The Indian Premier League 2020 has crossed the half-way stage and we have witnessed some crazy moments so far. From two Super Overs in the first week to three Super Overs in one day, the league has woken up within no time and startled fans with some thrilling rides. The tournament is approaching its business end, with many teams still in fray for the playoffs.
Spinners are ought to be the architects of wins in the T20 format. Be it wrist-spinner or finger-spinner, they all have their fair share of success in the format. Teams have started relying upon mystery spinners for winning matches. In this year’s IPL, spinners caught batsmen into their web of spin and took their team to success. Here, we are having a look at the hits and flops of spinners from the league so far.
Hits
Yuzvendra Chahal (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Royal Challengers Bangalore has had one of their best IPL seasons in years and Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the main reasons behind their success. Often, Chahal’s contribution gets neglected by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers’ batting madness. But this year he made everyone stand and applaud his skills. The leg-spinner has taken 13 in nine games while having an economy rate of 7.65. Whenever Kohli is in need to break the partnership, he calls his mainstay spinner and gets one most of the time.
Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Sunrisers Hyderabad spinner Rashid Khan is no short of introduction. The leg-spinner has left everyone guessing since making his debut in the IPL. Not only does he have a knack of taking wickets, Rashid hardly goes for big runs. He has managed 11 wickets in nine matches in IPL 2020 at an economy of 5.53. No opposition takes unnecessary risk against him and looks to play out his overs with care.
Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals)
Delhi Capitals are playing a different brand of cricket this year. They are sitting at the top of the pile at the moment and Axar Patel is an unsung hero in this success. Axar has hardly put a foot wrong in IPL 2020. While keeping his economy rate below six, he managed to grab 8 wickets as well in nine outings he had so far. Other than that, Axar won his team the game against Chennai Super Kings with the bat. His string of good performances has resulted in his team’s success.
Flops
Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Sunil Narine has witnessed a constant dip in his form since being questioned for his action back in 2014/15. Narine couldn’t light up the IPL this year either – with bat or ball. He picked just five wickets in six games and conceded over eight runs per over. His bowling action came under the scanner after his match-changing spell against Kings XI Punjab. As a consequence, he was dropped from the team. Later, IPL’s bowling action committee took his name off the warning list.
Piyush Chawla (Chennai Super Kings)
Veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla changed base from Kolkata Knight Riders to CSK in the IPL. But he found it hard to replicate the same success at his new home. Chawla dismissed six batsmen in seven games he featured. Moreover, he is leaking nine runs per over. CSK are having their worst outing in the IPL and Chawla’s poor form hasn’t helped their cause.
Kuldeep Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders)
The young wrist-spinner has had a torrid year since IPL 2019. During a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019, Moeen Ali hammered a teary-eyed Kuldeep Yadav for 27 runs in one over and the spinner hasn’t looked like the same ever since. He managed a solitary wicket in four IPL 2020 games and eventually faced the axe from the playing XI. Kuldeep turned out to be a disappointment for KKR this year.
Source: IPLT20.com