Top 5 wicket-keeper-batsmen in the history of the IPL

Since time immemorial, Cricket players are classified into different categories based on the definite skill sets that each player possesses.Some players are good with the willow whereas some prefer to break the willow.Some choose the art of deception while some players are really great behind the stumps.In this article,the emphasis is on the clan which plies their trade behind the stumps.

Prior to modern-day cricket,being clinical with the gloves on,irrespective of batting ability, would have fetched a place in the playing eleven.But gone are those days and today,wicket-keepers are required to be equally adept with the bat.

Since the T20 flavour is in town,therefore I present to you the ‘Top 5 wicket-keeper-batsmen in the history of the IPL’.(More emphasis is given on the batting prowess rather than keeping.The number of trophies won by the player and his credibility also has it’s say.)


#5 Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel is currently with Mumbai Indians

Parthiv Patel shot into fame when he debuted against England in a test series way back in 2002.However,he could not hold onto his spot in the national side and has been on the sidelines since the arrival of M S Dhoni.
In the IPL,he has been a regular face and has carved his own niche for himself as an opener and a reliable wicket-keeper.He also holds the unique distinction of becoming the first player to play for six different franchises.

Matches	Runs	BF	HS	Average	SR	Ct	St
93	1750	1536	61	21.60	113.93	42	11

#4 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is currently with Gujarat Lions

Dinesh Karthik is one of the most sought after wicketkeeper-batsman in the country.He scores consistently at the domestic levels.He is aggressive and lends stability to the middle-order of whichever franchise he represents.
In IPL,he has consistently scored for his side.His best IPL season was in 2013 where he scored 510 runs for Mumbai Indians and was instrumental in MI’s maiden trophy campaign.Last year,he had a horrendous time with the bat,representing Royal Challengers Bangalore,as he only managed 141 runs at a meagre average of 12.81 in 16 innings.The wicket-keeper batsman has been picked by Gujarat Lions this season.He also has the most dismissals as a wicket-keeper in the IPL.

Matches	Runs	BF	HS	Average	SR	Ct	St
123	2248	1806	86	23.91	124.47	62	23

#3 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa is currently with Kolkata Knight Riders

A sweet timer of the ball who generally likes to show the straight face of his bat to the ball.A heavy-weight in the Indian domestic arena.He heavily scores for his state,Karnataka,in all the formats.He is a dependable wicket-keeper too.

In IPL,he has scored the most number of runs among all the wicket-keepers.He also holds the world record of being the only batsman to score ten 40+ scores in a row.This feat was achieved in 2014 when his side KKR lifted the trophy.

Matches	Runs	BF	HS	Average	SR	Ct	St
121	3031	2379	83*	30.00	127.40	40	23

#2 Adam Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist,the first genuine wicket-keeper batsman

Any all-time best wicket-keeper batsman list is incomplete without this man.The man who actually brought the concept of ‘wicket-keeper batsman’,had been a force to reckon during his international days and he was a force throughout his IPL career.
The southpaw was an expressive and explosive opener.He has scored 2069 runs at an average of 27.22 at a daunting strike rate of 138.39.He was also an inspirational captain as he led Deccan Chargers all the way to the title in 2009.

Matches	Runs	BF	HS	Average	SR	Ct	St
80	2069	1495	109*	27.22	138.39	51	16

#1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

M S Dhoni,the most succesful captain in IPL history 

The Man with the Midas touch finds himself at the top of his list.He has scored 2987 runs at an outstanding average of 39.30.

M S Dhoni has got the second most number of runs for a wicket-keeper.He also sits at second place when it comes to the number of dismissals.But his leadership and his knack of bailing his team out of trouble are the reasons he is arguably the best-ever wicket-keeper batsman in the history of a tournament as elite as IPL.

Matches	Runs	BF	HS	Average	SR	Ct	St
130	2987	2144	70*	39.30	139.31	54	23

Honorable Mention:Wriddhiman Saha,Kumar Sangakkara and Naman Ojha

Match Preview : KKR vs MI

It's day 5 of the Indian T20 carnival.Today,MI face KKR .Below are the relevant details.

