steve Smith before getting out to Lungi Ngidi.
9. Ishan Kishan 99 (58) vs RCB
Playing his first game of the season, Ishan Kishan, the young sensation, came into bat when his team was struggling while chasing a total of 200+ vs RCB. The required rate was already above 10 RPO when Ishan took the charge of increasing the run rate for his team. He constructed his innings brilliantly and with Kieron Pollard at the other end, he went all guns blazing against RCB’s quicks in particular. He stitched a crucial partnership of 119 runs off 51 balls with Pollard which leveled the scores at the end of the 20 overs. He missed out on a well-deserved hundred and his efforts with the bat went in vain as his team lost the match in Super Over.
Also read: Was Ishan Kishan the best uncapped Indian batsman in IPL 2020?
8. Ambati Rayudu 71 (48) vs MI
Chasing a modest total of 163, the Chennai Super Kings didn’t get off to a good start as they lost both their openers for six runs. Then in walked Ambati Rayudu, who, along with Faf du Plessis, negotiated the spells of MI’s pacers and reconstructed the innings. Rayudu never allowed the required run rate to get out of CSK’s control, with his footwork good against MI’s spinners.
He even took on MI’s lead bowler Jasprit Bumrah in one over. Rayudu got support from the other end as Faf rotated the strike pretty well. The duo added 115 runs for the third wicket which proved to be a match-winning partnership for CSK. Rayudu scored 71 runs off just 48 deliveries which included six fours and three huge sixes.
Also read: Twitter reactions when CSK finally beat MI after a run of losses
7. Faf du Plessis 87 (53) vs KXIP
KXIP posted a 179-run target after they opted to bat first. Chennai badly needed to win this game to put the side’s campaign back on track. Before this match, there was talk about openers not scoring enough runs and putting pressure on the middle order. In this game, the Chennai openers came out all guns blazing.
While Watson took some time to get going, Faf went after the bowling in the powerplay. In one of the powerplay overs, he smashed Chris Jordan for three boundaries, and thereafter taking calculative risks to get to his fifty. After reaching a personal milestone, he changed gears and didn’t allow their spinners – Harpreet Brar and leggie Ravi Bishnoi to settle, employing the sweep shot effectively to find boundaries at will. He ended up with 87 not out off 53 balls along with his partner Shane Watson to bag a comfortable 10-wicket win for CSK.
6. Suryakumar Yadav 79*(43) vs RCB
Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai Indians’ number three, again had an incredible season with the bat. He proved to be one of the big reasons why Mumbai went to clinch their fifth IPL title. In the game versus the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he played a sublime knock of 79 not out which included 10 fours and three sixes to help his team seal the playoffs berth.
Chasing a total of 165, MI lost three wickets for 72 runs against an in-form RCB bowling lineup, but Surya kept taking those calculative risks to win the game for his side.
5. Nicholas Pooran 77 (37) vs SRH
Nicholas Pooran, the West Indian batsman, was on fire against Sunrisers Hyderabad where he notched up a fifty off just 17 deliveries to complete his first fifty of the season. This fifty was the the fastest half-century of IPL 2020. Pooran targeted Abdul Samad’s first over, smashing the uncapped Indian player for 28 runs, which included four sixes and a four to reach the landmark. His efforts with the bat weren’t enough to take his team home as KXIP lost that game by 69 runs. But this game will be remembered for the artistic strokeplay from the bat of the Caribbean batsman.
4. Shikhar Dhawan 78 (50) vs SRH
Shikhar Dhawan, the Delhi Capitals opener, was the second-highest run-getter of the tournament. Shikhar was one of the consistent performers with the bat, which helped his team make it to the Final of the league for the first time in tournament history.
It was his knock of 78 in the Qualifier 2 which guided his team to the IPL 2020 Final. Batting first, Shikhar provided a blistering start with his new opening partner, Marcus Stoinis, and that set the stage for a big first innings total. This was his sixth half-century of the season, and it comprised of two sixes and six fours. Most importantly, it came in a virtual knockout, as he surpassed the 600-run mark in the 13th edition of the IPL.
3. Rohit Sharma 68 (51) vs DC
It’s not always easy to come back from injury and perform in the most crucial game of the tournament. Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians skipper, was looking out of touch since he made his comeback to the team after an injury layoff. Many questioned his approach at the start, and MI’s skipper silenced them all when he struck a fifty to chase down a modest total of 156/7 to win the trophy for a record fifth time.
Rohit came to open the innings with his regular opening partner Quinton de Kock and straight away took the attack to DC’s bowling. He lofted one six over long-on off Ashwin’s bowling and after that, it was a typical Rohit Sharma show. Also, he thanked his teammate, Suryakumar Yadav, as he sacrificed his wicket for his skipper in the 11th over when Rohit was batting on 47.
Rohit’s knock made sure that there wasn’t much to do for the batsman to come after him.
2. Ben Stokes 107* (60) vs MI
Before this game, Ben Stokes was struggling big time find his best form. He hadn’t hit a single six in the tournament, and was struggling with his timing. Many were doubting his ability to cope with the pressure of opening the innings, because this role was new to him as there was pressure on him with the regular opener Jos Buttler batting in the middle order.
Against an in-form bowling lineup of MI, the target of 196 wasn’t going to be easy for RR. Stokes started his innings by targeting their best new-ball bowler Trent Boult by putting on his dancing shoes against him and minimizing his effect in the powerplay. When the run rate started to hover around 11 runs per over, that’s when Stokes and his partner Sanju Samson took the attack to the MI bowling. During his innings of 107* runs, Stokes hit 14 fours and three sixes to see off the chase for his team.
1. KL Rahul 132 (69) vs RCB
KL Rahul, the Kings XI captain, produced one of the finest knocks in the history of the IPL as he smashed a swashbuckling inning of 132 not out which included 14 fours and seven sixes against RCB. Rahul took his time early in the innings and reached his fifty in 36 balls. Then, he required only 26 balls to get to the three-figure mark.
He had his share of luck in the innings, as he was dropped a couple of times by RCB skipper Virat Kohli. But, he made the most of these opportunities as he powered his team to a total of 206/3. The hallmark of this innings was how he paced his innings at the halfway point of the 1st innings, which was followed by a brutal display of range hitting in the death overs.
The KXIP skipper bagged a few records to his name:
- KL’s unbeaten 132 is the highest individual score in the T20 format in the UAE.
- His unbeaten 132 is the highest score by an Indian player in IPL history.
- He the fastest Indian (60 innings) to reach 2,000 IPL runs, overtaking Sachin’s record (63 innings).
Written by Vaibhav Tripathi. Follow Vaibhav on Twitter today.
