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IPL 2016: CricketCountry’s team of the tournament

As IPL 2016 comes to an end, we present to you CricketCountry's dream XI consisting of finest players from Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Lions, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians.

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From Left to: Virat Kohli, David Warner (c), AB de Villiers, KL Rahul (wk), Krunal Pandya, Chris Morris, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mustafizur Rahim
From Left : Virat Kohli, David Warner (c), AB de Villiers, KL Rahul (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Krunal Pandya, Chris Morris, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mustafizur Rahman

Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore:Leading run-scorer of the tournament, captained his side to the final, hit the most sixes, got the most fifty-plus scores of the tournament; there was nothing Virat Kohli did not do in IPL 9. Kohli almost single-handedly took Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) into the final. Kohli was on a different plane from his competitors, finishing over 100 runs ahead of his closest rival, David Warner. Kohli fell an agonising 27 runs short of 1,000 and averaged 81.08 at a strike rate of 152.03 with 7 fifties and an unprecedented 4 centuries. Full Cricket Scorecard: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016 Final

That he scored almost all his runs as opener makes him the No. 1 batsman (both literal and figurative) of this line-up. It was a close call for captaincy between him and Warner, but given that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won the final, Kohli misses out on being a literal one-man army.

David Warner, Sunrisers Hyderabad (c): The IPL- winning captain will lead the team of the tournament and also open batting alongside Kohli. Warner was the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament and actually finished with more runs than anyone has ever scored in a singled edition of IPL — barring Kohli in this season. In 17 matches Warner scored 848 runs at 60.57 and a strike rate of 151.42. He hit 9 half-centuries and reached 90s on two occasions.

AB de Villiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore:It is no co-incidence that the top three batsmen on the run charts are also the top three batsmen of this side. De Villiers was in spectacular form for RCB, batting at No. 3 in virtually all the matches and rarely failing to make it count. His innings in Qualifier 1 ensured RCB made it to the final after Kohli suffered a rare failure. De Villiers smashed 687 runs at 52.84 with 6 fifties and 1 ton.

KL Rahul, Royal Challengers Bangalore (wk):Rahul’s wicket-keeping may not have been up to the mark, but he was an invaluable part of RCB’s batting machinery. Rahul’s keeping has a long way to go, but given that the ones who kept wickets reasonably well (Naman Ojha, Parthiv Patel) had terrible stints with the bat, we have chosen the wicketkeeper-batsman who did at least one job well. Rahul ended the tournament with 397 runs at 44.11 and an impressive strike rate of 146.49 with 4 half-centuries. Rahul was certainly one of the finds of the tournament as far as his batting was concerned.

Yusuf Pathan, Kolkata Knight Riders:Yusuf was a revelation for the way he batted in IPL 9. He bowled reasonably well on the odd occasion he was called upon, but it was with bat in hand that Yusuf truly proved his worth. He smashed 361 runs at 72.2 and a strike rate of 145.56 with three half-centuries. He rarely failed, and rescued Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from the brink at least twice.

Krunal Pandya, Mumbai Indians :Coming to the all-rounders, Krunal Pandya was one of the finds of the tournament. Playing alongside his younger brother Hardik for Mumbai Indians (MI), Krunal showed he too was a massive hitter of the ball — his strike rate of 191.12 is among the highest in the tournament — and also proved himself a canny bowler. Krunal scored 237 runs at 39.5 with 1 half-century and a 49. In addition, he took 6 wickets at a decent economy rate. ALSO READ: IPL 2016: Shreyas Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Sarfaraz Khan and other youngsters to watch out for in IPL 9

Chris Morris, Delhi Daredevils:Chris Morris was far from a big name before IPL 2016, but his astronomical price at the player auction brought him under intense scrutiny. Morris proved himself up to the task by playing a couple of good innings and bowling some vital spells. His unbeaten 82 against Gujarat Lions (GL) brought Delhi Daredevils (DD) from the absolute doldrums to a mere 2 runs defeat. He hit a 17-ball fifty in that match, having already taken 2 wickets. Overall, Morris scored 195 runs at 65 and a strike rate of 178.89 with a solitary fifty, along with taking 13 wickets at an economy rate of just 7.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunrisers Hyderabad: Bhuvneshwar Kumar was one of the main reasons why SRH lifted the cup in the finale against RCB.   He grabbed the Purple Cap but more than the wickets he took, it was the way in which he bowled which impressed everyone. Bhuvneshwar found his lost swing and bowled wonderfully in the death overs as well. He mixed his slower balls well and was rarely hit out of the attack. He finished with 23 wickets at an economy rate of 7.42.

