Page 43 - The Indian EYE 060923

SPORTS JUNE 09, 2023 | The Indian Eye 43

IPL 2023:

A look at performances of the ‘Big Buys’

OUR BUREAU Mayank Agarwal
Ahmedabad (Sunrisers Hyderabad at
very year, many big interna- Rs 8.25 crore)
tional and Indian names at- The former Punjab Kings batter
Etract big price tags during the was bought by SRH for Rs 8.25 crore
Indian Premier League (IPL) auc- and it was expected that he would
tions. While some players give every make a comeback to remember after
inch of their being to live up to the a disappointing IPL 2022. Moreover,
gigantic weight of money invested in he was in superb form in domes-
them because of their stature or fu- tic cricket. He had a decent season,
ture potential, some disappoint fans, scoring 270 runs in 10 matches at an
underwhelm and even sit out on the average of 27.00.
sidelines. The IPL 2023 was no differ- His strike rate of just over 128
ent, it featured some really big names, did not really do much good to his
bought by franchises at heavy prices. team. His knock of 83 in 46 balls
against MI in the side’s final league
We take a look at performance of some match was his only fifty. Safe to say,
of these players.
he could have done better.
Sam Curran (Punjab Kings Jason Holder (Rajasthan
at Rs 18.5 crore) Royals at Rs 5.75 crore)
After a tournament-winning
The West Indies veteran is a sol-
performance at the ICC T20 World id all-rounder in international crick-
Cup 2022 for England, which saw et. But his all-round abilities were
him being crowned the ‘Player of not used much as he could score only
the Tournament’, PBKS bet big on 12 runs in three innings across eight
Curran. Curran delivered some solid matches he played.
performances with the bat. Coming He could also take only four
down the order, he scored 276 runs scalps in these eight matches, with
in 13 innings at an average of 27.60 the best score of 2/29.
and a strike rate of 135.96, with one Punjab Kings’ Sam Curran plays a shot in a match against Rajasthan Royals (ANI)
half-century. While he also took 10
wickets, he did so at an average of wickets with best figures of 2/41. He scored 358 runs in 15 matches at Mukesh Kumar (Delhi
48.90 and leaked runs at an economy an average of 29.83 and a strike rate Capitals at Rs 5.5 core)
rate of 10.22. His moderate returns
with the ball did not help PBKS as Ben Stokes (Chennai Super of 172.95, with two fifties and best Delhi Capitals spent big on this
they failed to qualify for playoffs. A Kings at Rs 16.25 crore) score of 62. He was able to do what uncapped Bengal pacer. He had an
underwhelming season with DC, tak-
was asked of him: Finish games well
positive side of Curran’s season was The England all-rounder played by accelerating the run-rate. ing only seven wickets in 10 matches
that he did extremely well as a cap- only two matches for CSK much to at an average of over 46 and leaked
tain in the absence of Shikhar Dha- the disappointment of fans. He could runs at an economy rate of over 10.
wan for some matches. Harry Brook (Sunrisers
score only 15 runs, had two single-dig- His best bowling figures were 2/30.
it scores and failed to take a wicket. Hyderabad for Rs 13.25
Cameron Green (Mumbai His fitness issues kept him in the side- crore) Heinrich Klaasen
Indians at Rs 17.5 crore) lines as CSK clinched their fifth title. A lot was expected from this (Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rs
The lanky 23-year-old all-round- young, rising England sensation as
er from Australia overcame a slow Nicholas Pooran (Lucknow he was bought for over Rs 13 crore in 5.25 crore)
start in the tournament to become Super Giants for Rs 16 his IPL debut. But barring one cen- The explosive South African
MI’s third-highest run-getter this tury against Kolkata Knight Riders, wicketkeeper turned out to be SRH’s
season. In 16 matches, he scored 452 crore) Brook failed to make an impact and best performer this season, carrying
runs at an average of 50.22 and at a The explosive West Indies batter struggled against spin. Moreover, his an inconsistent batting line-up on his
strike rate of over 160. He scored a had a decent IPL stint with Sunrisers batting order was tinkered with a lot, shoulders. He scored 448 runs in 12
century and two fifties this season, Hyderabad in 2022. He scored 306 as he sometimes played as an opener, matches at an average of 49.77 and
with best score of 100*. His game runs with two fifties but his strike rate sometimes as a middle-order batter. a strike rate of 177.07. He scored a
awareness was also really great, often was not really up to his standards. He ended a disappointing season century and two fifties this season,
rotating the strike well and giving the LSG invested in Pooran and the with 190 runs in 11 matches at an av- with his best score being 104, an as-
strike to batters who were firing runs West Indian repaid the faith placed erage of 21.11, which included three sault on Royal Challengers Banga-
from the other end. He also took six in him with some explosive cameos. ducks and six single-digit scores. lore (RCB) spinners.

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