IPL 4 – Emerging Stars

The IPL 4 came to its end on Saturday when Chennai Super Kings lifted the cup for second time in row. Let us take look at the performance of some players. As some youngsters came up with exceptional and spectacular performance, where few highly paid seniors failed to live up to the expectations.

IPL 4 brought up some amazing prospects for Indian cricketing future with emerging players like Paul Valthaty, Rahul Sharma, S Aravind and Iqbal Abdulla came to limelight. By the time the tournament ended, they became household names in the country.

New Gems for India:

Iqbal Abdulla (Rising star of the tournament) – Abdulla from Azamgarh, left arm spinner of KKR, was named the rising star of the tournament. In the presence of some legendary cricketers like Kallis and Gambhir, the youngster played a key role in several victories of KKR. He is the highest wicket taker for his team with 16 successes in his kitty in 15 matches. He represented India U-19 World Cup winning team in 2008 and has represented Mumbai in Ranji Trophy in 2007-08.

Paul Valthaty (Best innings of the tournament) – Paul Valthaty scored gallant 463 runs in 14 matches with an average of 36. He came to notice when he smacked 120 runs against Chennai in the league stage. New emerged hero of the IPL 2011 season and his innings of 120 won him the individual performance award in IPL 4. He is already knocking the doors for National selection.

Rahul Sharma – After the losing leggie legend Anil Kumble, we were in search of new leggie and hope we have got one in Rahul Sharma. In 14 matches, Rahul stacked 16 wickets for his team with fantastic economy rate of just 5.76. The lanky leg-spinner played an important role in few victories of Pune Warriors.

S Aravind: Sreenath Aravind emerged as best talent in pace department this IPL. He impressed throughout the IPL 2011 battle, fetching 21 wickets in 13 matches.

Foreign Players Flair:

Chris Gayle (Orange Cup Winner) – Chris Gayle played devastating knocks in the IPL 4, which bestowed him the Orange Cup. He played 12 matches and tallied 608 runs at a magnificent average of 67.55.

Lasith Malinga (Purple Cup Winner) – Malinga earned Purple Cup with no competitor and bagged 28 wickets in total. His toe-crushers were accurate and difficult to tackle for batsman. His performance largely helped Mumbai Indians in reaching the play-off stage.

Keiron Pollard (Best Catch) – Keiron Pollard who took 10 catches in the tournament was named for the special award for fielding. Three catches taken by the West Indian in different matches won him the best catch awards. But, he failed to deliver with his bat for Mumbai Indians.

Tags: Chris Gayle, Emerging Stars, IPL 2011, IPL 4, Iqbal Abdulla, Keiron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Paul Valthaty, Rahul Sharma, S Aravind