CPL 2016: Rating the performances of 5 IPL stars
We’re more than halfway through the 4th season of the CPL with the Guyana Amazon Warriors setting the pace at the top of the table. Martin Guptill, one of the two foreigners captaining a CPL side has been exceptional with his leadership, rotating his bowlers well and inspiring his team to put it extra effort to secure a win.
This year’s CPL has garnered more attention than any of its previous editions, with a number of factors playing a part to this increase in viewership. Most notably, India forayed into the CPL with Shah Rukh Khan taking over the Trinidad team and Vijay Mallya having ownership of the Barbados Franchise. It led to a few more stars of the IPL opting to play in the CPL, with AB De Villiers and Shane Watson penning contracts this season.
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The league is set to soon enter unchartered territory, migrating to the United States of America for its final set of fixtures. As we move into the business end of the CPL, it is time for the stars to earn their money and put in match-winning contributions.
Here, we rate the performances of 5 of IPL’s biggest stars in this year’s CPL:
1) Chris Gayle - 10/10
The ‘Universe Boss’ has lit up the CPL up with some astonishing performances so far, inspiring his team to 4 wins and second place after 6 games. He hasn’t skipped a beat and been absolutely destructive, tearing into the opponents bowling attack game after game. What is more impressive this season is that he has generally gone on to make a match-winning contribution. The highlight of the CPL so far was his remarkable 108* against the Trinbago Knight Riders, where his knock helped chase down 192. His team’s only failure came against the Amazon Warriors, where, unsurprisingly, he was bundled out for 0. He exacted full revenge against the Warriors when his unbeaten 45 helped the Tallawahs chase down 129 after being 2/4 at one stage.
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