IPL 2019: The top-performing 11 of the season
The Indian Premier League 2019 is coming down to an exciting string of matches. Three teams have already qualified for the knockouts while the 4th slot is still up for grabs. Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals are still in contention for the 4th slot courtesy of some inspired performances by them.
The 2019 season has seen it all, be it the thrilling super over finishes between KKR-DC and MI-SRH, or Shreyas Gopal dismissing legends Kohli and de Villiers en-route a hat-trick. There has been some inspired display in all three departments.
As the business end of another successful IPL season is approaching, we take a look at the best possible 11 from this season.
1. Openers: David Warner and Jonny Bairstow
The opening slot was a no brainer for anyone who has seen the Aussie-English duo of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow bat together for Hyderabad. In just 12 matches, Warner amassed a mammoth 692 runs at an average of 69.20 with 8 fifties and a century under his belt. While Jonny Bairstow, in his debut season scored 445 runs in just 10 encounters he featured in before leaving to join his national side.
The current season has been especially critical for Warner, who missed the tournament last year, courtesy an unceremonious ban from cricket for a year. Warner's dominance can be judged by the fact that he leads the orange cap standings by more than 150 runs to second place KL Rahul.
Bairstow, on the other hand, has been exceptional in his debut season of IPL scoring 445 runs in 10 games averaging close to 56. The impact this duo had on SRH's batting is evident from the fact that the bulk of scoring has been done by the opening pair itself. Hyderabad can credit most of their victories to their opening duo, whose absence now is slightly starting to hurt them.