The year 2020 is sure to leave its mark. This was the year in which positives were few and far. Dullness aside, let us focus on the positives and recall the cricketers who will remember the year when they left their mark on the cricketing fraternity for the first time.Kyle JamiesonA tall fast bowler can send chills to batsman facing. If someone is six-feet-eight-inch tall &ndash; the tallest ever for New Zealand - he is an embodiment of intimidation. Add to it the ability to frustrate the opposition with the bat in the lower order and you have a player for the ages.If this was a usual year, Kyle Jamieson would have been the front runner for the ICC emerging player of the year award. Taking to international cricket like fish to water, he was the man of the match on his ODI debut against India. He stitched an unbeaten 76-run partnership with Ross Taylor and came back to take two handy wickets.&nbsp;Jamieson was even more impressive on his Test debut against the same side. In the first innings, he had the best figures in the attack that included Tim Southee and Trent Boult. The first of his four scalps was the Indian captain Virat Kohli. With the bat, he put up 71 runs for the eighth wicket with Colin de Grandhomme, scoring a hard-fought 44 to help the Kiwis build a decisive lead.In the second Test, Jamieson went a step ahead and took a five-for in the first innings. While batting, &nbsp;his knock of 49 helped New Zealand end up with 235, just seven short of India&rsquo;s first innings total after reeling at 153/7 when he walked in to bat. His efforts earned him the man of the match award in Tests as well.Jamieson followed these up with impressive performances against West Indies &ndash; when he scored a half-century and took a five-for in alternate Tests - and the recently concluded Test against Pakistan. &nbsp;Having played just five Tests, he was the third-highest wicket-taker in 2020 with 25 scalps which came at an average better than any other bowler with 10 or more wickets in the year.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fd7ad8af45dd2ea54759b1764a74f5c2427d0b4c7.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">It will be interesting to see how his career evolves given Jamieson has not played outside New Zealand yet. He was in their squad during their whitewash in Australia last year. We can only speculate if New Zealand missed a good opportunity to intimidate the Aussies.T NatarajanComing from a humble background and a town unheard of has all the recipes for a great story. The distance that T Natarajan has covered in 2020, he seems like an overnight success. The reality is far from it.Hindered by a suspect action and elbow surgery, Natarajan spent his initial years &ndash; also the prime years for a fast bowler &ndash; being uncertain about his future in professional cricket. &nbsp;Impressive performance with a re-modelled action in the Tamil Nadu Premier League earned him his place back in the Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy team for the 2016/17 season.After representing Kings XI Punjab in the IPL in 2017, Natarajan missed the rest of the domestic season with an elbow injury. Picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the 2018 season, he did not play a game for two seasons. Then, the year 2020 changed his life forever.Grabbing eye-balls from every nook and corner, Natarajan ended the 2020 season of the IPL with 16 wickets at an economy of eight. What got everyone&rsquo;s attention was his prowess with the yorker. In the tournament, he bowled more than two times the number of yorkers than the guy who is the best at it in the country.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F27797cff20b8f5f7235ba83c2bfdfaa5b034b2f1.png" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">His IPL performances resulted in him travelling as a net bowler with the touring Indian side to Australia. In a reversal of fortune, injuries to the first-choice bowlers earned him well-deserved opportunities in the two white-ball formats. His ODI debut in the third game of the series helped India alter their one-dimensional bowling attack and get their first win of the tour. He was more comfortable in the T20I series which he finished as the leading wicket-taker. The impressive quality about him was his ability to learn new skills as he added slower bowls and bouncers to his armoury.&nbsp;Natarajan&rsquo;s story once again highlights what the franchise level T20 tournaments can unearth. Talking about his journey in a video put up by the Sunrisers, he said - &ldquo;My only aim was to play for Tamil Nadu. Set small goals and try to achieve them. The bigger will start following you&rdquo;. If the reports are right, he is set to start the New Year as the 299th Test player for India.Zak CrawleySometimes, first-class numbers can be misleading. England&rsquo;s constant search of an opener led them to select a player with a first-class average of 31.27 for their tour to New Zealand in 2019. But, even with a low first-class average, Zak Crawley had two impressive centuries against quality bowling attacks in the 2019 County Championship. &nbsp;Selected as a reserve opener for Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, Crawley got an opportunity to debut against New Zealand as a replacement for injured Jos Buttler. He batted at number six and scored one run in the only innings he batted in then.&nbsp;It was the year 2020 when Crawley batted at the top of the order and registered the second-highest individual score for England&rsquo;s number three. During England&rsquo;s tour to South Africa next, Crawley got an opportunity to open due to Burns&rsquo; injury after the first Test. In the fourth and final Test of the series, he scored his maiden half-century while putting up the first-century opening stand for England since December 2016.Getting to play at home after the COVID hiatus, he kept improving on his best-score while playing pleasing strokes. His uncomplicated technique was a refreshing sight in England&rsquo;s unorthodox top-order. Against the West Indies, he scored a delightful 76 in the first Test but England dropped him in the deciding third Test as they opted to go with five bowlers.&nbsp;Crawley got an opportunity again after Ben Stokes ruled himself out after the first Test against Pakistan. He scored his third half-century in the rain-affected game. It was the third Test when the promise in him reached fruition. In a chanceless 267-run knock he was at the crease for 127.5 overs against a Pakistan bowling attack that covered all bases. Along with Buttler, he stitched a 359-run stand which is England&rsquo;s highest-ever for the fifth wicket and any wicket against Pakistan.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F4135d8fc1a3d319ed22c474a2765e28d232047c9.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Though we are still to witness what he follows that knock with, it ensured that Crawley will be a certainty in England&rsquo;s XI for some time to come. As things stand, he averages 48.41 in Tests and is among those rare players who average higher in Tests than in first-class cricket.

The year 2020 unearthed a few talented cricketers who seem prepared for the long haul

Zak Crawley

Kyle Alex Jamieson

Thangarasu Natarajan

Sunrisers Hyderabad

England

New Zealand

India

The bright young stars in the year of gloom

Australia cricketer-turned-coach Tom Moody was on Tuesday (15 December 2020) appointed as the director of cricket by IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.The 55-year-old Australian was in charge of SRH for seven years till the 2019 season, guiding the team to IPL title in 2016 before he was replaced by England&#39;s World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss in July last year.&quot;@TomMoodyCricket has been appointed as the Director of Cricket for SunRisers Hyderabad. #OrangeArmy #KeepRising,&quot; the franchise announced on its official Twitter handle.During Moody&#39;s seven-year tenure, Sunrisers reached the IPL play-offs five times.In this year&#39;s IPL in the UAE, SRH again reached the play-offs after qualifying third. They lost to Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The 55-year-old Australian was in charge of SRH for seven years till the 2019 season