Venue: Eden Gardens,Kolkata

Head-to-head: MI-11,KKR-5

Mumbai Indians:

One of the most consistent teams of the IPL over the years.Mumbai Indians were humbled by the brilliance of debutante Rising Pune SuperGiants in their inaugural match of the season.The batting disappointed as they managed just 121 runs,courtesy Harbhajan Singh's 45,for the loss of 8 wickets

The defending champions would surely like to make amends.Their batsmen are expected to rise to the occasion. Rohit and his love-affair with the Eden will be a thing to watch-out for.Today,their bowling line-up will be tested against a good batting side.Spinners must exploit the conditions here.A win here will surely be a great confidence booster,given KKR's home record.

Men to look-out for: Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh

X-Factor : Hardik Pandya,Jos Butler

Kolkata Knight Riders:

The two-time champions had a dream start to their campaign when they mauled Delhi Daredevils by 9 wickets in their opening match.They were clinical with both the ball and bat.Andre 'the beast' Russell and Brad Hogg were exceptional with a 3-wicket haul each. Piyush Chawla and John Hastings also shared 4 wickets between them.And the openers,with an opening stand of 69,sailed their team through.

Gambhir and his men would be aiming for another victory at their home ground against MI.The return of Sunil Narine is a huge boost to the squad.Expectations of a fiery start from the openers are there.Their spinners will have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

Men to look-out for: Andre Russell,Robin Uthappa,Brad Hogg

X-factor: Sunil Narine (Only if he plays),Colin Munro

Last three meetings between KKR and MI:

Date	Venue	Result
14 May , 2015	Wankhede,Mumbai	MI won by 5 runs
8  April , 2015	Eden Gardens,Kolkata	KKR won by 7 wickets
14 May , 2014	Barabati Stadium,Cuttack	KKR won by 6 wickets

IPL 2016:KKR vs DD:5 Talking points

It was day 2 of the IPL.A match consisting of contestants of contrasting ideologies.On one hand KKR prefers to have a settled core and on the other DD,over the years,have been chopping and changing players,support staff,coaches and mentors.

As expected KKR comprehensively defeated the Daredevils without breaking much sweat.Clinical bowling and risk-free batting sailed KKR through.Here,I present you 5 talking points from an otherwise one-sided affair.

‘O Captain!My Captain!’

Gautam Gambhir,the man in-charge of KKR

Gautam Gambhir has once again proved why he is one of the best skippers in the ongoing tournament.He is someone who only means business.He leads by example.I never see any other captain donning the helmet to stand at Silly Point more often than GG.

The southpaw had a good outing tonight and he made sure to stay till the very end.This underlines his importance and the way he rotated his bowlers was nothing short of exemplary.

Age is just a number.

The Man who gets younger everyday

Brad Hogg gets younger every day.His exploits on the field are commendable.Figures of 3/19,in the opening,is a great way to get into the groove.And he brings positivity into this side with his face always bearing that evergreen wide grin.Let’s hope he gets better and younger everyday.

Andre Dwayne Russell!

The beast from Jamaica

Yeah,the name is enough.Do I need to say about this man?He is a beast when it comes to his batting and today he was a giant when it came to his bowling.He bowled three overs and sent the top order back to the pavilion as he triggered the batting collapse from which the opposition never really recovered.And returned with figures of 3/24 to deservedly bag the MoM award.

New Faces,Same Result.

DD lost to KKR by 9 wickets

The only thing that changed for the Daredevils are the players and the coaching staff as there was no change in the result.Losing and winning is a part of the game.The real cause of concern is the way they lost today.Their batsmen came and went.Even losing 4 wickets in the power-plays brought no sense to the batsmen who came next.They threw their wickets into the hands of the KKR bowlers.That’s not professionalism.Sad to say,but the batting looked really immature and inexperienced.

