We have arrived at the halfway point of IPL 2020, CricViz analyst Rufus Bullough looks at the best performers from week three, and picks the best team as ranked by our own unique match impact model.
1. Rahul Tripathi
Impact – Batting: +16.9, Fielding: +1.0 – Total: +17.9
Matches: 2 – Runs: 85 at 8.36 rpo
After a series of failures, and much chatter surrounding Sunil Narine’s place in the Kolkata Knight Riders batting order, Rahul Tripathi was bumped up seven places from number eight to opening batsman for their game against the Chennai Super Kings. His wonderfully paced 81 from 51 deliveries gave Kolkata the foundation they needed to score an unassailable total of 167 and eventually win the match by 10 runs. This innings was the highest individual score of the game and was Tripathi’s second best all-time IPL total, earning him an impact rating of +31.1. Questions still remain over whether he is the correct choice to open the batting going forward for KKR as his second match of the week returned a somewhat unspectacular innings of 4 from 10 deliveries, and a subsequent impact rating of -14.1. Nevertheless, Tripathi’s initial innings as KKR’s makeshift opening batsman was more than enough to earn him the first spot in this week’s TOTW.
2. Virat Kohli
Impact – Batting: +48.4, Fielding: +0.8 – Total: +49.2
Matches: 2 – Runs: 133 at 8.76 rpo
Virat Kohli really asserted his dominance over a toiling Chennai Super Kings bowling attack this week, smashing a flawless 90* from 52 deliveries on a difficult pitch in Dubai. This innings which featured four fours and four sixes showcased Kohli’s ability to adapt to the situation he is presented with. The initial portion of his innings was focused on wicket preservation and strike rotation, facing just five dot balls in his first 30 deliveries, and scoring 34 runs (6.80 runs per over). After this period when the platform had been set, Kohli really cut loose. He scored 56 runs from his next 22 balls (15.27 runs per over), and did not face a single dot ball in this period. This culminated in a batting impact of +35.2 for this innings, which was the 6th most impactful of this entire IPL. His other innings this week was a steady 43 from 39 balls, which earned him an impact of +13.2 due to the eventual low total, and Kohli’s ability to preserve his wicket while others around him could not. All together this gave him a batting impact total of +48.4 and a total impact of +49.2, combined with his fielding efforts. He is this week’s most valuable player according to his total match impact.
3. Suryakumar Yadav
Impact – Batting: +45.3, Fielding: 0.0 – Total: +45.3
Matches: 2 – Runs: 132 at 10.02 rpo
The effortless power and elegance of Suryakumar Yadav has caused a real stir in this edition of the IPL, and talk of his omission from the Indian national team has dominated the narratives surrounding the Mumbai Indian’s recent matches. This week’s two match run haul of 132 is surpassed by no-one, and with an equally impressive scoring rate of 10.02 runs per over, Yadav earns a total batting impact of +45.3, and a place on this week’s TOTW list. His total tournament batting impact of +59.4 is the highest for Mumbai, and the third highest haul of all batsmen in the entire competition, behind Mayank Agarwal (+72.3) and Nicholas Pooran (+62.7). He will be hoping that continuing this rich vein of form will be enough to earn himself a spot on the plane for India’s upcoming white ball tour of Australia.
4. Nicholas Pooran
Impact – Batting: +49.4, Fielding: -9.8 – Total: +39.7
Matches: 2 – Runs: 93 at 11.87 rpo, Catches: 1, Dropped Catches: 2
Nicholas Poorans innings’ of 77 (37) and 16 (10) have earned him a total batting impact of +49.4 for this week, the highest of anyone on this week’s list. His effort with the bat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (77 from 37 balls) was particularly special, and earned him a batting impact of +48.5 for that match alone, the second most impactful innings of the tournament to date. Two costly dropped catches unfortunately bring Pooran’s impact rating for the week back down to earth, and cause him to miss out on this week’s most valuable player position.
5. Marcus Stoinis
Impact – Batting: +32.6, Bowling: -3.4, Fielding: +0.7 – Total: +29.9
Matches: 3 – Runs: 105 at 9.84 rpo, Wickets: 3 at 10.28 rpo, Catches: 1
Marcus Stoinis seems to have reinvented his role with the bat this year for the Delhi Capitals, and has become an adept finisher at the death. His run-rate in the final phase of the innings in this IPL is 11.54, which is his highest for any IPL season to date. His best score of the week was his 53* from 26 deliveries against Royal Challengers Bangalore, which netted him an impact of +20.2. Along with contributions of 39 (30) and 13 (8) saw him achieve a total batting impact of +32.6 for the week. Stoinis also picked up three wickets in this week’s games, but his high economy rate of 10.28, a product of him being used towards the end of innings, caused his total bowling impact to be -3.4, and was not enough to see him ejected from this week’s TOTW.