Thomas Masson Moody

SRH appoint Tom Moody as director of cricket

Suresh Raina, one of the best Indian fielders describes fielding as - &ldquo;You can get a bad ball while you bat, and your bowling may not always be up there, but as a fielder you are completely in control of how well you field&rdquo;. A fielder has the ability to cut short 15-20 runs before his team comes into bat, which is a certain advantage.&nbsp;When speaking about the fielding of a team, it can be spilt into two categories. Firstly, how good has been with their catching, how well have they converted the half chances into opportunities. Secondly, the ground fielding, how many runs have they saved for their team. As mentioned earlier, 15-20 runs saved on the field gives him the extra credit and the confidence when he comes out to bat. &nbsp;In the 2020 edition of IPL, we have witnessed some spectacular saves and stupendous catches taken. Heading towards the end of a unique IPL edition, the first of its kind &ndash; with no audience &ndash; let&rsquo;s decode which team has been the best in saving runs and converting catches.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fe67b6ee1a4c19f54a7001334159d5d86f082d2b4.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Though Kolkata Knight Riders failed to make it to the playoffs, in IPL 2020, they have been the best catching side with 83.6 catch efficiency. Out of the 55 attempts, KKR fielders have put down only nine catches, the lowest by a team.&nbsp;CSK were the second-best team in terms of catching efficiency with 82.4 and they dropped only 12 catches. CSK had a catching efficiency of 57.1 per cent on difficult catches. This is evident enough to say how good they have been in catching terms.Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore have been the two worst teams, though both teams have some gun fielders like Virat Kohli, Rashid Khan and Manish Pandey. Overall, RCB fielders had a catching efficiency of 75 per cent, which is the second-worst among teams and SRH fielders had a catching efficiency of 71.1 per cent, the lowest by a team in IPL 2020. SRH fielders dropped 24 catches, no other team dropped more than 20.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F7c325a7c679767a793dd4d09722b267902dda0fd.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Mumbai Indians&#39; fielders may not have been the best when it comes to catching, but their fielders put their lives down the lane to save runs. The best part about MI fielding has been the ability of their fielders to cut down the runs, especially inside the circle. MI fielders saved 40 runs and gave away only 8 runs inside the circle. No other team saved more than 15 runs. Throughout, MI fielders saved 17 runs which is the most by a team.KXIP fielders are the only ones to not drop sitters, whereas, the rest all have dropped at least one. Their net runs saved comes up to a positive nine runs. KXIP are one of the two teams whose net runs saved are in positive, MI is the other.CSK have been the poorest when it comes to saving runs. The effect of an ageing side was clearly visible, as their fielders leaked 47 runs, which is the most among all teams. The runners-up of IPL 2020, Delhi Capitals have also been sloppy in the field. After CSK, by virtue of leaking 20 runs, DC have been the second-worst fielding team.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fead77fe5b7600d88dfcd425e69e5d61d847ad174.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">It is not just the drops that haunt the team, it is about the impact that comes back as a nightmare. SRH&#39;s catching has been the poorest and the impact of the drops by their fielders resulted in 388 extra runs. The champions, MI conceded 351 runs for their 16 drops, which is the second-most a team has conceded.&nbsp;Though CSK&rsquo;s ground fielding has been the poorest, their catching was decent. Their 12 drops are the second-lowest and those 12 have cost them only 172 runs, which is the least for a team. KKR&rsquo;s nine drop chances cost them 216 runs.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F706997741d8315bf0fbe2892e3df5a9b774eb25c.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">T20 is a format in which everything happens quickly and agility is one of the most important aspects for a fielder or a fielding team. Batsmen are always on their toes for a run and same goes for the fielders, but to stop that run.&nbsp;Though SRH have been the poorest in terms of catching, the one and only positive of their fielding has been the number of run-outs through direct hits. Out of the nine run-outs SRH fielders effected four of them have been direct hits, which is the most among all teams. KXIP&#39;s fielders have also been agile, the eight run-outs they effected is the second-most and they converted three of those eight to direct hits.&nbsp;KKR might be the best catching team, but when it comes to effecting run-outs, they have been the worst. They effected only three and none of them were direct hits, every other team at least has one direct hit to their name.

In this piece, we try and find out which team has been the best in saving runs and converting catches in the recently concluded IPL edition

Indian Premier League, 2020

Chennai Super Kings

Kolkata Knight Riders

Mumbai Indians

Which was the best fielding side overall in the IPL?

Every T20 league brings a local flavour which distinguishes it from other leagues. IPL already rises above its peers owing to the second largest population in a world driven by an unparalleled love towards cricket. BCCI being one of the first-movers in the territory of franchise cricket also played its part.&nbsp;On cricketing grounds, India, with its rich history of spinners was supposed to bring them to the forefront of T20 cricket, even though experts had written their obituary at the inception of the format. That is what happened. The use of spinners in IPL was at its peak in 2019 which could well be termed as <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/a-season-of-turn-and-bounce-in-ipl-201954" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a season of turn and bounce.&nbsp;</a>When the 2020 season was announced to be staged in the UAE, it appeared to be another grand season for the tweakers. Teams with a good spin attack were seen at an advantage. Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals made it to every experts&rsquo; probable Top 4 as their squad boasted of the most experienced spinners. Royal Challengers Bangalore roped in the leg-spinner Adam Zampa as a replacement for the unavailable pace bowler, Kane Richardson.&nbsp;However, what happened drew stark juxtaposition with the expectations. The pitches were conducive to fast bowlers and we witnessed pace ruling the roost.It was uncharacteristic behaviour from the UAE pitches. In T20Is involving the Test playing nations in the UAE since 2018, spinners took wickets at 21.5 runs apiece while getting a wicket every 20 balls. The economy stayed at 6.5 runs per over. In IPL 2020, spinners went at 34 runs per wicket and 27.1 deliveries per wicket while conceding runs at 7.5 per over.&nbsp;Let us analyze the middle phase - overs 7 to 15 in every T20 innings. The spinners are supposed to be more dominant in that phase, which had been the case in IPL since 2012. The numbers since 2017 tell the tale.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F294fa598752839f1bf517dcf045b815cf53ef358.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">While the average and strike-rate for pacers is marginally higher than it was in 2017, 2020 remains to be the only edition in this timeline when pacers managed better numbers than spinners.&nbsp;It is worth noting that the economy-rate during this phase this season was 7.4, which is pretty much similar to what it had been in the previous editions. Spinners were still able to cease the flow of runs. Ample turn was there if the bowlers ripped the ball, like Ravi Bishnoi&rsquo;s googlies. However, wickets did not come. The difference was not the turn but the speed of it.&nbsp;In the UAE, the ball turns but at a slower speed allowing the batsmen to adjust themselves. On Indian pitches, the ball grips, bounces higher with sharper turn, giving batsmen less to no chance to adapt. CSK&rsquo;s home ground, Chepauk is a prime example.&nbsp;Consequently, the spinners took a backseat this year in the wicket&rsquo;s department. In 2018, Rashid Khan was at the second spot in the list of most wicket-takers. In 2019, Imran Tahir won the Purple Cap. This year, Tahir played only three games despite being available throughout the season. Although, it was due to CSK&rsquo;s squad combination but they suffered the most due to the unforeseen behaviour of the pitches.&nbsp;Having built a dynasty on the viciously turning pitches of Chepauk, they seemed helpless on the pacy tracks of the UAE.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fa90c0735a3597d1457540868b50d65fa2d622ddb.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Ravindra Jadeja had one of his worst years with the ball averaging 53 runs per wicket and 36.3 balls per wicket - both second worst in a season. In other repercussions, a brilliant all-rounder like Mohammad Nabi could play only one game. In CPL 2020, he picked 12 wickets in as many games at an economy of 5.1 runs per over with his off-breaks. But acknowledging the nature of pitches, Sunrisers Hyderabad opted for a pace bowling all-rounder. After Mitchell Marsh was injured, Jason Holder took what was supposed to be Nabi&rsquo;s spot prior to the tournament. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the second highest wicket-taker in CPL 2020 went wicketless in his two games.&nbsp;On the other hand, the finalists, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals flourished. MI were able to continue with their strategy of two overseas pacers. The only vulnerability of their squad - a thin spin department - was never highlighted. Similarly, DC paired Kagiso Rabada with Anrich Nortje. The duo took 52 wickets between them.&nbsp;The pitches were expected to slow down but even that did not happen. The track for the final in Dubai was lively. Only Sharjah slowed down with a considerable decline in the par score.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F6f041c7f892a06850572c5c71ce8c931001b7de8.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">It is not only spinners who suffered. The contingent of pacers who relied on change of pace also faltered. For DC, Keemo Paul did not get a game and Harshal Patel tapered off. Daniel Sams, the highest wicket-taker in the BBL 2019/20 couldn&rsquo;t pick a single wicket in three games. Jaydev Unadkat and Tom Curran were innocuous.&nbsp;RCB bought Dale Steyn and Isuru Udana. Both were excellent in the Mzansi Super League prior to the auction. The South African pitches provided grip to their variations. In IPL, they were deserted of that additive.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F654c3a61cc06778e5e9ff6176094bc3c2408940e.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">The assistance was only available at Sharjah but got neutralized by the miniscule size of the ground. Chris Gayle <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/top-tactical-blunders-in-ipl-2020-1605694744301" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">exploited</a> it wonderfully in <a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197733/summary/kkr-vs-kxip-match-46-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Match 46</a>, though against the spinners.&nbsp;A combination of true pitches and big grounds allowed the pacers with sheer pace or quality swing or both to populate the Top 10 wicket-takers list of the season. Rabada won the Purple Cap, Jofra Archer was the Most Valuable Player of the season despite his team finishing with a wooden spoon and Trent Boult levelled the feat of most wickets in the Powerplay in any season (16). Spinners bowled only 16.5 percent of overs in the Powerplay this year compared to 25.2 percent in 2019. Jasprit Bumrah gathered over 1,000 points in Criclytics MVP list of the season solely on the back of his bowling.&nbsp;All these developments this year created the highest difference between the bowling average of pacers and spinners.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fb7464eefa046a73a51c925ef1ebf62978ed72d9d.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Hence, 2020 became an outlying season in IPL in terms of pace bowling. It was a kind of season we won&rsquo;t likely be seeing anytime soon with the BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly asserting that the 2021 IPL will be staged in India.

