IPL 2018: 5 surprise moves that paid off
The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League is over and like always has given the cricket fans all over the world another 50 days of brilliant cricket.
The tournament that was won by the comeback side Chennai Super Kings was unique in many aspects. There are very few fans of IPL who wouldn't agree to the fact that this season was one of the most closely contested seasons ever.
The captains and the team management were on their toes and pulled out many heroic moves that sometimes worked and sometimes failed but deserved to applauded. We have compiled 5 such moves from this year's edition that proved to be a gamechanger for their team.
#5 Kings XI Punjab including Gayle in the playing XI
Chris Gayle was unsold twice when he was bought into the auction this year. The franchises might have thought of him as an empty pistol but Kings XI Punjab picked him at his base price.
Gayle sat on the bench for the first two matches and was included in the side in the match against Chennai Super Kings. The Jamaican superstar scored 63 off 33 balls and followed it up with tournament's first century in the next match vs Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Gayle, overall, scored 368 runs in 11 matches. His decline in form in the second half of the league was one of the reasons for KXIP's ouster but he proved his worth and reminded everyone that he still is the boss of the T20 cricket and is not done yet.
To quote him, "Virender Sehwag saved the tournament by picking him up".