As we head towards the final of the Indian Premier League, we have a cracker of a contest lined up for tonight. It has been an extremely brilliant season although one sided at times. While teams like RCB and GL never really showed up, other teams like MI and KKR were on top of the table almost throughout the season. SRH have also been good although they have been dependent on a couple of individuals mostly. KXIP and DD tried, but their efforts were not enough. However, the surprise package was RPS who came from behind and grabbed a spot in the Final before anyone could realize what had happened. As we gear up for the Maharashtra derby, here’s a look at the Five players to look out for in the IPL Final.
5) RAHUL TRIPATHI (RPS)
This Maharashtra player has arguably been the most impressive youngster in this season of the Indian Premier League. He has given Pune some explosive starts throughout the tournament. Rahul has been absolutely brilliant with the bat and is 9th on the Orange Cap list with 388 runs in the 13 matches he played. He made a record when he scored 6 consecutive 30+ scores which gave the RPS a very good start.
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He has scored 2 50s and he made a huge impression when he scored 93 off just 52 balls hitting 9 fours and 7 sixes against KKR at the Mecca of cricket, Eden Gardens enabling RPS to chase down 155 and win the match. With a decent average of almost 30 and a huge strike rate of 149.80, Tripathi has been a huge asset for his team this year. Although he has failed to get runs in the last 3-4 matches, Tripathi would be looking to make a big impact in the Final and help RPS cross the line and win the trophy in possibly its last match. On another note, what’s with so many Rahuls making huge impacts for their teams? It does augur well for Indian cricket.
4) KARN SHARMA (MI)
Karn Sharma has only played 8 matches this season out of the 16 played by Mumbai Indians. However, he has made a huge contribution to the Mumbai team by bowling really well and also helping the team with the bat lower down the order. With the bat, he has a strike rate of 133.33 which is very impressive for a bowling all-rounder. He has made the most amount of impact with the ball though. With his performances, he has kept veteran Harbhajan Singh out of the playing XI which is a huge achievement.
In just 8 matches, Karn has picked up 13 wickets at a spectacular average of 15.07 with an economy of just 7.35. He has made the difference to the Mumbai Indians bowling in the last few matches. He specially made an impact in the 2nd Qualifier against KKR in which he snapped up his best bowling figures of 4/16 which earned him the Man of the Match award. Jayawardena and Co. would be hoping for another brilliant spell by Karn at Hyderabad tonight. The best part is that Karn Sharma is probably in the best form of his life thus far. Another match-winning spell would definitely help MI lift the cup a record 3rd time.
3) MANOJ TIWARY (RPS)
This spot was a direct toss-up between Steve Smith and Manoj Tiwary. The latter just makes the cut because of the several impactful performances by him in this IPL. This man was ignored in 2016 when none of the teams picked him. However, the Bengal batsman made a strong statement when he turned up for the RPS this season. Used mostly as a floater in the line-up, Manoj impressed one and all at every position. In a few matches, he was sent in as low as No.7 but he finished off the innings in style.
He has got a promotion to No. 4 off late and has been splendid in this role as well as he has stabilized the middle-order. After the departure of Ben Stokes, Manoj has filled in the big shoes with ease as he scored a brilliant 58 in the qualifier which was also the highest score of the match. He formed an important partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni to give a good finish to the RPS innings on an unusually very tough wicket at Wankhede. This performance earned him his 4th FBB Stylish Player of the Match Award. Only Gautam Gambhir has this many Stylish Player of the Match awards.
Although he is on the 19th spot on the Orange Cap list, this is mostly because of his batting position. He has scored 317 runs in 12 innings at a brilliant average of 35.22 and a spectacular strike rate of almost 140. Tiwary has been the unlucky man of Indian cricket who missed out on a regular spot in the Indian team due to a huge number of injuries at the wrong time and some favouritism prevelant in the dressing room as he didn’t get to play a game for India for 2 years after scoring a match-winning century. He has put all that behind him and has made a strong mark in this IPL and Tiwary would definitely like to light up the Final once again and win RPS the trophy just like he won KKR the trophy with a boundary off the last ball in 2012. This man is one for the big occasions surely.
2) JASPRIT BUMRAH (MI)
Jasprit Bumrah has slowly but surely turned into one of the best limited overs pacer of India. He has been splendid with the ball especially in the death where his yorkers are almost impossible to play. He showed his skill in the super over against GL wherein he helped MI defend 11 runs inspite of bowling a wide and a no ball against batsmen like McCullum and Finch. Bumrah has also got some variations which have helped him pick up wickets at crucial junctures. He has been a huge asset for the Rohit Sharma led team in this IPL as well as in previous seasons.
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He is 4th on the Purple Cap list with 18 scalps in 15 matches at a mindblowing average of 23.22 and a super impressive economy of just 7.42. His strike rate of 18.77 has been applauded by legends of the game who have called him the biggest find of Mumbai Indians and India. Bumrah would love to play to the best of his capabilities tonight and help the Mumbai Indians add a 3rd star on their jersey. With the best bowling figures of 3/7, Bumrah certainly has the capacity to turn a match on its head. With veteran Malinga guiding this young 23 year old boy from Gujarat, Indian cricket might just be the ultimate beneficiary with the Champions trophy around the corner.
1) JAYDEV UNADKAT (RPS)
Jaydev Unadkat was initially not a part of the playing XI of the RPS team. However, continuous failures from Ashoke Dinda and Deepak Chahar helped Unadkat get a spot in the squad and he left no stone unturned to grab the opportunity with both hands. The Unadkat we have seen this season is very different from previous seasons. He has really worked on his bowling and his efforts have brought him the laurels. Earning praises from world class bowlers, Unadkat has been on a roll and is 2nd on the Purple Cap list with 22 wickets in 11 matches and is second to only Bhuvneshwar Kumar. A 5 wicket haul tonight may see Unadkat win the Purple Cap this season.
He has picked up a fine hat-trick and his best bowling figure this season is 5/30. Unadkat recently stated that it was Wasim Akram in the KKR camp in the past seasons who taught him how to swing the ball and he is the bowler that he is today because of Wasim. The Pakistani legend has helped plenty of pacers from across the world over the years including Indians like Mohammad shami and Umesh Yadav who are all world class bowlers today. Unadkat may soon reach their level as the selectors will definitely be keeping an eye for this left arm seamer.
Although he wasn’t able to make it to the Champions Trophy squad, Unadkat would be hopeful for a national comeback soon. With the 4th best average in the tournament (13.77) and an economy rate of only 7.24, we can safely assume that Jaydev Unadkat will have a huge impact tonight in the Final. He may just be instrumental in RPS lifting the trophy for the first and possibly, the last time.