Expectations backed spin but it was pace which ruled the roost in IPL 2020 

Trent Alexander Boult

Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah

Anrich Arno Nortje

Kagiso Rabada

Jofra Chioke Archer

Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja

Dale Willem Steyn

Isuru Udana Tillakaratna

Delhi Capitals

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kings XI Punjab

IPL 2020: An outlying season of pace over spin

Against all odds, the BCCI has managed to pull off the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE without any trouble whatsoever. Other than the 60 IPL matches, four Women&rsquo;s T20 Challenge matches too were played, slowly turning that event into an annual fixture as well. In the end however, there could be only one winner and it was Mumbai Indians who deservedly beat Delhi Capitals by five wickets in the grand finale in Dubai.While there were plenty of nail-biting finishes, Super Overs, teams etching out a win from the jaws of defeat, there were also some games which showed yawing gaps between the two sides on the day.We look back at five such games here:KXIP vs RCB, Match 6, Dubai: It was among the first of many KL Rahul master-classes this season. This time it was Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) who were at the receiving end as Rahul mercilessly smashed the bowlers to all parts smashing an unbeaten 132 off 69 as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) went on to post 206 for 3. RCB, who have a strong top-order were reduced to 4 for 3, which also included the wicket of Virat Kohli.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fcd70fd3ed77aebfed18ab56e187c9d9dd614cc67.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">AB de Villiers and Washington Sundar tried to salvage some pride, but the bowlers were clinical enough to ensure that RCB did not have a whiff, securing a 97-run victory &ndash; the biggest margin of victory in IPL 2020 &ndash; and a much-needed one that Punjab needed who were robbed of a victory against Delhi Capitals (DC) in their first match. This win over RCB would turn out to be their only win in their first seven matches.SRH vs KXIP, Match 22, Dubai: It looked like David Warner and Jonny Bairstow were back to their very best after putting on 160 for the first wicket in 15 overs against KXIP, who fought back extremely well in the death and let their opponents add just 41 in the final five overs. That&rsquo;s as good as things got for KXIP as SRH bowlers were clinical, picking up wickets at regular intervals to ensure KXIP never got into the game. In doing so, they not just won by 69 runs, but also wrapped things up inside 17 overs to give them their third win of the season.&nbsp;This was Warner and Bairstow&rsquo;s fifth 100-run stand and the second highest overall, after their mammoth 185 against Bangalore last year, which was also an IPL record for the best opening wicket partnership.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F096045e8907db468efc83fafc883561ad68f1d6d.png" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">KKR vs RCB, Match 39, Abu Dhabi: RCB were in excellent form going into this match having won six out of their nine matches, while KKR huffed and puffed their way to five wins in nine matches. Less than 10 days before this match, they were reduced to an 82-run loss against RCB in Sharjah and now, they had to set the record straight. However, that is not what happened as Mohammed Siraj ripped through the KKR top-order to finish with 3 for 8 in his four overs. KKR managed just 17 runs in their Powerplay, which was their lowest in the IPL. At 17 for 4 in six overs, the game was lost right there and despite a valiant 30 from Eoin Morgan, KKR managed to put on just 84 for 8 on the board, which RCB chased down with eight wickets and 39 balls to spare. Needless to say, KKR had a day to forget.CSK vs MI, Match 41, Sharjah: The Sharjah Cricket Stadium had been witness a few high-scoring matches IPL 2020, but it turned out to be a disastrous one for three-time champions CSK. CSK had lost four wickets inside three overs and were staring down the barrel from thereon, thanks to menacing spells from Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah. Sam Curran&rsquo;s 52 salvaged some pride in the end as CSK posted 114 for 9.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fff5b6d8ca150c2201217aed7c7859e0f4fdc01a1.JPG" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">In the absence of Rohit Sharma, it was Ishan Kishan (68*) who opened alongside Quinton de Kock (46*) for MI. The pair took MI home in 12.2 overs, avenging the defeat MI had suffered at the hands of CSK in the first match of the season.&nbsp;MI vs DC, Qualifier 1, Dubai: In a game where the stakes were high, DC were clearly not up to the mark as they succumbed to a 57-run defeat at the hands of MI. Chasing 201, DC were reduced to 20 for 4, with their top three dismissed for a duck. Marcus Stoinis (65) and Axar Patel (42) gave the team a bit of respectability with a 71-run stand, but that was not enough as DC, who had lost half their side with just 41 runs on the board went down, giving Mumbai a direct ticket to the final. After being put into bat, MI put in a strong performance with fifties from Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan. Hardik Pandya then smacked five sixes in the end to add a cherry on top after which Boult and Bumrah took over picking up six wickets between them.&nbsp;

