IPL MVPs part two - the middle overs

The best players in each season of the IPL

Welcome back to part two of our IPL MVP series.

If you haven’t read part one, go head off and read about the time Rahul Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Cameron White and Anil Kumble ruled the IPL. 

But let us get on with the IPL’s middle overs. 

2013 

In 2013, Chris Gayle carried on from where he left off in the last 2 seasons. He has arguably had the greatest peak by a top-order bat in IPL history. Not really a surprise to see him on the top right of the chart. Virat Kohli & Mike Hussey produced pretty good numbers for top-order anchor-type batters.

David Miller had his best IPL season with Punjab. He was on top of the charts for both true average and strike rate. Really weird to think back and realise that for quite a few years he just couldn’t do stuff like this.  The CSK duo of Dhoni & Raina sustained their brilliance. De Villiers delivered yet another world-class season for RCB, being the second-quickest batter of the season on true strike rate. Aaron Finch had a pretty good season as well, something we probably wouldn’t have discovered from raw stats alone. He never was consistent, but he had years. 

Sunil Narine was the most economical bowler of the season by a comfortable margin. Steyn and Faulkner were the most economical pacers. Faulkner was probably the most impactful bowler of the season, being among the best on both our metrics. His career arc was such a shame. His knee injury affects his bowling, and he went from a T20 hitter of incredible power to basically the best strike rotator ever. Then there is Bravo and Mohit Sharma, who took a lot of wickets and did not concede too many runs. 

But let’s talk about Shane Watson here. He batted in the top three and bowled in all three phases of the game. He checks all four boxes - true average, strike rate, wickets & economy. If you’re getting so much out of just one player, he’s got to be the most valuable asset of your team. It is his second ridiculous season. 

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