IPL 2024 Weekly Digest: Biggest hits and flops so far. Gujarat's inconsistent batting is one of the flops while Ravindra Jadeja and Sunil Narine's all-round show some of the hits from the last week.
IPL 2024 is nearing the business end and the performances are moving a level up. The week between April 29-May 5 saw some great thrilling finishes, while a few players roared back to form. Here’s a look at the biggest hits and flops of IPL 2024 from April 29-May 5.
Biggest Hits from IPL 2024 So far
Marcus Stoinis’ 1/19, 62 against MI
Bowling in powerplay could be a nightmare for bowlers especially against the strong batting line-up of Mumbai Indians (MI). But Marcus Stoinis of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) passed the test with flying colours. He bowled three overs in powerplay, and conceded just 19 runs and dismissed the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav. This brilliant spell from Stoinis helped Lucknow restrict Mumbai to 28/4 in powerplay.Â
Later, Stoinis led the chase of 145 with a brilliant knock of 62 off 45 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. He came to bat in the first over itself after Lucknow lost their opener Arshin Kulkarni for a golden duck. Stoinis stitched a 58-run stand with his skipper KL Rahul. He held the innings together and departed when the game was almost done and dusted. A sensible knock of 14-ball 14 not out from Nicholas Pooran saw Lucknow through, but it was Stoinis’ 62 that laid the foundation of the tricky chase.
Siraj’s 2/29, Faf’s 64 vs GT
Mohammed Siraj was having a forgettable IPL season until he roared back to form in the clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Bengaluru. Siraj, who is known for his early strikes, was struggling with his rhythm throughout the season. But the good bowling conditions in Bengaluru helped him find his groove back. He dismissed Gujarat openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill for single digits, and restricted the opponents to 23/3 in powerplay. The early wickets helped the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to bowl out Gujarat for 147.Â
Later, captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with an attacking knock of a 23-ball 64 with 10 fours and 3 sixes to stitch a match-winning stand of 92 runs for the opening wicket with Virat Kohli in 5.5 overs. This big stand helped RCB cushion the collapse of 6 for 25 later and chase down the target in the 14th over. Faf’s hitting was impressive. The pitch had bounce and carry, but he judged it correctly to unleash some of the biggest hits of the match.
Read More: IPL 2024, RCB vs GT, Key Takeaways: Brisk knocks by Du Plessis, Kohli & pacers' returns help RCB win
Jadeja’s 43, 3/20 against PBKS
Ravindra Jadeja is known to raise his game in critical matches. And he did just that in the clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Chennai Super Kings (CSK) needed two points from the match, and Jadeja produced an all-round display to win the match for his team.Â
First, coming to bat at No 4, he provided the innings some much needed momentum with a knock of a 26-ball 43 with 3 fours and 2 sixes. Later, he took three vital wickets for just 20 runs to stop Punjab big-hitters from running away with the game. He dismissed the dangerous Prabhsimran Singh who was looking good for his 23-ball 30. He also took the wickets of Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma to ensure there was no late fightback from Punjab.Â
Read More: IPL 2024, PBKS vs CSK, Key Takeaways: Jadeja rises as key differentiator with 3-20 & 43(26); CSK win
Narine’s 81, 1/22 against LSG
It has been a season where Sunil Narine is rediscovering himself as a batter. Promoted as an opener, Narine is throwing caution to the wind, and playing ruthless attacking shots to send good balls to the boundary. For Narine, the conditions, the bowler’s reputation, the bowling attack are irrelevant as he reacts to balls that are in his arc and smacks them to the boundary.Â
However, there are no wild slogs, but proper cricketing shots. Hence, watching Narine bat makes it quite entertaining. It was another selfless knock from Narine when he struck 81 off 39 balls with 6 fours and 7 sixes against Lucknow. Narine’s knock helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) reach 140 in just 12 overs, and make a match-winning score of 235/6. Later, Narine bowled a tight spell of 1/22 to choke Lucknow who lost the match by 98 runs.
Read More: IPL 2024, LSG vs KKR, Key Takeaways: Flawless KKR rise to the top; clueless LSG slip to no. 5
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 3/41
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were defending 201 on a batting beauty on their home ground. They needed a few quick wickets to make a match of it. Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced a magical first over when he dismissed the dangerous Jos Buttler for a golden duck. Bhuvi got the ball to swing a little and Buttler went hard at it only to edge it to slips.Â
Later, Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson was bowled through the gates via an inswinging delivery from Bhuvi. However, Bhuvi staged the biggest turnaround when he dismissed Rovman Powell LBW off a full toss when 2 runs were needed off the last ball, winning a thriller for his team by just a run.Â
Read More: IPL 2024, SRH vs RR, Key Takeaways: Bhuvneshwar Kumar clinches win for SRH with last ball dismissal
Biggest flops from IPL 2024 So far
Gujarat’s inconsistent batting
Gujarat Titans has been languishing at the bottom of the table, and a lot of blame rests on their batting unit. Their openers Gill and Saha have not been able to provide good starts, and haven’t yet put a single fifty-plus stand so far for the opening wicket. Saha has been a sitting duck, while Gill has been inconsistent.Â
The middle-order has not been able to score freely as the openers have gone too early. Also, the constant chopping and changing in the middle-order have done more harm than good as batters do not have role clarity. The lower order has too much to do at the end.
Gujarat have struggled both when setting up a total and chasing a target. Overall, batters have not lived up to expectations. In the clash against Bengaluru, it was a collective batting failure as they folded for 147 on a good wicket. And the same pattern of poor starts, innings rebuilding and then perishing to hit out was evident in this match like others.