Here's a look back at matches that were won without giving the opponents a sniff

David Andrew Warner

Kannaur Lokesh Rahul

Suryakumar Ashok Yadav

IPL 2020: Matches that were totally one-sided

A majority of cricket experts called it wrong. There was an expectation of spin to win on the dry wickets in UAE. With only three venues and used pitches, it seemed like a matter of time when spinners will rage havoc. It never happened. The pacers proved to be the real match-winners in IPL 2020.&nbsp;Such was the dominance of pacers in IPL 2020 that the six of the<a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/1667/indian-premier-league-2020/most-valuable-player">&nbsp;top-10 most valuable players</a>, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/most-valuable-player-of-each-side-part-1-1605189727032" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the MVP of six teams</a> and top-four leading wicket-takers were all quickies. The question we try to answer here is who among them and their spin counterparts were the most impactful bowlers in IPL 2020.Similar to our analysis for the <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/the-most-impactful-batsmen-in-ipl-2020-usual-suspects-and-some-surprises-1605713034945" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">batsmen</a>, we feel that assessing the most impactful bowlers based on highest MVP points aggregated throughout the season is not a correct approach. It will lead to a disproportionate bias towards bowlers who played more matches or the bowlers that were just above average in most games.Hence, to arrive at the bowlers that had the most impact in IPL 2020, let us look at the players who finished as the best bowler in a match on most nights. Using this as a parameter, here is the list of cricket.com&rsquo;s most impactful bowlers in IPL 2020-&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F102e8fa64e875cec682eafd0e5b99ea3b48aa51a.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Since the rabbit is out of the hat, let us deal with the surprise first. Kagiso Rabada was the winner of the Purple Cap in IPL 2020. He took at least one wicket in 14 of the 17 games. However, while being among the wickets in most games, Rabada failed to deliver the impact upfront that defines the outcome of the game.&nbsp;Twenty out Rabada&rsquo;s 30 wickets came in the death-overs. While he bowled a similar number of overs in the Powerplay (23 vs 23.4 at the death), he took just two wickets in this phase. Whenever he picked early wickets, he affected the outcome of the game, like in the Qualifier 2 when he got the all-important wicket of David Warner. This turned out to be the only game when Rabada finished as the best bowler on the night. Lack of wickets when it mattered resulted in the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2020, the bowler with the fifth-highest MVP bowling points, finish with no man of the match awards in this season.Jofra Archer was the MVP of IPL 2020, let alone be the most impactful bowler. He was the best bowler in a game on six occasions. These include Rajasthan&rsquo;s savoured victories against MI and KXIP later in the season. Archer bowled a spell of 2/26 and 2/31 in these games that saw runs in the range of 185-195. In all the other four games, he finished with a spell of less than run a ball while picking at least two wickets.One can argue that if not for the presence of the other, either of Jasprit Bumrah or Trent Boult could have toppled Archer for the top spot. However, a better argument would be that pressure they created as a pair led them to their best season in the IPL at an individual level.Both Bumrah and Boult were the best bowler in a game five times. There was a time later in the season when Bumrah came back from nowhere to threaten Rabada for the Purple Cap. He took 13 wickets for 45 runs in three penultimate games before the final, including a four-wicket haul against DC in the Qualifier 1.&nbsp;Boult too enjoyed most of his success against his former side, DC, against whom he finished with tournament figures of 9/96. This included a match-winning spell of 3/30 in the <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/live-report-ipl-2020-final-mi-vs-dc-1605015102744" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">final</a>. Leading the charts with the bat, Mumbai Indians had most match-winners with the ball as well. It signifies their absolute domination in IPL 2020-&nbsp;<img data-fr-image-pasted="true" src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F21943e3b8178785d41c09d0c578d96a6e91d8ddd.jpg" data-code="200" style="border-style: none; max-width: 100%; cursor: pointer; color: rgb(65, 65, 65); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">&nbsp;A list of impactful bowlers in a T20 tournament cannot be complete without Rashid Khan. Like Boult and Bumrah, he too enjoyed most of his success against Delhi. Rashid&#39;s spell in SRH&rsquo;s first fixture against them, 3/14 while defending 162 in Match 11 was the best in IPL 2020 in terms of match impact. Later, his spell of 3/7 against the same opposition in a must-win game in Match 47 was the most economical this season.Wrapping up the top-5 is Delhi&rsquo;s own Anrich Nortje. While Rabada hogged the limelight this season, Nortje was the best bowler on the night on three occasions, all of them resulted in a win for Delhi. These were against CSK, KKR and RCB. His spell of 3/33 against KKR came at Sharjah when they scored 210/8 in reply to a target of 229.&nbsp;Three spinners and two pacers follow the top-5 most impactful bowlers. This includes one of the finds of the season &ndash; Varun Chakravarthy. Another example of a reduction in bias in this analysis is the inclusion of Chris Morris who played only nine games. If he would have been fit for more games, both him and RCB could have finished higher than where they did.

Find out if Rabada or Nortje had a better impact on DC’s success and the other most impactful bowlers in IPL 2020

Rashid Khan Arman

Yuzvendra Singh Chahal

Varun Chakravarthy Vinod

Patrick James Cummins

Christopher Henry Morris

Ravi Bishnoi

Rajasthan Royals

Was Rabada among the most impactful bowlers in IPL 2020?

