IPL Week 2: Gayle Storm Rocks IPL 2018!

It is difficult to pick one favourite moment from the last week encounters. Last week sprang up a few surprises as the veterans played some vintage knocks while Jofra Archer stellar debut was a head turner.

21 matches have been played at the Indian Premier League 2018 so far and the tournament has already raised the temperature of the summer a notch up in just two weeks.

Here’s a quick recap for all the fans out there who were left stunned at the brilliance of the tournament in the week gone by.

Age is just a number

Two centuries were scored in the competition by Chris Gayle and Shane Watson respectively.

The two men, the former aged 38 and the latter 36, showed the criticizers that their big-hitting abilities have survived the whip of time.

Gayle who was picked by KXIP the third time after he went unsold twice when the auction took place in January, had a point to prove and he scored three half-centuries in the last three encounters to prove his worth.

Gayle’s unbeaten 104 off 63 balls led his team to victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Likewise, Chennai Super Kings’ Shane Watson who was picking up wickets without scoring many runs showed his opponents that he can do the talking with his bat too.

He slammed nine fours and six sixes to score his 57-ball 106.

AB de Villiers’ magnificent knock

AB de Villiers silenced all his criticizers during the Test series against Australia, playing all four Tests where he scored four half-centuries and a century.

He scored fairly well against Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab but he was sublime against Delhi Daredevils.

His unbeaten 90 off 39 balls swept Delhi off their feet and gave Bangalore a six-wicket win. He is looking unstoppable with the kind of form he is in.

Whistlepodu Express

Chennai’s home run was intervened by the ongoing Cauvery turmoil in Tamil Nadu and BCCI decided to change the venue of their home matches shifting it to Pune.

But, the political crisis can never overpower fans’ fanaticism and the franchise of Chennai respects that. The franchise arranged a special train to ferry 10,000 fans to Pune for the encounter with Rajasthan. Because Fandom is appreciated in the IPL.

The #WhistlePoduExpress is now in the #DenAwayFromDen replete with the #WhistlePoduArmy! #whistlepodu ?? pic.twitter.com/jcU3zXr7h7

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 20, 2018

Best Knock

We witnessed some of the finest blitzkriegs in the past week. From AB de Villiers to Rishabh Pant, from Samson to Kohli and from Watson to Rayudu, we have seen outstanding efforts. But, the one that stood out from the rest was Chris Gayle who maintained his consistency in the past week and also scored a century.

Chris Gayle would certainly cherish his performance, and his hunger for getting runs is seeming to increase with every match.

Best Spell

This one is a no-brainer! Jofra Archer made a mark in his IPL debut and justified all the hype around him.

He returned with brilliant figures of 3/22 to give Rajasthan a victory against the Mumbai Indians as they sealed the match by three wickets.

Stats Corner:

The race for the purple cap is stiff with Sunil Narine, Mayank Markande, Umesh Yadav and Chris Woakes with eight wickets each.

Although Markande’s performance stands out on most of the perimeters, Narine’s economy rate of 6.95 is the most effective one.

Quote of the Week

“I would like to thank Sehwag for saving the IPL by picking me”- ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle.