IPL 2018: Team of the Week 2
The second week of the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League witnessed several exceptional individual performances with both bat and ball.
A T20 legend many thought had passed his prime showed what he still could on the cricket field while one of the franchises discovered a new bowling star in the making, amidst the despair of the defeat.
The week also saw Sunrisers Hyderabad lose their first match of the season, thereby making it eight out of eight for all teams to have lost at least one game this season.
Here is a look at the players who made it to the IPL Team of the Week for the second week of the competition:
#1 Chris Gayle
The Jamaican superstar, not picked for the team's first two matches against the Delhi Daredevils and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, rose from the ashes to first destroy the Chennai Super Kings and then the annihilate the Sunrisers Hyderabad with a blistering century to silence every critic questioning his capabilities as a T20 player.
On Saturday, he once again got the Kings XI off to a flying start in their chase of 192 before rains arrived in Kolkata.
Gayle may be on the wrong side of 30s, but the past week gave enough indications that he still had in him to terrorise opposition bowling and the Kings XI Punjab will be hoping for more such pyrotechnics from him in the upcoming matches, as well.
#2 Shane Watson
At one point arguably Australia's No. 1 all-rounder, Shane Watson's stocks as a T20 player have been on a slight decline ever since he retired from international cricket in 2016.
However, the 36-year-old showed on Friday night that he was still good enough to produce the goods with the bat, making a century against the Rajasthan Royals at Pune to guide the Super Kings to their third win in the competition.
That win also took to the top of the table and they will look to extend that in the weekend when they face the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
#3 Virat Kohli
His team may have lost both matches this week, but Virat Kohli was among the runs in both those games.
The right-hander stroked his way to a 30-ball 57 against the Rajasthan Royals and then a couple of days, made an unbeaten 92, as he ran out of partners at the other end with his chasing a monumental target against the Mumbai Indians.
Kohli looked set for a big one against the Delhi Daredevils on Saturday, but Trent Boult 'single-handedly' ensured it wasn't to be, plucking arguably the greatest catch in IPL history.
RCB currently find themselves at the 7th spot in the points table and for them to make a move upwards, the others will need to stand up with Kohli and deliver soon.