T20 is the most difficult format to assess the batsmen. For the bowlers, it is acceptable to be good in either of the two aspects &ndash; taking wickets or being economical. But, for the batsmen, earning cricket&rsquo;s ultimate currency &ndash; runs - is not enough. Even the biggest knock of the match in terms of runs can be a match-losing one if not scored at a rate better than the average run-rate of that game.In the IPL this season, KL Rahul was head and shoulders above all batsmen in terms of net runs. He finished with 670 runs, 52 runs more than the next-best Shikhar Dhawan playing three innings fewer. But, was he the most impactful batsman in the season? Especially when these runs came at a strike-rate of 129.9 that is lower than six other top-10 run-getters in IPL 2020.In cricket.com&rsquo;s feature <a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/1667/indian-premier-league-2020/most-valuable-player" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">criclytics</a>, there is a report card for each of the 60 games in IPL 2020. Included in this are the MVP batting and bowling points awarded to each player based on their contribution in a particular match. &nbsp;One way of assessing the best batsmen in this year&rsquo;s IPL would be to gauge them by the net MVP batting points that each one of them accumulated throughout the season. However, when it comes to assessing the most impactful batsmen, this approach might not work for two reasons.Number one &ndash; There will be a bias towards the batsmen who did not play all matches. E.g. since Dhawan had 17 innings with the bat, it is easier for him to collect more points. On the other hand, since Ishan Kishan played only 13, he will miss out, which he does as he is 11th on the list of players with highest MVP batting points in IPL 2020.Number two &ndash; It is possible for a player to just be better than the average in most games and keep accumulating points to finish higher than a lot of other players. This will be irrespective of the number of high impact knocks he played in the season that made the difference for his side. Shreyas Iyer is one such example. He is sixth on the list of players with highest MVP batting points this season, but how many high impact knocks do you remember him playing? With a strike-rate of 123.3 this season, it is fair to say: not many.There is no other side that has cracked the code of T20 cricket quicker than the Mumbai Indians. This reflects in their results. The key to their squad is having a bunch of players with the ability to win a game on their own. If six players within a team put their hands up to win two games each, the side will win the trophy in most seasons.Coming to the crux of the argument, to identify the batsmen that had the most impact in IPL 2020, let us look at the players who finished as the best batsmen in a match on most nights. Using this as a parameter, here is the list of cricket.com&rsquo;s most impactful batsmen in IPL 2020-<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F36e2c45c657ee0b8e4029d2bec3950f7487b01a2.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">As both AB de Villiers and Dhawan finished as the best batsman on the night on four occasions, we have used the MVP batting points accumulated per innings as the tiebreaker.&nbsp;This list gives us a better idea about the batsmen who not just scored big runs in the tournament, but those runs mattered for their side and in the match. Now, all these knocks need not be match-winning as there can be other factors at play but they were the best in a given match.The leader of the pack, de Villiers, played a blinder against Jasprit Bumrah and co in Match 10 of the IPL. Then, he seemed to be batting on a different pitch against Kolkata at Sharjah. In the latter half of the tournament, he demolished the Royals on his own. With a little help from others and if not for Kane Williamson&rsquo;s astute counter-attack, de Villiers could have carried RCB to the qualifier as well.Not far behind was Dhawan who apart from his twin hundreds was Delhi&rsquo;s match-winner with the bat in the Qualifier 2 as well against the Royals in Match 30. He also finished second in the list of highest MVP batting points in IPL 2020.In what can be his breakthrough season, Kishan finished with the record of best batting points per innings. Not only did he hit the most sixes in IPL 2020, but he was also the best batsmen on the night on three occasions. Twice against Delhi, in the first qualifier and Match 51, and once against Chennai while opening the batting in Match 41.In most of his knocks this year, Rahul had a strike-rate below the match run-rate. But, whenever he was more aggressive, twice against RCB and once against MI in the historic twin Super Over game, he was the best batsman in the game and a match-winner for his side.Wrapping up the top-5 is&nbsp;David Warner who also leads the pack on highest MVP batting points accumulated in IPL 2020. Getting better as the tournament progressed, Warner was the best batsman in three matches including the all-important last league game against Mumbai Indians.It is a surprise to see Rohit Sharma in the list who is 28th on the list of highest MVP batting points. But, whenever he delivered, he created a difference. His high impact knocks came against MI&rsquo;s second and fourth game against KKR and KXIP when they were playing after a loss in their previous game. He was also the best batsman in the final.This analysis also rewards players like Mayank Agarwal who spent some time on the bench due to injury and could not finish among the top run-getters.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fdb4e90c5423d4d843a6ccfc7867088bc60d3fe8f.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Looking at the top-10 list, it is easier to understand the dominance of MI in this year&rsquo;s IPL. All four of their top-order batsmen find themselves among the most impactful batsmen this season. Overall, an MI batsman was the best batsman on the night on 11 occasions, the highest among all teams.&nbsp;

Find out who joins Shikhar Dhawan and Ishan Kishan in the list of the most impactful batsmen in IPL 2020

