The IPL 2019 is one that will surely live long in the memory of all cricket fans. From super overs to mankading to a final ball decider in the final, I will be discussing all of the best bits and also give my view on the player of the tournament.
The Kolkata Knight Riders will be most disappointed in their season as a blistering start to the season saw them at the top of the pile for a long time. Winning four out of five (losing one in a super over decider to the Delhi Capitals) and with Andre Russell hitting sixes to all corners, they were seen by many as the dark horses. It then all went wrong for the Knight Riders going onto lose seven out of their next nine games, leaving them in fifth position, only missing out on the play-offs on net run rate. I would give them a 6/10.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore were quite the opposite to the Knight Riders with a start Virat Kohli would be disappointed with. Losing their first six games, captain Kohli would have been fearful of what was ahead. RCB managed to finish on a respectable 11 points after winning five of their final seven matches however all at RCB will have been wondering what could have been. Rating 5/10
The Rajasthan Royals also endured a slow start, losing five of their first six games. I think the most disappointing thing about their performance would be the caliber of players they had available. With a reported salary of $1.8m, fans would have expected a lot more from Ben Stokes. Jos Buttler was arguably the pick of the bunch with Steve Smith batting well at times and Shreyas Gopal taking 20 wickets. Rating 6/10
The Kings XI Punjab encountered a strange season with most of their players actually performing rather well. A young Sam Curran was particularly impressive as well as Nicholas Pooran. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul were also impressive with the bat and a notable mention must go to Mohammed Shami with 19 wickets taken. Overall they will be unhappy with their season and I will give them a 6.5/10.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad enjoyed a positive season with David Warner and Johnny Bairstow enjoying centuries galore with the bat registering over 1000 runs between the two of them. Things started very well for the Sunrisers, winning three of their opening five however they then went onto win only 3 out of their final 9. Positive signs for the Sunrisers however they must be more consistent and improve with the middle order after Warner and Bairstow are gone. 7.5/10.
The Dehli Capitals enjoyed a positive season with Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer all finishing in the top ten overall runs. They were incredibly unlucky to lose to the Chennai Super Kings in the playoffs after beating the Sunrisers to reach the eliminator. With the ball, Kagiso Rabada took 25 wickets who only finished second to Imran Tahir in the wicket takers leader board. They will be hungry next season to go further. Rating 8/10.
The Chennai Super Kings enjoyed a mixed season and will feel lucky to reach the final but also unlucky to lose the final. Imran Tahir was the stand out player with the ball where as with the bat MS Dhoni was their leading run scorer with 416 runs from 15 games. Their batting was below par however with the ball their variation of spin and pace bowling was impressive. I fancy them winning the 2020 IPL next season and I look forward to seeing MS Dhoni back next year. Rating 8.5/10
Finally, the winners – Mumbai Indians. Overall they were a class above all of the other teams in the 2019 IPL. With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah finished with 19 wickets and 169 dot balls from 16 games. Lasith Malinga, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Chahar were also very impressive with the ball. With the bat, Quinton de Kock was the pick of the bunch with 529 runs from 16 games with a high score of 81. Deserved winners after Malinga held his nerve in the final ball of the final. Expect them to stick together and reach the final again next year. Rating 9/10.
In conclusion, a thrilling IPL 2019 which had everything. Man of the tournament for me has to be Andre Russell. While his team had a disappointing season, ‘Dre Rus’ finished with 11 wickets and 510 runs from 14 matches.
Most Runs – David Warner (692)
Most Wickets – Imran Tahir (26)
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