The Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) has completed a month and the tournament has already shown why it is the best T20 league in the world with some top-class performances in all the aspects of the game.
Here we take a look at the top 5 batting performances in IPL 2020 after the completion of four weeks:
KL Rahul’s unbeaten 132 vs RCB shatters a series of records
The 6th match of IPL 2020 witnessed a record-breaking innings by KXIP skipper KL Rahul who smashed unbeaten 132 off just 69 balls against RCB in the UAE. His innings consisted of 14 fours and 7 sixes.
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Interestingly, Rahul’s unbeaten 132 became the highest score by any Indian in the IPL; it became the highest score by any captain in the IPL; it became the fourth-highest score by anyone in the IPL (and the highest since AB de Villiers’ 133* against Mumbai Indians in 2015).
Notably, Rahul’s total alone proved too much for his opponents as chasing Kings XI Punjab’s 206/3, Royal Challengers Bangalore were bowled out for 109.
Rahul Tewatia’s game-changing five sixes in an over against KXIP
Rajasthan Royals’ Rahul Tewatia struck five sixes in an over at the fag end of the match as his side recorded the highest run chase in IPL history, beating Kings XI Punjab by four wickets in a high-scoring encounter.
Chasing a stiff 224 for a win, the Royals needed 51 runs from the last three overs and it seemed the fate of the match was already sealed but Tewatia turned the match on its head in a dramatic fashion, taking 30 runs from Sheldon Cottrell in the 18th over.
In an unbelievable turn of events, Tewatia (53 off 31 balls and 7 sixes), who was struggling to connect the ball after being pushed up the order ahead of the likes of Robin Uthappa, suddenly shifted gears as he hoisted Cottrell for a series of sixes much to the amazement of his team-mates and opposition players.
He was finally out in the last ball of the 19th over and after that Jofra Archer (13 not out) and Tom Curran (4 not out) took the Royals home.
Interestingly, it was the highest successful run-chase in IPL history, bettering the earlier record which also belongs to Royals, who had hit 217 while chasing 215 against erstwhile Deccan Chargers in 2008.
Nicholas Pooran scores fastest fifty of IPL 2020
Kings XI Punjab batsman Pooran had a nightmare start to IPL 2020 as he was dismissed for a duck twice in his first game (duck in Super Over as well) against Delhi Capitals. However, the Windies southpaw made a solid comeback in the tournament and smashed the fastest fifty of IPL 2020 in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The southpaw took just 17 balls to register his first fifty of the season, which is also the fastest so far in IPL 13.
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Notably, Pooran smashed 28 runs (6,4,6,6,6,0) in the 9th over of the KXIP innings which was bowled by Abdul Samad and completed his half-century in the same over with a six.
He walked back to the pavilion after scoring 77 off 37 balls at a whopping strike rate of 208.11. His innings consisted of 5 fours and 7 sixes.
However, Pooran’s 37 balls 77 runs were not enough to save KXIP who were bowled out for 132 in just 16.5 overs while chasing a 202-runs target.
Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 90 against CSK
Kohli, had a bad start to IPL 2020 as he scored 14, 1 and 3 in the first three games of the tournament. However, the RCB skipper struck a fifty against RR, followed by 43 against Delhi Capitals. But, Saturday’s innings against Chennai Super Kings is when the real Virat Kohli showed up.
It was a typical Kohli-esque knock that saw him run fiercely between the wickets and play the big shots to slam unbeaten 52-balls 90. His innings included 4 fours and as many sixes.
The 31-year-old was electric as RCB thrashed 74 from the final five overs of their innings to reach 169-4 after they had been restricted to 95-4 after 15 overs by a previously disciplined Chennai attack.
In the end, it was Kohli’s unbeaten 90 that paved the way for RCB’s 37-run win against CSK.
AB De Villiers 33 balls 73 fireworks blows KKR away
AB de Villiers winded the clock back at the Indian Premier League 2020, with his superb knock at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday. Playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, ABD smashed unbeaten 73 runs off just 33 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the match no. 28 of the tournament.
De Villiers who came to bat at no.4 completed his fifty in just 23 balls and smashed 5 fours and 6 sixes during his stay in the middle. He ended the innings with a whopping strike rate of 221.21.
His innings proved out to be the big difference between the two teams as RCB thrashed KKR by 82 runs.
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