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers

Shikhar Dhawan

Ishan Pranav Kumar Pandey Kishan

Rohit Gurunath Sharma

Shubman Gill

Quinton de Kock

Mayank Anurag Agarwal

The most impactful batsmen in IPL 2020 - Usual suspects and some surprises

All-rounders are rare. Good all-rounders are rarer. Even after 13 years of IPL, not every side have quality all-rounders in their mix and have to do with how Kings XI Punjab used Glenn Maxwell.There were a bunch of players who stood up in both facets of the game in IPL 2020. Let us look at who among them were the most impactful. Our analysis will entail the <a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/1667/indian-premier-league-2020/most-valuable-player">criclytics MVP points</a> that these players gathered throughout IPL 2020.Also, not all all-rounders are similar. Every all-rounder that the game has seen inclines to a particular facet of the game. Even among the greats, Jacques Kallis loved to bat while Andrew Flintoff was more potent a fast-bowler.Hence, to ensure an apple to apple comparison, we have divided the players as batting all-rounders and bowling all-rounders. &nbsp;Let us look at the first category.Batting All-Rounders in IPL 2020For a player to qualify as a batting all-rounder, the criteria we have put in place is a minimum of 200 runs with the bat and 15 overs with the ball. Moreover, the MVP batting points they should have accumulated through the course of the season should be more or comparable to MVP bowling points.With this in mind, here are cricket.com&rsquo;s top batting all-rounders in IPL 2020-<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F7e674f13dfe0848014ce60ba1004d8d1dce5b67b.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Up until the point when Rahul Tewatia hit Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, it was tough to believe that he will end up being one of the most valuable players this season. As it turned out, he was Rajasthan Royals&rsquo; best player in a match in as many as five games, twice earning a perfect 10 on the criclytics report card.He followed that memorable knock against KXIP with another match-winning cameo against SRH. With the ball, in seven of the 14 games, he finished with a spell that had an economy of under seven. With 1008 MVP points, he is not just the best batting all-rounder in IPL 2020 but also the third most valuable player overall.Failing to make an impact on dry pitches in India, Marcus Stoinis has been a traveller in IPL. With Delhi Capitals, he emerged as an unlikely hero with bat and ball. He started with a bang in Capitals&rsquo; first game but his performance tapered a bit around the halfway mark. However, he bounced back in the second half and scored 352 runs in IPL 2020 at a strike-rate of 148.5, the highest for the Capitals. In addition to this, he possessed a golden arm that produced wickets whenever given the ball. He ended up being DC&rsquo;s best player on the night on five occasions.No other player had a strike-rate better than Kieron Pollard&rsquo;s 191.4 in IPL 2020. In an outfit like Mumbai Indians, Pollard gets infrequent opportunities to bat. But whenever he went out, he made an unsurmountable difference on most occasions. In a side that lacks a sixth bowling option, Pollard chipped in whenever dew limited the impact of their spinners. He was MI&rsquo;s best player in three matches.Though Ravindra Jadeja did not make as much impact with the ball as he usually does, he made it up with his returns with the bat. In IPL 2020, he averaged 46.4 and had a strike-rate of 171.8, both his best in a season by a big margin. He was CSK&rsquo;s best player on two occasions.To wrap up the best five is Ben Stokes. Though it took him a while to get into the groove, but once he did, it resulted in probably the best innings in IPL 2020 &ndash; a splendid 107* against MI. He followed it up with a match-winning half-century against KXIP. In that must-win game, he also delivered with a helpful spell of 2/32.Bowling All-Rounders in IPL 2020This is a more common breed than the previous one. &nbsp;The criteria followed for a player to be considered a bowling all-rounder is a minimum 100 runs with the bat and 30 overs with the ball.&nbsp;Here are cricket.com&rsquo;s best bowling all-rounders in IPL 2020-<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fa6180b14ded344e6072269c961f783d144479363.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Jofra Archer is the MVP of IPL 2020, let alone being the best bowling all-rounder. In the Powerplay, Archer bowled at an unparalleled economy of 4.3. Overall, he took 20 wickets at an economy of 6.6 and a record of 16.7 balls per wicket.&nbsp;Archer achieved extra MVP points due to his 113 runs that came in just 63 balls. Archer ended up being RR&rsquo;s MVP on the night as many as five times, twice earning a perfect 10.After starting the tournament with a couple of expensive spells, Pat Cummins found his mojo while bowling with the new ball. He bowled 67.3% of his overs in the Powerplay at an economy of 6.6. Cummins was the second-highest wicket-taker for KKR with 12 wickets.With the bat, Cummins was KKR&rsquo;s sixth-highest run-getter with 146 runs that came at a strike-rate of 128.1. He ended up scoring more runs than their pre-tournament MVPs &ndash; Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.Making a name for himself among the veterans, the most delightful aspect of Sam Curran&rsquo;s performance this season was his flexibility.&nbsp;Curran swung the ball upfront and executed his yorkers at the death. He batted at the top of the order when needed and was always lethal in the last few overs. He was CSK&rsquo;s highest wicket-taker with 13 dismissals against his name. Moreover, he scored a crucial 186 runs in the tournament while batting at different positions.He ended up being CSK&rsquo;s MVP on the night as many as five times. Also, he is among the only three players to earn a perfect 10 on the report-card three times. Marcus Stoinis and Jasprit Bumrah are the other two.&nbsp;Despite the presence of other big names, Washington Sundar finished as RCB&rsquo;s MVP in IPL 2020 as per criclytics. Among bowlers with a minimum of five overs this season, only Rashid had a better economy than Sundar&rsquo;s 6 runs per over. 42% of these overs were in the Powerplay. &nbsp;He ended up being RCB&rsquo;s best player in three matches.&nbsp;Apart from his economical spell and eight wickets, Sundar&rsquo;s batting helped him earn extra MVP points. With 111 runs, he was RCB&rsquo;s sixth-highest run-getter this year.With an economy of 6.4, Axar Patel was among the most miser bowlers in IPL 2020. Add to that a crucial 117 runs lower down the order that included a match-winning cameo against CSK and you have your ideal bowling all-rounder. With 836 MVP points, he wraps up the list of top bowling all-rounders in IPL 2020.An honourable mention goes out to Jason Holder. Since he played only seven games, he was not able to accumulate enough runs to get into the list. He has 422 MVP points in IPL 2020. If he had played more games at the same rate, he would have found himself in the top-3 of bowling all-rounders in IPL 2020.

