A line-up of the best individual performances this season that went in vain
Gaurav Sundararaman18-May-2018ESPNcricinfo LtdRishabh Pant’s 128 of 63 balls against Sunrisers HyderabadComing in to bat in the fourth over, Pant had to negotiate some tough conditions, facing the best bowling attack in the tournament on a tricky pitch. At the end of ten overs, Daredevils were 52 for 3. He began his onslaught from the 12th over, scoring three boundaries off Rashid Khan. Pant’s first 26 balls yielded just 30 runs while the next 37 balls got him 98 runs. Pant went on to make the highest score by an Indian batsman in T20 cricket, and did it by scoring 70 runs off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid, from just 24 balls. In all these years, no one has hit them for more in an IPL game. He smashed Bhuvneshwar for 43 off just 11 balls – the most by any batsman against him in a T20 game.However, as the match progressed and the pitch became easier for batting, Sunrisers chased down the target of 187 with seven balls to spare, losing just one wicket. In a match where every other Daredevils batsman struggled, Pant’s innings was worth 43 extra runs according to Smart Stats, ESPNcricinfo’s new metrics for T20 cricket.ESPNcricinfo LtdKL Rahul’s twin 90sKL Rahul has scored 33% of the runs Kings XI Punjab have made, en route to topping this season’s batting charts (as of May 17). In the first half of the tournament, his runs largely came in winning causes but the rest of the batting order has failed to support him in the second half of the season. Against Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI were chasing 159 and against Mumbai, they were chasing 186.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe chases panned out in contrasting manners, with Rahul being the fulcrum both times. Against Royals, Kings XI lost early wickets and were behind the game from the second over while against Mumbai they were in a dominant position until the 17th over and then fell short. The common strand in both the games was Rahul batting almost till the end of the innings with very little support from the other end.ESPNcricinfo LtdKane Williamson’s 81 off 42 balls against Royal Challengers BangaloreSunrisers’ strength has been their bowling, but over the last three games, their bowlers have been below par, conceding huge totals and letting opposition batsmen get away. Their top order, as a result, has had to rise to the occasion. While they did manage to canter to victory against Delhi, they failed to close out another steep chase against RCB. Having lost only three wickets, it was expected that Sunrisers would cross the line. It was the brilliance of Kane Williamson that got them close to what could have been a record IPL chase.Williamson’s eighth fifty of the season came at a phenomenal strike rate of 192.85, his personal best while chasing in T20s (minimum 10 balls faced). However, as the chase approached the final overs, Williamson got little time at the striker’s end, facing just eight balls in the five overs prior to his dismissal, leading to some lost momentum. His innings was proof once again that one does not need the power game to be successful in this format, as he stuck to his strengths: playing the ball as late as possible with deft touches and identifying gaps in the field. Williamson’s consistency has been remarkable this season, but this was one instance where he could not get his team past the line.ESPNcricinfo Ltd MS Dhoni’s 79* from 44 balls against Kings XI Punjab Chasing 198, MS Dhoni arrived at the crease as early as the seventh with three wickets down for 56 runs. The master chaser decided to arrest the flow of wickets and scored 31 runs in his first 25 balls. With the run rate required close to 16 runs an over, Kings XI managed to keep Dhoni off strike in the 16th over. Chennai needed 67 runs from the last four overs, and Dhoni managed to hit just one boundary in the 17th over off Andrew Tye. By doing so, he might have delayed the onslaught by an over, which proved to be the difference in the end.In the next three overs, Dhoni smashed 41 runs from 14 deliveries against Tye and Mohit Sharma. However, it was not enough. Although they lost this game, Dhoni has since timed his hitting to perfection, guiding CSK to an improbable chase against RCB a few days later in Bengaluru.
