Warner, Starc in best of IPL 2015

At the halfway mark of the 2015 Indian Premier League, we pick the best XI of the competition so far.

Ajinkya Rahane Rajasthan Royals

Rahane holds of the Orange Cap as the tournament's leading run-scorer and one of the most consistent batsmen around over the seasons. Rahane started off with a duck in the first game against Kings XI Punjab but since then has carved out three fifties and two 40s to take his run tally to 323 runs at an average of more than 50. What adds to Rahane’s batsmanship is the silken touch he exhibits in a format that’s not really known for technically-sound batsmen.

Image Id: ~/media/49F1C6B2EF364D898241A50AA6AB2566

Brendon McCullum Chennai Super Kings

If Rahane is the goldsmith, McCullum can easily be termed as the blacksmith. He loves to flay at everything that comes his way, and that shows up in his strike-rate too – it's at a whopping 177.71, best among batsmen who have scored at least 200 runs this season.

And it’s not as if the over-aggressive style has made it difficult for him to bat long. He has already scored a century and a fifty and is third on the list of top run-getters this season behind Rahane and Warner.

Image Id: ~/media/2539EB923A694E3E814D9DE91A0C1BEF

David Warner Sunrisers Hyderabad

Warner has scored 378 runs from eight games. Warner opens the innings for his Sunrisers Hyderabad, but in this XI he will bat at No.3 behind Rahane and McCullum. He is tasked with one of two roles; either battle it out in case of an early loss of a wicket or go all guns blazing if they have had a good start from the openers. Known to be an aggressor, Warner has batted with a lot less freedom this season because of his team’s middle-order crisis and the expectation that comes with captaincy and yet his strike-rate is more than 150.

Rohit Sharma Mumbai Indians

The Mumbai captain has opened the innings and he’s batted at four in a bid to add depth to his struggling Mumbai Indians. In turn, he has been dismissed for a couple of ducks as well, but that doesn’t prevent us from putting him in this list, having also scored 244 runs from the other five matches. Two fifties, a strike-rate of 155.41, a 40-plus average and some of the cleanest hitting one would see in T20 cricket has made him a batsman to watch this season. The frustration that comes from seeing him fall to silly strokes or the fact that most believe he’s batting a couple of spots below his real position are just minor irritants.

Image Id: ~/media/149DCCD7DBC2430C98CB41CCA246E680

AB de Villiers Royal Challengers Bangalore

The real de Villiers hasn’t stood up so far this tournament. And yet, he averages 39.16 from his seven stints at the crease. Part of the reason has been his batting number – he started off in the competition batting way too low. Now, with captain Virat Kohli showing increased faith in his own capabilities again and opening the innings with Chris Gayle, he’s pushed de Villiers up to No.3. That should allow the South African even more time and as a result, a chance to add to three 40s and a half-century in the tournament so far. Oh, and did we tell you he’s been striking them at 162.06 in the competition already.

JP Duminy Delhi Daredevils

Duminy is one of our two all-rounders in the side. With 220 runs from seven games at 44 and seven wickets at 11.28, he has clearly played that role to perfection for the Delhi Daredevils. Add to this the fact he’s also captained the Daredevils to three wins already this season and you get a near-perfect combination. Unfortunately for Duminy, the Daredevils didn’t start off too well but have, thanks to his all-round skills, turned a corner and notched up four wins from their last six games.

Image Id: ~/media/C889BD22E08A49FAA4D159D240269C0C

Andre Russell Kolkata Knight Riders

Chris Gayle hasn’t really fired this season but fellow Jamaican Russell has ensured his country is adequately represented in this line-up. Among batsmen who have scored more than 125 runs in the tournament, his strike-rate of 198.27 is the best so far - and he’s scored 230 runs at 57.50. He’s also picked up eight wickets at 22.4 with an economy of 7.54, which is a huge improvement on how he goes otherwise as well.

Most importantly, two of his knocks have resulted in Kolkata winning the game; they have also grabbed him a man-of-the-match award.