Here is an analysis into the best batting and bowling all-rounders in IPL 2020

Samuel Matthew Curran

Rahul Tewatia

Axar Rajeshbhai Patel

Washington Sundar

Benjamin Andrew Stokes

Kieron Adrian Pollard

Marcus Peter Stoinis

Jason Omar Holder

Most valuable all-rounders in IPL 2020

It has been a scintillating season of cricket in IPL. One can assess it by the fact that the difference between the number two team and the last team on the table was only four points. In fact, the team which finished last was in contention for a Playoff spot until their last league game. It was an unbelievable ride and that is reflected in the XI of the year which consists of some surprising inclusions and exclusions. Here is Cricket.com&rsquo;s IPL XI of the Year powered by Criclytics: :Shikhar DhawanShikhar Dhawan started his season on a slow note. Following a run out for a duck in the first game with pedestrian scores in the thirties, it took him the seventh match to score his first fifty of the season, which came in a losing cause. But it was a tale of two halves for the Delhi southpaw.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fd4857942ab93d11ebe9f3377c4adce694de43bf3.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200"><a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197721/summary/dc-vs-csk-match-34-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dhawan recorded his first T20 hundred in the ninth game</a> and became the first batsman to score consecutive hundreds in the tournament&rsquo;s history. His rejuvenated form came at the right time for Delhi Capitals as returns from other batsmen diminished. October 14 onwards, he was the highest run-scorer by a distance (417 runs, ie, 87 ahead of the next best) despite three ducks. During this period, he showcased a masterclass on boundary-hitting during the middle-phase accumulating 189 runs at a strike-rate of 158.8 (something to note for Virat Kohli).&nbsp;Overall, Dhawan accrued 618 runs in the season, his best in a season. Moreover, the strike-rate was up at 144.7 - again his best in a season, playing a massive role in DC&rsquo;s maiden final appearance.&nbsp;Mayank AgarwalYou must be thinking where is KL Rahul. He is the Orange Cap holder with 670 runs at an average of 55.8 while fulfilling the role of a wicket-keeper and a captain. However, at a strike-rate of 129.3, did his runs made the kind of impact Kings XI Punjab must have hoped for from their premier batsman? The answer is debatable.Mayank Agarwal, Rahul&rsquo;s opening partner, amassed 424 runs at 38.6. But striking at 156.5, the second-best amongst the 21 batsmen to notch up over 400 runs in the season, he had more impactful performances for KXIP. Mayank&rsquo;s tally could have been higher had he not been the risk-taker in his partnership with Rahul. Whenever his opening stand with Rahul went beyond the Powerplay, it was Mayank who took the mantle of going for runs (strike-rate of 174.4 between overs 7 to 15) while Rahul attempted to bat through.&nbsp;Mayank was the more complete batsman this season tackling every facet of a T20 innings with intent (Rahul&rsquo;s strike-rate against spin this season was only 94.4 compared to Mayank&rsquo;s 177) which makes him more worthy of a spot in the IPL XI of the year.Suryakumar YadavThe highest run-scorer this season at number three (480), Suryakumar Yadav was the most impressive uncapped player this season. His display of maturity with the correct conflation of caution and aggression bewildered people about why he has not played for India yet.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F726c0d06bfa4333a94aee630592673d1d9d2cf7c.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Surya scored his runs striking at an impressive 145. His numbers against pace display an average of 45.5 alongside a strike-rate of 152.5. He dominated spin by averaging 69 at 136.2. Batting first, he averaged 38.4 while batting second, the number rose to 43.3, striking in excess of 140 in both cases. There was no scenario in which he didn&rsquo;t excel. He may not be good enough for the Indian cricket team yet, but Surya remains unrivalled for the number three spot in IPL XI of the Year.&nbsp;Ishan KishanKishan was initially not in Mumbai Indians&rsquo; plans. It was a niggle to Saurabh Tiwary that gave Kishan a chance and he fetched it with both hands, scripting MI&rsquo;s return in a daunting run chase <a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197697/summary/rcb-vs-mi-match-10-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">with a knock of 99</a>. From there on, Kishan became the highest run-scorer of the season for MI, smashing 516 runs at 57.3. His strike-rate, 145.8 is the highest amongst the top eight run-scorers in the season?.&nbsp;He had a small hitch in between when he fell for a golden duck to a rash shot. But Kishan showed maturity lifting himself to three half-centuries in last seven matches. Two of them came as an opener as the youngster showed signs of turning into a complete T20 player.&nbsp;AB de Villiers (wk) (c)There were instances when AB de Villiers gave the feeling of batting on a different pitch from the rest of his RCB teammates. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197715/summary/rcb-vs-kkr-match-28-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In Match 28</a>, he was miles ahead of any other batsman on either side. He scored 73 not out striking at 221 while no other batsman to have scored at least 20 could touch the strike-rate of 140.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fa2ac90d43b22d6ff68b7ba2c22137f84197297bb.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">This was de Villiers&rsquo; legacy this season. Used primarily as the finisher, he won RCB three games with the bat. Amongst the batsmen to score 100 runs in the slog overs, he was the highest run-scorer (258) with the second-highest batting strike-rate (222.4).&nbsp;Being the only player to keep wickets in this XI, he is the wicket-keeper of this side. Being the most experienced in the XI, he is also the captain. No designated captain in IPL 2020 has made it to this piece and the focus lies on picking the best players first (after all we are not picking England&rsquo;s Test team).Marcus StoinisStoinis has piped Kieron Pollard to earn one of the two all-rounder&rsquo;s spots in the XI. Except Dhawan, he was the only DC batsman who showed consistent form at the back end of the tournament. In 17 games this season, Stoinis topped the <a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/198674/dc-vs-srh-qualifier-2-indian-premier-league-2020/report-card" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Criclytics report card</a> for DC in a record five games with his all-round contribution - thrice finishing with 10 out of 10.&nbsp;The Hulk rescued DC on many occasions. With a strike-rate of 148.5 - the highest by a DC batsman this season - he instilled the impetus into the innings irrespective of the batting position. With the ball, he kept chipping in with his golden arm - snaffling big wickets of Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson in Qualifier 2. This was Stoinis&rsquo; first grand season in IPL and it has placed him straight into the team of the year.&nbsp;Rahul TewatiaIn a squad heavily dependent on superstars, Rajasthan Royals found a new guy in Tewatia to persist with for their future endeavours. His five sixes in an over to Sheldon Cottrell paved the way for the biggest run-chase in IPL history - <a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197696/summary/rr-vs-kxip-match-9-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RR chasing KXIP&rsquo;s 223 at Sharjah</a>. It did not stop there. Tewatia showed he can battle it out against high-class spinners as well. He racked up three consecutive boundaries against Rashid Khan when the required rate was 12 and won the game from a situation of a lost cause.With the ball, he was the joint second-highest wicket-taker for RR. But his economy was much better than the senior leg-spinner in the squad (7.1 in comparison to Shreyas Gopal&rsquo;s 8.5). Overall, Tewatia was the third <a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/1667/indian-premier-league-2020/most-valuable-player" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Most Valuable Player</a> in the tournament according to Criclytics with 1,008 points.&nbsp;Jofra ArcherThis was the first season when the Most Valuable Player came from a team that held the wooden spoon. In a side filled with some of the best international stars, Archer carried RR with economical spells and wickets in every game.In the Powerplay, Archer bowled at an unparalleled economy of 4.3. Overall, he took 20 wickets at an economy of 6.6 and a record of 16.7 balls per wicket. The rest of the pacers combined took 21 wickets at an economy of 10.5 and 35.2 balls per wicket. In addition, Archer scored 113 runs at a strike-rate of 179.4, the second-highest in the tournament. On Criclytics, Archer accumulated 1,126 points, the most in the season and is an automatic entry into the XI of the year.&nbsp;Rashid KhanTo lessen his impact, opposition batsmen tried to play him out but even those tactics did not stop Rashid Khan from being the most impactful spinner of the season. He picked 20 wickets at an economy of 5.4 runs per over, the best in the season irrespective of the minimum number of overs. Eight times in 16 games, his economy was less than 6.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fe414efa62f29840592e164dcec18d37297647354.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">His twin spells against DC were the highlights of the tournament. The first one, 3/14 while defending 162 in Match 11 was the best spell in IPL 2020 in terms of <a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/197698/dc-vs-srh-match-11-indian-premier-league-2020/report-card" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">impact</a>. Later, his spell of 3/7 against the same opposition in a must-win game in <a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197734/summary/srh-vs-dc-match-47-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Match 47</a> was the most economical this season. With 1,005 MVP points, he was the <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/most-valuable-player-of-each-side-part-1-1605189727032" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">most valuable player for SRH</a> in IPL 2020.&nbsp;Mohammed ShamiShami has been playing IPL for a while but it is this season when critics can say he has finally cracked the code in T20s. Though his numbers were only marginally better than last year (20 wickets compared to 19 last season while bettering his economy by 0.1), it was his execution of yorkers which made Shami special.He laid impact in every phase of the game for KXIP. Starting with a fiery new-ball spell against DC, it was his impeccable <a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197723/summary/mi-vs-kxip-match-36-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Super Over against MI</a> consisting of six yorkers that made people take notice of Shami 2.0 in T20 cricket.&nbsp;Jasprit BumrahHe did not win the Purple Cap but Jasprit Bumrah was arguably the best bowler of the season. He is the only player to gather over 1,000 points on Criclytics MVP table on the back of his bowling alone. After starting the tournament on a moderate note, Bumrah found his mojo after an exceptional Super Over against RCB in MI&rsquo;s third game. His performance went north ever since.Bumrah had the second-best economy in the Powerplay and the death overs amongst bowlers who bowled more than 10 overs in the two phases each. He had two four-wicket hauls and three three-wicket hauls in the season while going at under 6 runs per over in six out of the 15 games he played.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fdd9e46ee86bbf41ed6c7b1d195bfbd78822cba64.jpg" data-code="200">Player image credits: IPLT20.comProbably for the first time, the IPL XI of the Year is populated with three uncapped cricketers. It could have been four as T Natarajan came really close. David Warner, Kieron Pollard and Yuzvendra Chahal are other honourable mentions. Surprisingly, neither the Orange Cap nor the Purple Cap holder (Kagiso Rabada) has made it to the list but it only underlines the quality over quantity premise.&nbsp;

Here is an XI acknowledging the best performers in IPL 2020

Mohammed Shami Ahmed

IPL XI of the Year, 2020

Mumbai Indians surely owned the Indian Premier League 2020 and won the title for the fifth time, but the 13th edition of the lucrative T20 league produced some of the best matches in the history of the tournament. A total of four games went to the Super Over, in fact, there was a match between Mumbai and Kings XI Punjab that was decided via two Super Overs. There were quite a few last-over finishes, as well as some top-quality knocks.Here, we look at the top-five close encounters of the season, not necessarily in that order.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197696/scorecard/rr-vs-kxip-match-9-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rajasthan v Punjab, Match 9</a>Rahul Tewatia etched his name into the IPL history books with a match-defining 31-ball 53 that helped Rajasthan achieve the highest successful run-chase in the tournament&#39;s history. There was a position in the match when he was batting at 8 runs off 19 balls, failing to get bat to the ball after being promoted up the order. This was after Mayank Agarwal&rsquo;s maiden IPL hundred propelled Punjab to 223/2 at the end of the first innings. In reply, RR lost Jos Buttler quite early but Steve Smith (27-ball 50) and Sanju Samson (42-ball 85) added 81 runs for the second wicket to lay a solid platform for the middle-order.The Rajasthan team management then decided to send Tewatia ahead of Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag and at one stage it felt like RR would lose the game just because of him, despite Samson going all guns blazing at the other end. As the asking rate climbed above 16 in the last five overs, the decision of promoting him became a subject of ridicule. However, that&#39;s when Tewatia came back from the dead and smoked 45 runs in the next 12 deliveries he faced, blasting Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in the 18th over, reducing the target to 21 off the last two. Jofra Archer then smashed a couple of sixes and got his team over the line with three deliveries to spare.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197697/scorecard/rcb-vs-mi-match-10-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bangalore v Mumbai, Match 10</a>It was the same old story for Bangalore, albeit the win. Virat Kohli and Co. dominated 36 of the customary 40 overs but almost lost the game in the last five because of their death bowling. At the start of the 17th over in the run-chase, Mumbai needed 80 to win and they managed to get 79 to tie the game. It was Ishan Kishan (58-ball 99) and Kieron Pollard (24-ball 60*) who wreaked havoc in the last five overs and almost won the game for Bangalore who had amassed 201/3 in their 20 overs, thanks to half-centuries from Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F7f07fa31eaae5a89d78528752b146b42eefd17f5.jpg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Mumbai looked down and out at the end of the 16th over but the game turned on its head when Kohli decided to bowl back to back overs of leg-spin of Adam Zampa and Yuzvendra Chahal. Pollard faced 10 of those 12 deliveries and clobbered 42 runs, while Kishan slammed 7 off 2. With 31 required off the last two overs, Kishan blasted three sixes before getting out on the penultimate delivery. Pollard however smacked the final ball for four and managed to take the game to the Super Over. Navdeep bowled an outstanding Super Over allowing Mumbai batsmen only 7 runs, which Jasprit Bumrah couldn&#39;t defend.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197722/scorecard/srh-vs-kkr-match-35-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hyderabad v Kolkata, Match 35</a>Lockie Ferguson has been one of the best limited-overs international bowlers in recent years but didn&#39;t get an opportunity in Kolkata&#39;s first eight games of the season. The right-arm paceman from New Zealand finally got a chance in game nine and made an instant impact, inspiring KKR to a nail-biting Super Over win against Hyderabad. Chasing 164, Jonny Bairstow (36) and Kane Williamson (29) got SRH off to a solid start. The two scored 58 in the powerplay before Ferguson got rid of Williamson, Priyam Garg, and Manish Pandey in his first three overs to bring Kolkata back in the game.David Warner (33-ball 47*) batted at No. 4 in this encounter and along with Abdul Samad (15-ball 23) took the game to the last two overs in which they needed 30. Samad hit Shivam Mavi for a couple of boundaries but was dismissed in the same over. Warner however was there till the very end and smashed Andre Russell for three fours in the final over but couldn&#39;t finish the job for his team. With two needed off one delivery, Warner failed to get bat to the ball and could only manage one run via a leg bye.It was Ferguson who took the responsibility of bowling the Super Over and knocked over Warner and Samad in the space of three deliveries. Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik then scored the required three runs with the utmost ease.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197723/scorecard/mi-vs-kxip-match-36-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mumbai v Punjab, Match 36</a><img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fd7dea0b14476ccfd4129655da065fa45d39e372e.jpg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">After Ferguson inspired Kolkata to a nail-biting Super Over win against Hyderabad in the afternoon game, Punjab managed to beat Mumbai in Match No. 36 that featured two Super Overs. After Mumbai smashed 176/6 in their 20 overs, Punjab were cruising along nicely with KL Rahul (51-ball 77) leading from the front, but just when the game was tilting in their favour, Jasprit Bumrah (3/24) showed his class and didn&#39;t allow KXIP to get over the line. Punjab failed to score nine runs in the final over and the game ended in a tie.Bumrah was not done yet, as he bowled an outstanding Super Over, but Punjab&#39;s Mohammed Shami returned the favour and forced a yet another Super Over. Bumrah only conceded five runs in six deliveries, but Shami too did the same, nailing yorker after yorker. Considering this was happening for the first time, there was a lot of confusion regarding who could bat and who could bowl, but when the second Super Over finally took place, Punjab managed to get the job done. Pollard and Hardik Pandya hit Chris Jordan for 11 runs but Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal hammered Trent Boult for a six and two fours to seal the game for Punjab with two deliveries to spare.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/197730/scorecard/kxip-vs-srh-match-43-indian-premier-league-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Punjab v Hyderabad, Match 43</a>23 balls, 14 runs, 7 wickets! In a batting collapse of the highest order, Hyderabad snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory, thus gifting Punjab two points at a crucial stage in the league. At the 16th over mark in the chase, SRH had the finishing line in sight. They needed 28 to win with the experienced duo of Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar at the crease, having faced over 20 balls each.This is when Jordan and Arshdeep Singh set the ball rolling and picked up three wickets each to bundle SRH out for 114 in 19.5 overs. Earlier, every Punjab batsman struggled to get going as they could only manage 126/7 in their 20 overs. Chasing a modest total, SRH had the desired start with Warner (35) and Bairstow (19) adding 56 in 6.2 overs. Pandey and Shankar then took their time but the game was always in Hyderabad&#39;s bag. They were 100/3 at one stage, but that&#39;s when the collapse happened and SRH lost their remaining seven wickets in 23 deliveries.

There were quite a few last-over finishes, while four encounters went to the Super Over

The five best matches of IPL 2020

Sunrisers Hyderabad is the new name for the franchise from Hyderabad after the previous franchise called Deccan Chargers was terminated in 2012. They are owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun TV Network. The line-up remained similar to what was there for the Chargers. However, there was a change in the coaching staff with Tom Moody heading the job while VVS Laxman assuming the role of a mentor.
The team made their first IPL appearance in 2013, where they reached the playoffs, eventually finishing in fourth place led by Kumar Sangakkara/Cameron White. For the 2015 season, SRH released some players and appointed David Warner as their skipper. The team didn't do too good under his captaincy in that particular season, however, in 2016 they managed to win their maiden IPL trophy. In the following edition, defending their title, they lost to KKR in Eliminator which was a rain-hit game. That year, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was able to retain the Purple Cap while David Warner won the Orange Cap.
David Warner stepped down from captaincy in 2018 after his involvement in the infamous ball-tampering controversy that rocked Australia. The Kiwi, Kane Williamson, was appointed as his replacement and he didn't disappoint. He not only took them to the final with his great captaincy but also earned the Orange Cap.