Nine days, nine matches – the 2020 Indian Premier League has rolled through swiftly and we’ve had everything – a super over, 30 runs in the twentieth over on two occasions, highest individual score by an Indian batsmen, highest successful run chase in IPL history. CricViz’s Srinivas Vijaykumar looks at the key performers over the week (well, just over a week) and pick the best XI based on our impact model.
The criteria to pick these players is like a balanced IPL XI – maximum of four overseas players, five batsman, two all-rounders, two spinners, two pace bowlers and must include a wicketkeeper. Each of these players must have featured in at least two matches from 19th September to 27th September.
1. Mayank Agarwal
Impact – Batting : +21.8, Fielding : +1.6, Overall : +23.4
Matches – 3, Runs – 221 at 10.20 runs per over
With a batting impact of +21.8, Mayank Agarwal was the most valuable player last week and rightly the first pick in our XI. With 221 runs, this is already Agarwal’s third most prolific IPL campaign. He’s only played 3 matches – in the seasons above him on the list (225 runs in 2012 and 332 runs in 2019) he played 16 and 13 matches, respectively. In the first game of the season, he scored his slowest ever T20 fifty; in the game against Rajasthan Royals, he scored his fastest. On the flipside, both his high impact innings +46.6 (89 (60) v DC) and +18.5 (106 (50) v RR) have come in losing causes for KXIP, when they were on the brink of winning.
2. Rohit Sharma
Impact – Batting : +12.2, Fielding : 0, Overall : +12.2
Matches – 2, Runs – 92 at 8.62 runs per over
Rohit Sharma takes the second opener spot in the XI with a batting impact of +12.2. The MI’s captain’s biggest contribution came in the match against KKR where he scored a match defining 54-ball 80 run knock with an impact of +27.1, helping register the team’s first win. The defining part of the innings was Rohit’s clinical hitting when the KKR bowlers pulled the length back, scoring 35 runs with his trademark pull shot. KL Rahul missed making the cut as the opener despite being the top run scorer only because of his innings against RR on Sunday – Rahul’s 54-ball 69 at 7.66 rpo against RR in a match that had an overall scoring rate of 11.36 runs, had a massive negative match impact of -30.
3. Sanju Samson
Impact – Batting : +17.6, Fielding : +3.4, Overall : +21.0
Matches – 2, Runs – 159 at 12.89 runs per over
Sanju Samson has had a great start this year with both his knocks pivotal in making it two wins out of two for RR. Samson’s batting impact of +17.6 has only been bettered by Agarwal. Batting at number 3 his biggest strength has his quick starts. In his first 20 balls Samson has scored at an insane rate of 14.55 runs per over. He has scored 101 runs against spin at 13.46 rpo making a big impact in the middle overs.
4. Saurabh Tiwary
Impact – Batting : +7.0, Fielding : 0.0, Overall : +7.0
Matches – 2, Runs – 63 at 8.59 runs per over
An unexpected inclusion at number 4, Saurabh Tiwary has cashed in on his opportunities so far with a batting impact of +7.0 – the best of all players to have featured at #4 so far. Tiwary was picked by MI ahead of Ishaan Kishan to target the longer boundaries in Abu Dhabi and he delivered with two positive impact knocks (+10.5 and + 3.5), a feat achieved by few this season. 43% of Tiwary’s overall runs have come in the front of square on the on-side justifying his inclusion by MI. A left-hander who adds value to the combinations in the lineup Tiwary has had a great first week.
5. AB de Villiers
Impact – Batting : +10.8, Fielding : +0.2, Overall : +11.0
Matches – 2, Runs – 79 at 9.87 runs per over
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s most valuable batsman, AB de Villiers, slots in as the finisher in this XI. de Villiers’ impact of +10.8 makes him the most valuable finisher in the first nine games. The South African has registered a positive impact in both innings so far – +11.6 v SRH & +10 v KXIP. In the game v SRH, de Villiers scored 25 (10) in the last three overs – cementing his reputation as the quickest scorer in history of T20s in overs 18-20.