Delhi Daredevil’s team composition

The man to miss out today.

Really,no JPD?J P Duminy is someone you can’t drop.He is a complete package.He bats,he bowls and he is a great fielder too.How could you drop someone who has the experience of 200 T20 matches?

Secondly,the team can’t have Karun Nair,Mayank Agarwal,Sanju Samson and Carlos Brathwaite at a single time.They are very good players but all of them lack in experience. Brathwaite may have won West Indies the World Cup but even a certain Joginder Sharma did that.DD must understand this that there is no substitute for experience.They need JPD to provide stability to the middle order.

The Unsolved Enigma Behind KKR's resurgence

In the Indian summers of the year 2008,began the Indian T20 extravaganza,the IPL. It took no time to become a success in a country where Cricket is the equivalent of a religion.The auctions for the teams took place and the player draft was prepared.In the inaugural season,8 teams participated.One of them was Kolkata Knight Riders.

Brendon ‘Marauder’ McCullum’s blitzkrieg etched the inaugural match into the memory of the fans.KKR were off to a great start,but that was the only thing they could have cheered about for the next three seasons.Sixth place in 2008,wooden spoon holders in the next and then again they bagged the sixth place in the third.In 2011,the management took bold decisions that included releasing Sourav Ganguly.Gautam Gambhir was roped in as the new skipper.And the results were instantaneous,for the first time reached the play-offs but could not get over the finishing line.

Next season,a relatively unknown spinner was bought at the auction at a surprisingly high price of $700,000.That amount was way too much for someone whose base price was a mere $50,000 and boasted an experience of just 3 international matches.Later,as it turned out to be,Sunil Narine was adjudged the Player of the Tournament and was instrumental in KKR’s maiden title triumph.

Sunil Narine:The Unsolved Enigma

The ‘Mystery Spinner’,as he was tagged by media and critics alike,became a vital cog in the wheel for KKR and skipper’s Gambhir go-to man.He would bowl in the powerplays,in the middle overs when the going would get tough and others struggled and even in the death.And he never disappointed.He spun the ball and bamboozled the batsman,gaining reputation with each passing day.And the man with the Mohawk significantly influenced KKR’s 9 match unbeaten run in 2014 which saw his side lifting the title twice in a span of three years.All good things never last forever.Similarly,in the CLT20 2014,he was called for suspect action which led to his suspension from bowling in all tournaments conducted by the BCCI.

In IPL 2015,Narine had his action remodeled and he was pretty ineffective before he was called again.His ineffectiveness in that season coincided with KKR not making to the play-offs despite being on the top of the table after 12 matches. But nevertheless,his impact for his team is unquestionable but for those who will still question.Here are some numbers:

The NARINE effect on KKR

	Played	Won	Win Percentage
Before Narine	57	24	42.105%
Since the arrival of Narine	64	36	56.25%
Overall	121	60	49.58%

The Narine effect is clearly evident.A team with a win percentage of just above 40 have won the title twice in the last few years is not something which can termed as coincidental with the arrival of a player.The player ought to have something that made the team that it is today.Though the player may have been facing problems lately,but aren’t champions tested in times of despair.Haven’t we seen players play even after fighting cancer?But that is different issue.Few of us can still harbor doubts about this man’s ability.To clear those doubts,I reckon people to have a look at his stats in the T20 format and the IPL.

Sunil Narine's statistics(T20 format)

	Mat	Wkts	Ave	Eco	SR	BBM
T20	168	216	16.44	5.52	17.8	5/19
IPL	55	74	17.77	6.00	17.77	5/19

Now,these are mind-boggling stats for this format which have been always cruel to bowlers.An economy of just 6.00 in the IPL where every other game is a run-fest added with an astonishing strike rate of 17.77 can make any one stand out .And these are the things which have made Narine a threat to every batsman.And these stats are a testimony to the fact that he has been the hero behind KKR’s resurgence in the IPL.

Hope that he regains his mojo back!