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IPL 2016 Final, RCB vs SRH: A showdown of batsmen?

IPL 2016 has more been about powerful batting performances than fielding and bowling.

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Virat Kohli and David Warner are the two leading run-scorers this edition © AFP
Virat Kohli and David Warner are the two leading run-scorers this edition © AFP

In its ninth season this year, Indian Premier League (IPL) has become an entity in the lives of Indian cricket fans’ lives. An event where great Twenty20 players from around the world meet, IPL has become one of the most attractive T20 competitions that takes place. Every moment here is full of excitement and the IPL 2016 has been no exception. Though there have been all-round performances, brilliant pieces of fielding and impressive bowling spells, this season of IPL somehow had a heavier batting quotient. A season where an individual player has scored over 900 hundred runs, it looks like the wooden piece stole all the limelight away. Full Cricket Scorecard: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016 Final

Though T20 format of cricket has been primarily dependent upon hard-hitting, IPL viewers have always been keen to terrific fielding efforts and match-winning spells. One acrobatic catch and Kolkata Knight Riders‘ (KKR) Chris Lynn became a household name in India- there can not be any other example so apt to describe this. Looking back at this season of IPL so far, as the massive chunk of the tournament has already been played, one cannot think of many instances which can become a lifetime memory to be taken from this IPL.

Both the teams that have reached the final, have had a journey that was mostly dependent upon the batting. Talking about batting this IPL, one name that comes to mind instantly is Virat Kohli. Kohli, who has so far scored 919 runs with the help of 4 centuries and 6 half-centuries, is definitely one reason behind RCB’s uphill journey. The much criticised bowling of the team kept on leaking runs without bringing in much success in form of wickets wihich left the batsmen with no other option than scoring enormous amount of runs.

David Warner is Kohli’s SRH counterpart. Scoring runs, leading the team- the only dissimilarity that he has is that he was provided with a better bowling side. Warner, who also is in a terrific form, has been overshadowed by Kohli’s superhuman form. Warner could not reach to the 100-run mark this season but scored 8 eight half -centuries. SRH, despite having a sorted bowling line-up, Warner’s form has been the team’s key to their victory.

If we take a look at runs scored by an individual in a single season, this is how the table looks like for top six names:

Player I R Year
Virat Kohli 15 919 2016
David Warner 16 779 2016
Chris Gayle 14 733 2012
Michael Hussey 17 733 2013
Chris Gayle 16 708 2013
AB de Villiers 15 682 2016

Clearly, five of the six entries will be present in Sunday’s Final. Kohli and Warner are well in form to stun the Bangalore crowd with another couple of fantastic innings. Run-machine Chris Gayle can also fire, like he did against KKR and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) while de Villiers’ heroics need no mention, as he was the hero behind RCB’s breathtaking victory against Gujarat Lions (GL) in Qualifier 1. Another interesting fact to look at is that three of the top performances came in this edition of IPL.

While RCB’s bowling has been unpredictable throughout the season, SRH also don’t look to have that impactful an attack as their start. With Ashish Nehra ruled out of the IPL following his injury and Mustafizur Rahman being unsure, it again leaves upon SRH’s batting that consists of Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh apart from Warner.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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