6. Sam Curran
Impact – Batting : +2.5, Bowling + 7.0 : Fielding : -1.0, Overall : +8.5
Matches – 3, Runs – 36 at 15.42 runs per over, Wickets – 5 at 7.33 runs per over
Sam Curran has been CSK’s most valuable player in the three games so far. An overall impact of +8.5 powered by his batting exploits after being promoted up the order and scoring at 15.42 runs per over. Curran is CSK’s leading wicket taker with the ball bowling at the top and in the death, filling the role left by an injured Bravo, the English all-rounder has exceeded expectations.
7. Jofra Archer
Impact – Batting : +9.2, Bowling + 7.7 : Fielding : 0.0, Overall : +16.9
Matches – 2, Runs – 40 at 21.81 runs per over, Wickets – 1 at 9.0 runs per over
Jofra Archer is the second all-rounder in this XI and the most valuable player this season so far after Mayank Agarwal & Sanju Samson. Archer’s primary exploits this season has been with bat, average impact of +9.2, scoring 40 runs in 11 balls with six hits clearing over the boundary. Archer scored 26 (7) against Ngidi and 10 (3) against Mohammad Shami, when the latter was the leading wicket taker this season, pivotal cameos in RR’s two wins. With the ball, Archer has conceded at 9.0 runs per over in two matches at Sharjah where the overall scoring rate of the matches he was involved was 10.9 runs per over.
8. Axar Patel
Impact – Bowling + 5.8 : Fielding : -1.1, Overall : +4.7
Matches – 2, Wickets – 2 at 4.0 runs per over
Axar Patel is the first spinner in this XI with a bowling impact of +5.8. The left arm orthodox spinner has bowled 8 overs with two wickets conceding at 4.0 runs per over – the most economical bowler in the first week. Axar picked the crucial wicket of Watson in the game v CSK (dismissing him for the sixth time in eight innings in T20s), that led to their crucial hold on the CSK batsmen in the middle overs in tandem with Amit Mishra. Patel is one of the underrated bowlers in the IPL. He excels in the middle overs in the IPL with 50 wickets & economy rate of 7.02 rpo in Overs 7-15 with an overall impact of +1.9. The only spinners with better impact are Rashid, Muralitharan, Chahal, Vettori, Narine, Ashwin & Mishra.
9. Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact – Bowling + 6.6 : Fielding : +0.3, Overall : +6.9
Matches – 2, Wickets – 4 at 5.37 runs per over
Yuzendra Chahal has been the most valuable spinner in the first week with an overall impact of +6.6. The leader of the RCB bowling attack, Chahal was exceptional in their win against SRH with an overall bowling impact of +12.4. The crucial back to back wickets of a set Baistow followed by Vijay Shankar turned that match in RCB’s favour. In the game against KXIP when KL Rahul took apart the RCB bowlers, Chahal with a positive impact of +0.6 conceded at 6.25 rpo while the rest went for 10.93 runs per over.
10. Kagiso Rabada
Impact – Bowling + 6.1 : Fielding : -0.7, Overall : +5.4
Matches – 2, Wickets – 5 at 6.75 runs per over
The leader of the Delhi Capitals bowling attack, Rabada had a bowling impact of +6.1. The South African seamer had an impact of +8.8 in the tied game v KXIP and +3.4 v CSK. Rabada has bowled 50% of his overs in the two matches at the death. Three out of his four overall wickets have come in the last five overs. His attacking prowess at the death is exceptional. Across his career he’s taken 112 wickets in T20s with an even 50% (56) of them in the last five overs.
11. Mohammad Shami
Impact – Bowling + 9.4 : Fielding : +0.3, Overall : +9.7
Matches – 3, Wickets – 7 at 7.45 runs per over
Mohammad Shami was the pick of the bowlers in the first week with a bowling impact of +9.4. The right arm seamers excelled especially in the first six overs with 3/37 in 7 over at 5.28 runs per over, a wicket once in 14 deliveries. Until 2019 in the IPL, Shami had taken 13 wickets in the first six overs in 53 innings at strike rate of 45.6. A changed bowler who has transformed KXIP’s powerplay attack this season.
We will be back next week with our Team of the Week for the next set of IPL matches from 28th September to 4th October.
Srinivas Vijaykumar is an analyst at CricViz. Follow him on Twitter @srini_vk
