IPL 2020: Five Best Individual Performances Of The Tournament

The IPL 2020 was yet another festival in a year compiled with uncertainties as it continued to be a challenging one for people worldwide. It’s fate this year remained up in the air, to begin with; however, the BCCI found a way to conduct it. It took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the players gave their everything to make the event a success.

Similar to every year, the 2020 edition of IPL also witnessed some brilliant and memorable individual performances that were jaw-dropping and defying in every term. Such renditions could only take place a few times, pushing players into the pecking order and arrived under pressure or when teams looked demoralized. Such performances managed to uplift the side’s spirit massively.

We take a look at five best individual performances of IPL 2020:

Jasprit Bumrah – 4-1-14-4 vs Delhi Capitals, Qualifier 1:

It was the performance that pushed Delhi Capitals on the brink and Mumbai Indians into their sixth final and one step closer to the inevitable. Mumbai Indians batted first and despite looking at a below-par total initially, they did not end up with one. Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan showed why they were the defending champions, hitting the ball cleanly to lift their side to 200.

Left-arm seamer Trent Boult began the wreckage of the Delhi Capitals’ batting line-up, leaving them two down for no run in the first over. But the Capitals had no idea that what awaited them at the hands of Jasprit Bumrah. Of Bumrah’s four wickets, the highlight was undeniably his rapid searing yorker, leaving Shikhar Dhawan clueless and rearranging the off-stump.

He went on to remove Shreyas Iyer and the dangerous Marcus Stoinis, who threatened to spark a remarkable turnaround. The Australian all-rounder also had no clue when the ball passed through his defences to dislodge the middle-stump. The wicket of Daniel Sams, summed up bowling figures of 4-1-14-4, very much worthy of delivering in playoffs.

Ishan Kishan – 99 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Keeper-batsman Ishan Kishan stayed out of the team for the first few matches of IPL 2020 for reasons unknown as Saurabh Tiwary took his place. But Ishan Kishan was going to play at some stage and when he did, he announced himself undroppable moving forward. The talented left-handed batsman brought the Mumbai Indians back from the dead in a match they could have lost massively.

In response to AB De Villiers’ assault that lifted the Royal Challengers to 201, the defending champions’ four of their top five could not even reach 20. It came down to Kieron Pollard’s power-hitting with Ishan Kishan playing the support role. However, Kishan was the anchor in that chase, slamming nine sixes in a knock of 99 from 58 deliveries.

At the other end, Pollard kept clearing the boundaries at will, taking Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa for a ride. In retrospect, the latter should have had the West Indian’s wicket earlier had Pawan Negi not dropped him. Nevertheless, Kishan could not get to the magical three-figure score but managed to bring the super over into play.

Despite overcoming most of the odds that night, Royal Challengers Bangalore held their nerve to win the enticing super over battle. AB De Villiers and captain Virat Kohli negated the yorker machine Jasprit Bumrah, scoring the required eight runs for the victory.

Ben Stokes – 107* vs Mumbai Indians:

Ben Stokes arrived into the match under plenty of pressure being one of the highest-paid cricketers and having to show too much for it. Pundits called for Stokes to move down the order or make way for David Miller into the eleven; however, Rajasthan Royals stuck with him at the top. It was in this game that the management’s decision to persist with him as the opener paid off.

The England all-rounder, who opened with Robin Uthappa, lost his partner early in a steep chase of 196. But he kept up and running, carting Trent Boult for four boundaries in an over. Steve Smith’s departure was a blessing in disguise as it brought Sanju Samson to the crease with whom Stokes sealed a match-winning unbeaten stand of 152.

The southpaw played some outrageous strokes on the way to his second IPL hundred. Ben Stokes reached the ton with a six in the mid-wicket region off James Pattinson’s bowling. Rajasthan Royals got to Mumbai Indians’ total of 196 with more than an over and eight wickets to spare.

Varun Chakravarthy – 4-0-20-5 vs Delhi Capitals:

It was indeed a long time coming performance from Varun Chakravarthy. Varun Chakravarthy’s struggles to pursue a career in cricket were finally paying off as he landed in a deal with Kings XI Punjab for the first time in 2018. Despite not undergoing an impressive outing, Kolkata Knight Riders stood up for him ahead of IPL 2020.

He was a much-improved bowler this year, fulfilling the role of picking wickets and curbing the run-flow. Perhaps, Varun’s best of the lot came against the Capitals, who the Knight Riders had to defeat and had 194 to defend. The leggie hit the top gear by accounting for Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, and Axar Patel. The 29-year old ended the season with 17 wickets.

KL Rahul – 132* vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore single-handedly with the bat as he muscled the highest score in IPL 2020. KL Rahul paced his innings perfectly as the Royal Challengers’ bowlers suffered a nightmare outing across facets, capped by Virat Kohli’s torrid time, reprieving his counterpart twice.

Kings XI Punjab smashed 80 runs in the last five overs as the captain batted through the innings, becoming the first centurion of the edition, hammering 14 fours and seven sixes in a 69-ball knock. Dale Steyn bore the most, conceding runs at 14.25 in four overs as the opposition stormed to 206. In a 97-run loss of the three-time finalists, Washington Sundar was the top run-scorer with 30. Eventually, with 670 runs, Rahul became the leading run-scorer of the edition.

Also Read: Top 5 Uncapped Batsmen With Most Runs In An IPL Season