6. Rahul Tewatia
Impact – Batting: +24.6, Bowling: -4.8, Fielding: +2.2 – Total: +22.0
Matches: 3 – Runs: 88 at 8.38 rpo, Wickets: 1 at 6.80 rpo, Catches: 3
Tewatia was the hero for Rajasthan Royals this week as they pulled off an unlikely win against Sunrisers Hyderabad yesterday on ‘IPL Super Sunday’. His 85 run sixth wicket partnership with Riyan Parag rescued Rajasthan from the perils of a fifth straight defeat and catapulted them to mid-table obscurity and possible playoff contention. His innings of 45* from 28 deliveries delivered him an impact of +10.9, but his innings earlier in the week was his most impactful according to our measures. Against Delhi Capitals at Sharjah on Friday, the Royals were dismissed for 138 inpursuit of Delhi’s 184 for 8. Tewatia’s 38 from 29 balls was Rajasthan’s highest individual score and while it was not his best or fastest score of the week, his ability to preserve his wicket while all around him were faltering, gives him his impact rating of +20.4. Tewatia also picked up just the one solitary wicket this week with his leg-breaks, but kept it very tight with an economy rate of 6.80 from his 10 overs. This is the primary reason that his bowling impact rating was not as damaging to his overall impact performance as it may have been, and is partly the reason he is included in this week’s list.
7. Axar Patel
Impact – Batting: +8.8, Bowling: +17.8, Fielding: +1.8 – Total: +25.4
Matches: 3 – Runs: 17 at 12.75 rpo, Wickets: 4 at 5.55 rpo, Catches: 2, Dropped Catches: 1
Axar Patel is quietly going about his business in this IPL and people are starting to take notice of his consistently excellent performances. He bowled particularly well against Royal Challengers Bangalore, taking 2 for 18 from his four overs, earning him a bowling impact of +10.4 for that stint, his most impactful bowling performance of the tournament to date. Two catches and a smart cameo with the bat add to his impact for the week and earn him a spot in the TOTW.
8. Jofra Archer
Impact – Batting: +3.7, Bowling: +24.9, Fielding: +0.5 – Total: +29.9
Matches: 3 – Runs: 26 at 10.40 rpo, Wickets: 5 at 6.91 rpo, Catches: 1, Dropped Catches: 1
Jofra Archer continues to make a huge impact on this tournament, and is the only player to feature in all three teams of the week so far in this IPL. He has been bowling with great skill and pace , and his 3 for 24 against the Delhi Capitals was his starring role in this week’s set of games. He earned an impact rating of +13.8 for this performance, which is his most impactful to date, and he shows no signs of stopping or slowing down any time soon. Archer has been so consistently good in this tournament that he has registered a positive impact every time he has bowled, and he is the only bowler (to have bowled more than once) to have achieved that in this edition.
9. Rashid Khan
Impact – Bowling: +42.5, Fielding: 0.0 – Total: +42.5
Matches: 2 – Wickets: 5 at 4.62 rpo.
Rashid Khan has again excelled this week after finding his best form in last week’s set of matches and once again features in the TOTW. He has been characteristically miserly, whilst maintaining his constant wicket taking threat, a combination which has earned him copious levels of acclaim across his highly decorated T20 career. His 3 for 12 against Kings XI Punjab earned him a bowling impact of +24.4, the second most impactful bowling performance of the tournament. 3 days later he then took 2 for 25 against Sunrisers, and registered the joint fourth most impactful bowling performance of the tournament (+18.1). Rashid Khan is back, and he is deadly effective.
10. Ravi Bishnoi
Impact – Batting:+3.2, Bowling: +11.7, Fielding: +0.8 – Total: +15.6
Matches: 2 – Runs: 6 at 5.14 rpo, Wickets: 4 at 7.71 rpo
The young Indian wrist spinner has been one of this tournament’s breakthrough stars, with his well disguised variations and ability to remain level headed in the most stressful of situations making cricket fans everywhere sit up and notice. His figures this week of 3 for 29 and 1 for 25 earned him match impact figures of +6.6 and +5.1 respectively. For one so young, he has taken to the crucible of IPL cricket like a duck to water, and we can expect to see much more of this young talent on both the IPL and international stages in the years to come.
11. Jasprit Bumrah
Impact – Bowling: +23.5, Fielding: 0.0 – Total: +23.5
Matches: 2 – Wickets: 4 at 5.75 rpo
Jasprit Bumrah makes his first appearance this year in the TOTW after finally hitting his stride and putting in the performances of which all know he is more than capable. He blew Rajasthan captain Steve Smith away, along with the tail, to register figures of 4 for 20, and an impact of +17.8 in Mumbai’s game against Rajasthan. He has now taken 11 tournament wickets and was the second most impactful fast bowler of the week, narrowly beaten by Jofra Archer. Mumbai will be pleased to see their Premier fast bowler back to his best, as if they are to go on and win the tournament, he will be an instrumental part of their plans.
Rufus Bullough is an anlayst for CricViz. Follow him on Twitter @rufus_cricket