Imran Tahir Delhi Daredevils

The tussle for the Purple Cap for the most wickets has been a tough one and one of the early contenders has been leg-spinner Imran Tahir. The South African, who finished off the World Cup last month with 15 wickets at 21.53 and an economy of a mere 4.23, has already had some happy times in the IPL. 13 wickets at 18.53 for him so far in the IPL and even when he gets hit, he has been able to come back and pick up wickets. It’s a loose comparison but Tahir is doing for the Delhi Daredevils what Sunil Narine has done for the Knight Riders through the previous seasons.

Image Id: ~/media/7157C3BBC49F4586BF5D339189D49ADA

Ashish Nehra Delhi Daredevils

The other bowler with 13 wickets and a chance to go all the way and wear the Purple Cap even at the end of the tournament, Ashish Nehra. Nehra has picked up two man-of-the-match awards and could have easily made it three out of three when he broke the Bangalore chase of 181 on a flat pitch with a four-wicket haul. The adjudicators gave it to a batsman.

And apart from having scalped the same number of wickets as Tahir, what else does Nehra have in common with Tahir? They are both 36. Yep, age is but a number.

Mitchell Starc Royal Challengers Bangalore

A late entrant into the competition but he has single-handedly changed the fortunes of his side. In the three matches he’s played he has been rewarded with sevenwickets and a MoM award, to go with providing his side with the intangible benefit of generally lifting the levels of bowling. Since he came back into the side, Bangalore have conceded 181, 130 and 95 in three games and a lot of credit must go to the man-of-the-tournament from the 2015 World Cup.

He’s still some way off the Purple Cap but his control over the white ball has almost been scary – for the batsmen – and he could just be the player who leads Bangalore into the playoffs.

Image Id: ~/media/55147F895E5147CABEA1865BA49F47FD

Sandeep Sharma Kings XI Punjab or Yuzvendra Chahal Royal Challengers Bangalore

Will pick one of them depending on the pitch. If it’s a grassy track and the game’s being played under lights where the ball could hoop around, Sandeep will be my selection. Chahal will make it to the side on the slower, lower and more turning pitches.

While Sandeep has only nine wickets from eight games, his economy of 6.06 is the best among bowlers who have picked up at least five wickets and played at least five games. Chahal has been hit for 7.77 but that’s because his captain Virat Kohli has used him as an aggressive option and encouraged him to take wickets – he’s got 10 wickets at a measly 14.9.

What happened to the rest of the Aussies?

Steve Smith made a decent start to the season for Rajasthan with scores of 33, 10 and 79* but since then, his form has tapered away. Only 60 runs have come from four innings for him and he will hope the second half of the season will be a better one for him.

Rajasthan captain Shane Watson made a late start to the season because of an injury and while he had scores of 73 and 45 in his first two games, he’s failed to convert his 20s in his next two. That and the fact that he’s picked up just one wicket from five games means he needs to do a lot more to make the best XI line-up.

James Faulkner had a bright start to the tournament, managing to scoop up the man-of-the-match award in Rajasthan’s opening win for his all-round showing but it was followed by bowling prolificacy. His four wickets in the tournament have come at 60 apiece and he’s given away almost 10 an over.

Punjab’s Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell have had an even poorer season by their standards. Maxwell admitted he was finding it difficult to settle back after the high of winning the World Cup, and in the five chances he’s got so far, he’s made just 62 runs. Johnson has eight wickets from seven games but has gone for 9.05 an over.

However George Bailey has been good for Punjab, leading the team's runs tally with 205 at 34.16, while Shaun Marsh has scored 81 runs from his four innings, including a match-winning 65. 

Nathan Coulter-Nile has been the best among the rest and slowly improved to the point where he picked up a four-for but in the games we have considered - the first 30 of the season - he had just six wickets from seven games and that’s why he misses out.

Moises Henriques has played three matches for Sunrisers, scoring 56 runs at 28 and taking four wickets at 14.75, with an economy rate of 6.55.

For Kolkata, Brad Hogg has played three matches, taking six wickets at an average of 7.00, including a brilliant four-wicket haul against Chennai, while Pat Cummins has just the one wicket from three appearances.