IPL 2022 has reached its final stage. This competition got nerve-wracking with new teams, new players, new playstyles and tactics. The buzz that started with the mega auction earlier this year is still going on. Audiences have witnessed a totally unexpected action this season as all the teams went on a rampage. Who would have thought that two new franchises, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Supergiants, would make it into the top four? Surpassing everybody’s expectations, the new franchises had a phenomenal season. Surprisingly, the biggest teams reserved the last seats in the points table. The 70 league stage matches were a hell of a ride for cricket fans all over the world.
In other words, the highlight of this season is the two new teams. In particular, Gujarat. Everybody has the least expectations of this team, but this team has enjoyed the most success in league stage matches than any other team. The Gujarat Titans stood as the table toppers in their league state and advanced to the qualifiers. Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rashid Khan, and Rahul Tewatia have each stood out in the team. The last overs matches won by Gujarat have been the highlight of this season. In most matches, the sinking boat was also lifted up and brought ashore. Hardik Pandya’s captaincy potential has also come out this season.
Another newbie is Lucknow Supergiants, KL. Rahul was named as the skipper of the Lucknow franchise. The team stood third in the points table and fell behind in the eliminator against RCB. To the surprise of the new teams, Chennai and Mumbai, the two most successful teams in IPL history, have turned expectations upside down. These giant teams have stood at the bottom of the points table to take the worst record in their club histories. The absence of senior players affected Mumbai badly, while an unstable captaincy and no in-form players hurt Chennai’s performance.
With Gujarat at the top and Chennai and Mumbai in last place, all the remaining teams battled till the end for play-off chances. Until last week, it was unclear which team would make it into the playoffs. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were on a roll with five wins in a row and stayed in the top two for a while, squatted bizarrely after losing five straight matches. Delhi struggled to keep up the winning streak. Rajasthan, RCB and Punjab also battled it out in the play-offs. At one stage, five teams were tied with 12 points. After that, three teams stood with 14 points. Eventually, the playoff chances heavily shifted to the net run rate. But when Lucknow and Rajasthan won 9 matches each and secured their berth in the playoffs, finally, Mumbai beat Delhi to pave the way for RCB. Among the players, Jas Butler, Rahul, Gill, and Warner created sparks with their bats. While Chahal, Umran Malik, Hasaranga, and Bumrah dominated the bowling units.
No matter how the matches went, some young players created a sensation this time. This young talent assured the future of Indian cricket. The Jammu Express Umran Malik’s terrifying speed of over 150kmph has caused serious problems for the batter. He set the record for the second fastest ball in IPL history with his 157kmph against the Punjab Kings. Impressed by Umran’s performance, the BCCI selectors roped him into the national team for the upcoming series against South Africa. Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi of the Hyderabad team flooded the runs for the team. In the absence of Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Chaudhary was the key bowler for Chennai. Rinku Singh has shone for Kolkata this season. Tilak Verma has shown his batting talent in the Mumbai team, and RCB player Rajat Patidar’s century is a clean IPL classic. Rajat Patidar made a huge statement to the selectors and bidders with his century, as he initially went unsold in the auction. More than 10 youngsters like Aayush Badoni, Mosin Khan in Lucknow, Raman Deep Singh in Mumbai, Sai Sudarshan, Abhinav Manohar, and Yash Dayal in Gujarat are the promising talents for the national team in upcoming years.