Dhawal Kulkarni, Gujarat Lions:Dhawal Kulkarni has been a silent, hardworking bowler for years. He has been in and out of the Indian ODI team, but season after season he puts in the yards in domestic cricket. At this year’s IPL he offered another glimpse of his skills by being perhaps the most threatening bowler in the formidable Gujarat Lions (GL) pace attack. Kulkarni out-bowled the likes of Praveen Kumar, Dwayne Bravo, and James Faulkner. Given that Dale Steyn played a solitary match one could even go so far as to say he out-bowled Steyn. His spell against RCB in Qualifier 1 nearly took GL to the final. With 18 scalps in 14 games at an excellent average and strike rate, Kulkarni finished as one of the best bowlers of the tournament. ALSO READ: IPL 2016 Player Auction: Top 10 bowlers to watch out for

Yuzvendra Chahal,Royal Challengers Bangalore:Given how poorly RCB bowled at the start of the tournament it was a miracle of sorts that two of their bowlers ended up in the top 3 wicket-takers of IPL 9. One of them, Shane Watson, narrowly misses out on a spot in our XI due to his poor form with the bat, but could have made the team as a bowler. The other, Yuzvendra Chahal, makes it as the lead spinner. Chahal overcame a tough start to the tournament and ended up bowling his usual dependable leg-breaks every time Kohli wanted a wicket. With 21 scalps in only 13 matches, Chahal was arguably the most potent wicket-taker of IPL 9. He was a bit expensive but also enjoyed a bowling average under 20 and strike rate of just 14 — exceptional numbers by any margin.

Mustafizur Rahman, Sunrisers Hyderabad:Mustafizur Rahman burst on to the scene with consecutive five-wicket hauls against India at home, and since then his legend has only grown. There are few bowlers in world cricket at present who can match Mustafizur’s slower ball. Even Dwayne Bravo, whose USP is the slower ball, could take a leaf out of Mustafizur’s book. The SRH left-armer makes it to the side as the fourth overseas player.

Here is a look at how the batsmen and bowlers of the CricketCountry IPL 2016 XI have done:

Player

Team

M

R

HS

Bat Ave

Bat SR

100s

50s

Virat Kohli

RCB

16

973

113

81.08

152.03

4

7

David Warner

SRH

17

848

93*

60.57

151.42

0

9

AB de Villiers

RCB

16

687

129*

52.84

168.79

1

6

KL Rahul

RCB

14

397

68*

44.11

146.49

0

4

Yusuf Pathan

KKR

15

361

63*

72.2

145.56

0

3

Krunal Pandya

MI

12

237

86

39.5

191.12

0

1

Chris Morris

DD

12

195

82*

65

178.89

0

1

Kohli was by far the best batsman of the tournament, followed by Warner and de Villiers. With the top three run-scorers being the top three batsmen of the side, there is little doubt anyone would be able to beat them in terms of runs. After the three big guns, Rahul, Pathan, Pandya, and Morris round up in what is quite a formidable batting line-up.

Player

Team

M

W

BBI

Bowl Ave

Econ

Bowl SR

4WI

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

SRH

17

23

4/29

21.3

7.42

17.2

1

Yuzvendra Chahal

RCB

13

21

4/25

19.09

8.15

14

1

Dhawal Kulkarni

GL

14

18

4/14

20.22

7.42

16.3

1

Mustafizur Rahman

SRH

16

17

3/16

24.76

6.9

21.5

0

Chris Morris

DD

12

13

2/30

23.69

7

20.3

0

Krunal Pandya

MI

12

6

2/15

39.33

7.57

31.1

0

As for the bowling, Bhuvneshwar and Kulkarni will tie things down at the start and again at the death, while Mustafizur will be his usual unplayable self. In the middle overs Morris, Chahal, and Pandya can go for the kill. Good luck to any team coming up against this lot!

(Shiamak Unwalla a reporter with CricketCountry, is an animal lover and comic, film and TV geek. A fast bowler at heart, he enjoys watching a good, low-scoring game of cricket. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)

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