Warner in, Bairstow out; Who made it to IPL 2019 XI?

IPL 2019 saw some insane things. More than 50 runs chased in last three overs and hundred run opening partnerships became a norm rather than a rarity while there were some searing yorkers and lion-hearted bowling spells that kept the balance between bat and the ball.

The openers had a wonderful time and the finishers had fun tonking the ball. The middle-order batsmen though faced a drought. In the bowling, pacers with control over yorkers dominated the proceedings but it was the rise of off-spinners that stunned the cricket world.

Dominated by openers and finishers and death-over bowlers, here is the IPL XI of 2019.

The best of openers and finishers

Five of the seven batsmen pick themselves.  Nine 50 plus scores in 12 innings and 692 runs means it is impossible to look beyond David Warner for the openers’ slot. But who partners him? KL Rahul edges Jonny Bairstow as there is no other vacancy for an overseas player.

#SRH will miss David Warner
in #IPL2019
Runs: 692
Balls: 481
Dots: 140
1s: 195
2s: 63
3s: 4
4s: 57
5s: 1
6s: 21
—
%dots: 29.11
%(1-3): 54.47
%(4-6): 16.42
—#MIvSRH#IPL

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 2, 2019

Andre Russell is infact the first pick in any team and Hardik Pandya is too good to be ignored. MS Dhoni completes the trio of finishers which is sure to send any bowling attack in panic.

This takes us to the number three and four slot. Virat Kohli had a below par IPL according to his standards but he still averaged 33.14 and had a strike rate of 141.46. And his immense caliber means he fits in at number three while Rishabh Pant  is at number four thanks to his match-turning performances and strike rate of 157.87. With Dhoni, Russell and Hardik below him, Pant can be at his best with a fearless approach.

Most runs by a batsman during death overs in an #IPL match in 2019
62* – Risabh Pant #DC
57* – Andre Russell #KKR
55* – MS Dhoni #CSK
55* – Dinesh Karthik #KKR
52* – Sam Curran #KXIP
51* – Sanju Samson #RR#KXIPvKKR #IPL2019

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 3, 2019

Also check the MI vs CSK match prediction 

Rabada, Tahir, Bumrah: A bowling artillery to fear

It's Kagiso Rabada, who else? The most wickets standings after the group stages and here's how they look. #IPL12 #IPL pic.twitter.com/Ox8aNjZeag

— ITW Sports (@ITWSports) May 6, 2019

Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir were the best proponents of their respective skills in IPL season 12 while Bumrah made a massive impact (economy of 6.78) even though he claimed just 17 wickets.

Shreyas Gopal took 20 wickets which included an hat-trick and gave only 17.35 runs per wicket. He is the ideal folly for Tahir from the other end.

Do not miss out on MI vs CSK IPL 2019 match preview

The IPL 2019 XI:

David Warner, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Andre Russell, Hardik Pandya, S Gopal, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Jasprit Bumrah