Virat Kohli, Sunil Narine to open in IPL 2024's team of the tournament. Checkout the players who made the cut in playing XI.
IPL 2024 was a roaring success although the bat dominated the ball in most matches. There were multiple scores above the 200-run mark and a few that surpassed 250 as well. There were a few records set in powerplay and a record target chased down with ease. Also, there were a few bowling spells that left fans spellbound. Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Mitchell Starc’s ‘ball of the tournament’ to dismiss Abhishek Sharma of SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final will be remembered for long.
Here is the team of the tournament comprising players who were the top performers during the season. (Please note that the XI is chosen on the basis of their performances at their respective positions during the tournament)
Openers – Virat Kohli, Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine of KKR and Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are the openers of this XI. While Narine’s batting was the highlight of the season as he decimated every bowling attack that came his way, we saw Kohli in a new avatar as he played at the best strike rate (154.70) of his IPL career. Kohli also emerged as the highest run-getter of the tournament; while Narine bagged the Most Valuable Player award, making an impact with both bat and ball.
Virat Kohli scored 741 runs from 15 games, with an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69, including 5 fifties and 1 hundred. Meanwhile, Sunil Narine had a strike rate of 180.75 in the same number of games, amassing 488 runs at an average of 34.85. Narine also scored his maiden IPL hundred along with three fifties this season.
No 3: Sanju Samson (captain)
Sanju Samson is the designated No 3 and the captain of this XI as he performed this role to perfection for his franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR). At No 3, he anchored the innings, mixing caution with aggression and even finished off chases, leading Rajasthan to the play-offs. Samson had the best season as a batter in his IPL career. His leadership was of the highest quality as he brought the best out of his players and even led from the front.
Unlike in previous seasons, Sanju Samson had his first 500+ run season. He smashed 531 runs from 16 games, with an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.46, including 5 fifties.
No 4: Riyan Parag
It is heartening to see Riyan Parag finally live up to his and his fans’ expectations. Just like his skipper Samson, Parag too had the best season of his career. Given a fixed spot at No 4, Parag was a revelation during the season as he made crucial fifties to help Rajasthan bag the No 1 spot for the first half of the season. He showed his maturity as a cricketer with his big hitting, shot selection, running between the wickets and playing according to the match situation.
Riyan Parag had a stunning season with the bat, scoring 573 runs from 16 games at an average of 52.09, including 4 fifties, and striking at 149.21.
No 5: Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran was the glue that held Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) middle-order together. He batted with great maturity, steadying the ship in the company of lower-order batters and donning the aggressor’s role to give the total a final flourish or finish off chases. He saved his best for the last when he cracked a 29-ball 75 against Mumbai Indians (MI). Pooran too had the best season of his IPL career.
Nicholas Pooran emerged as the best middle-order batter this season, scoring 499 runs from 14 games at a whopping average of 62.37 and a strike rate of 178.21.
No 6: Andre Russell
A lot of credit for Kolkata’s success in IPL 2024 goes to their all-rounder Andre Russell. It was the presence of Russell in the lower-order that gave Kolkata’s top-order the liberty to go berserk in the powerplay and middle-overs. Whenever Russell got his chance to bat, he freed his arms to go for the kill, striking at 185. But it was his bowling that was a revelation as he emerged as the second highest-wicket taker for Kolkata with 19 wickets. He took three wickets in the final to stop Hyderabad from making a late comeback, bowling them out cheaply.
Andre Russell played his role to perfection this season, taking 19 wickets from 15 games and scoring 222 runs at a strike rate of 185.00.
No 7: Tristan Stubbs (wicketkeeper)
Tristan Stubbs was playing his third-straight IPL season. However, it was the 2024 season where he made spectators sit and take notice of his talent. He smacked at a strike rate of 190.91, the fourth highest among batters who at least played 11 innings during the tournament. He was the rescuer for Delhi Capitals (DC) on a few occasions. He also got his team closer to Mumbai’s total of 234 at Wankhede with a knock of 71* in 25 balls. He played another blinder - a 25-ball 57* against Lucknow at Delhi - in a winning total of 208/4.
Stubbs made this season count by striking at 190.90 in the middle and lower order, averaging 54.00 and scoring 378 runs from 14 matches.
No 8: Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy was the star spinner for Kolkata, ably supported by Narine at the other end. He bowled at tight line and length and into the stumps, giving little room for batters to have a go at him. His economy rate of 8.04 was the third best after Bumrah and his mate Narine among top 15 wicket-takers in IPL 2024. With Chakravarthy’s variations and Narine at the other end, opposition batters had no escape in the middle-overs against Kolkata.
Varun Chakravarthy remained the middle-overs backbone for KKR this season, taking 21 wickets from 15 games at an average of 19.14.
No 9: Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah had a successful IPL 2024 season after missing the previous edition due to a back injury. However, he didn’t get enough support at the other end. He was mostly waging a lone battle with the ball for Mumbai. His quality, variations, control and discipline saw him emerge as the third highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 20 wickets even though his team ended last in the table.
Bumrah was the sole silver lining in MI's poor campaign this season, taking 20 wickets at a stellar average of 16.80 and an economy rate of 6.48.
No 10: Trent Boult
Every time Trent Boult came out to bowl in the powerplay, he looked to take a wicket. His incoming delivery to the right-handed batters was the most dangerous. He swung the ball late with good pace. He was also difficult to score off as Bengaluru found out in the Eliminator where Boult had figures of 1/6 in 3 overs of the powerplay.
Trent Boult's early-over breakthroughs were the talk of IPL 2024. He took 16 wickets for Rajasthan at an average of 27.68.
No 11: Harshit Rana
Harshit Rana was the find of the tournament as he made his presence felt even when Kolkata’s XI had a world-class bowler in Mitchell Starc. Rana was spot on with his line, length and variations. He didn’t give much room for batters to have a go at him. His full-length out-swinging delivery to get Nitish Reddy out in the final was one of the best balls he bowled in the tournament.
22-years-old Harshit Rana had a wonderful season with 19 wickets from 13 games at an average of 20.15.
Team of the IPL 2024: Sunil Narine, Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson (captain), Riyan Parag, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Tristan Stubbs (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Harshit Rana
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