IPL 2018: 4 surprise batting packages of the tournament so far
The USP of IPL has been in its knack of throwing surprises of the highest order. Just when we refuse to believe in the ability of a particular player and discard him as a liability on the team, he finds a way to put up a performance so impactful that it compels us to mince our ill words. This 2018 edition of IPL is no exception to this trend of throwing surprises. There were stars who were hailed to set the stage on fire and on the other hand, there were some who were considered a mere shadow of their premium past. There were also players who have always been underrated and have never got the respect that their game deserves.
Here, we take a look at four batsmen who were categorized in at least one of the types mentioned above prior to this IPL season but have staged a roaring coup to thwart the pre-conceived notions that were used to describe their game.
#1 MS Dhoni
There is a reason why MS Dhoni didn’t succumb to the taunts that were hurled at him since his association with the two-year IPL franchise, Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS). He is a master when it comes to thriving in adverse circumstances. His life journey has been like this and that kept him motivated through the two-year lull that seems to have ended now.
What we have witnessed so far in the tournament is definitely not the struggling Dhoni of the past two years. He looks in a different league altogether. He is taking the charge early in his innings, he is striking the ball as cleanly as ever and looks to have an insatiable appetite for runs. His two blistering fifties in two pressure run-chases are a testament to his new-found attacking soul that even had Virat Kohli in awe of his abilities. He has scored a total of 235 runs from seven games so far at a brilliant average of 58.75 and a strike-rate touching the 160 mark. He looks well and good for a tally of more than 400 runs in the tournament.