IPL 2015: Highest Run-Scorers, Top Bowling Averages After Mumbai vs. Chennai T20
Chennai Super Kings (189-4) preserved their perfect start to the 2014 Indian Premier League season on Friday with a six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (183-7), once again riding their fantastic group of batsmen to a comfortable victory.
The likes of Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina have started the campaign in fantastic form, countering Kieron Pollard's superb effort with the bat on Friday. It was not a great night for the bowlers, although Harbhajan Singh and Dwayne Bravo both picked up a pair of wickets, while Ashish Nehra enjoyed figures of 3-23.
Mumbai are now winless in four tries and in desperate need of a result, while Chennai sit two points behind Rajasthan Royals. It's too early to start making definitive statements about the IPL favourites, but both the Super Kings and Royals look like near locks to make the play-offs.
Here are the leaders in all major statistical categories after Friday's clash.
Top 10 Run Scorers
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Player | Team | Runs |
Ajinkya Rahane | Rajasthan | 155 |
Kieron Pollard | Mumbai | 154 |
Brendon McCullum | Chennai | 150 |
Rohit Sharma | Mumbai | 148 |
Steve Smith | Rajasthan | 135 |
David Warner | Hyderabad | 131 |
Dwayne Smith | Chennai | 123 |
Mayank Agarwal | Delhi | 120 |
Chris Gayle | Bangalore | 117 |
Gautham Gambhir | Kolkata | 115 |
Top 10 Averages
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Player | Team | Avg |
Brendon McCullum | Chennai | 75.00 |
Chris Gayle | Bangalore | 58.50 |
Gautam Gambhir | Kolkata | 57.50 |
Suryakumar Yadav | Kolkata | 57.00 |
George Bailey | Punjab | 52.00 |
Kieron Pollard | Mumbai | 51.33 |
Rohit Sharma | Mumbai | 49.33 |
Steve Smith | Rajasthan | 45.00 |
Ravi Bopara | Hyderabad | 45.00 |
Harbhajan Singh | Mumbai | 44.00 |
List only includes batsmen with multiple innings.
Top 10 Strike Rates
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Player | Team | Strike Rate |
Brendon McCullum | Chennai | 192.30 |
Kieron Pollard | Mumbai | 181.17 |
George Bailey | Punjab | 170.49 |
Chris Gayle | Bangalore | 162.50 |
David Warner | Hyderabad | 157.83 |
Mayank Agarwal | Delhi | 148.14 |
Yuvraj Singh | Delhi | 145.16 |
Rohit Sharma | Mumbai | 143.68 |
Steve Smith | Rajasthan | 142.10 |
Dwayne Smith | Chennai | 141.37 |
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Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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Player | Team | Wickets |
Imran Tahir | Delhi | 8 |
Anureet Singh | Punjab | 7 |
Ashish Nehra | Chennai | 6 |
Dwayne Bravo | Chennai | 6 |
Trent Boult | Hyderabad | 5 |
Harbhajan Singh | Mumbai | 5 |
Pravin Tambe | Rajastan | 4 |
Dhawal Kulkarni | Rajastan | 4 |
Ravi Bopara | Hyderabad | 4 |
Amit Mishra | Delhi | 4 |
Top 10 Bowling Figures
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Player | Against | BBI |
Imran Tahir | Rajasthan | 4/28 |
Ashish Nehra | Mumbai | 3/23 |
Anureet Singh | Rajasthan | 3/23 |
Ashish Nehra | Delhi | 3/25 |
James Faulkner | Punjab | 3/26 |
Nathan Coulter-Nile | Chennai | 3/30 |
Trent Boult | Bangalore | 3/36 |
Imran Tahir | Punjab | 3/43 |
Dhawal Kulkarni | Hyderabad | 2/9 |
JP Duminy | Punjab | 2/16 |
Top 10 Economy Rates
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Player | Team | Economy |
Deepak Hooda | Rajasthan | 4.85 |
Sandeep Sharma | Punjab | 5.08 |
Stuart Binny | Rajasthan | 5.83 |
Pravin Tambe | Rajasthan | 6.07 |
Dhawal Kulkarni | Rajasthan | 6.30 |
Ashish Nehra | Chennai | 6.58 |
Morne Morkel | Kolkata | 6.62 |
Ravichandran Ashwin | Chennai | 6.66 |
Sunil Narine | Kolkata | 6.75 |
Yuzvendra Chahal | Bangalore | 7.00 |
Standout Performers
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Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum Blow Chase Wide Open
Mumbai must have felt great after their innings.
Kieron Pollard (64 off 30) and Rohit Sharma (50 off 31) had powered the Indians to a more than respectable total of 183. Things were looking up for the winless team, who could rely on the likes of Lasith Malinga to defend a score against a powerful, but sometimes over-aggressive group of batsmen.
That aggression was on full display when Brendon McCullum (46 off 20) and Dwayne Smith (62 off 30) opened their innings. Chennai had scored 72 runs after five overs, and by the time Harbhajan Singh removed the duo in the same over, the Super Kings' score was already well over 100.
This is why Chennai are widely viewed as one of the favourites to win this year's crown: Even on a day where Faf du Plessis (11 runs) and MS Dhoni (three runs) didn't perform up to their usual standards, the team's depth is just so strong, someone else is bound to step up.
Openers Smith and McCullum got things started, and Suresh Raina's 43 set up Dwayne Bravo to secure the win with an emphatic six.
Yes, Rajasthan look really strong, but against such an explosive group of batsmen, even the Royals may be no match. If Chennai can get their bowling sorted, the 2015 IPL season may be over before it truly begins.
All statistics courtesy of the tournament's official website.
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