IPL 2015: Highest Run-Scorers, T20 Batting Averages, Strike Rates and More

Gautam Gambhir helped the Kolkata Knight Riders to their third victory in four Indian Premier League matches, as they made light work of the Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla in a six-wicket win.  

Some excellent bowling from the reigning champions—with Umesh Yadav and Piyush Chawla shining—limited the Daredevils to 146 for eight from their 50 overs on a green wicket. But the conditions were no problem for the Kolkata skipper, who made 60 to guide his team to an easy victory.

Here’s how this one-sided affair affects various individual classifications, along with a look back at some of the standout performers in this Knight Riders win.

Top 10 Run-Scorers

Rick Rycroft/Associated Press

Player	Team	Runs
Ajinkya Rahane	Rajasthan	231
Rohit Sharma	Mumbai	190
Gautam Gambhir	Kolkata	186
George Bailey	Punjab	164
Dwayne Smith	Chennai	163
Brendon McCullum	Chennai	162
Kieron Pollard	Mumbai	159
David Warner	Hyderabad	159
Shreyas Iyer	Delhi	144
Steve Smith	Rajasthan	141

All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.      

Top 10 Batting Averages

Rick Rycroft/Associated Press

Player	Team	Average
Andre Russell	Kolkata	107.00
Yusuf Pathan	Kolkata	85.00
Dwayne Bravo	Chennai	76.00
Angelo Mathews	Delhi	76.00
Shane Watson	Rajasthan	73.00
Ajinkya Rahane	Rajasthan	57.75
George Bailey	Punjab	54.66
Brendon McCullum	Chennai	54.00
Rohit Sharma	Mumbai	47.50
Gautam Gambhir	Kolkata	46.50

All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.     

Top 10 Strike Rates

Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press

Player	Team	Strike Rate
Piyush Chawla	Kolkata	400.00
Hardik Pandya	Mumbai	266.66
AB de Villiers	Bangalore	221.15
Deepak Hooda	Rajasthan	220.45
Andre Russell	Kolkata	201.88
Abu Nechim	Bangalore	200.00
Varun Aaron	Bangalore	200.00
Mohit Sharma	Chennai	200.00
Harbhajan Singh	Mumbai	191.30
Brendon McCullum	Chennai	190.58

All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.     

Top 10 Wicket-Takers

Rick Rycroft/Associated Press

Player	Team	Wickets
Imran Tahir	Delhi	10
Harbhajan Singh	Mumbai	8
Sandeep Sharma	Punjab	7
JP Duminy	Delhi	7
Anureet Singh	Punjab	7
Dwayne Bravo	Chennai	7
Morne Morkel	Kolkata	7
Shaish Nehra	Chennai	6
Trent Boult	Hyderabad	5
Mitchell Johnson	Punjab	5

All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.   

Top 10 Bowling Figures

Ross Setford/Associated Press

Player	Against	BBI
JP Duminy	Hyderabad	4/17
Sandeep Sharma	Kolkata	4/25
Imran Tahir	Rajasthan	4/28
Anureet Singh	Rajasthan	3/23
Ashish Nehra	Mumbai	3/23
Ashish Nehra	Delhi	3/25
James Faulkner	Punjab	3/26
Harbhajan Singh	Mumbai	3/27
Nathan Coulter-Nile	Chennai	3/30
Umesh Yadav	Punjab	3/33

All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.

Top 10 Economy Rates

David Rowland/Associated Press

Player	Team	Economy
Sandeep Sharma	Punjab	5.37
Stuart Binny	Rajasthan	5.71
Deepak Hooda	Rajasthan	6.22
Dhawal Kulkarni	Rajasthan	6.30
Dale Steyn	Hyderabad	6.75
Bhuvneshwar Kumar	Hyderabad	6.75
Pravin Tambe	Rajasthan	6.76
Sunil Narine	Kolkata	6.81
Morne Morkel	Kolkata	6.87
Ashish Nehra	Chennai	6.93

All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.

Standout Performers

Rob Griffith/Associated Press

Umesh Yadav, Piyush Chawla Help Restrict Delhi

As a collective, the bowling effort turned in by Kolkata in this match was one of the most impressive of the tournament so far. After putting Delhi into bat, the pressure was on this unit to produce and lead by the astute seam of Umesh Yadav, and they did exactly that.

The 27-year-old was handed the responsibility of starting and finishing the innings with the ball. But Yadav took the challenge insouciantly in his stride, finishing up with enormously impressive figures of two wickets for 18 runs from his four overs.

As noted by AltCricket, the India international gave his team vital momentum at the beginning and end of their innings:

"

Umesh Yadav finishes with 4-0-18-2, fantastic both with new ball and at the death. #IPL

— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) April 20, 2015"

His last over was especially impressive. With a below-par Delhi side swinging hard at the ball in the final embers, Yadav capitalised to take two wickets and concede just three runs. But the pressure created at this late juncture was down in part to the work done in the middle overs, especially by the refined spin bowling of Piyush Chawla.

He, too, bowled superbly, as we can see courtesy of HoldingWilleyCricket:

"

Piyush Chawla's also had an excellent spell. 4-0-27-2 1st over- 8 runs 2nd over- 6 runs + W 3rd over- 6 runs 4th over- 7 runs + W #DDvsKKR

— HoldingWilleyCricket (@holdingwilley) April 20, 2015"

With Sunil Narine and Morne Morkel in situ, too, the Knight Riders have one of the standout attacks in the tournament.

While they may not be in possession of batting firepower to compete with the likes of the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings, if they continue taking wickets at critical times in matches, they’ll have a fair chance of defending their crown.

Captain’s Innings From Gautam Gambhir

It wasn’t an innings that saw the ball flying over the fence on a regular basis from the Kolkata captain, but in these tense chases, you need a player to settle the nerves. Gautam Gambhir did exactly that with his knock of 60 from 49 balls.

Despite the quick-fire losses of both Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey, the Indian international remained extremely composed, capitalising in forensic fashion on any poor deliveries from a Daredevils team in desperate need of wickets.

As noted by cricket statistician Mohandas Menon, Gambhir is an expert in this dynamic format:

"

Most 50+ scores in #IPL 26 Gautam Gambhir 24 Rohit Sharma/Suresh Raina 21 Chris Gayle #DDvsKKR

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 20, 2015"

It wasn’t just his batting that was impressive in this match either. After putting Delhi in to bat after winning the toss, he was confident in his decision-making early on, and his bowlers responded by playing with a fine blend of control and aggression.

At one point early on in the Daredevils’ batting effort, the field actually resembled the kind you would usually see in a Test match, such was the pressure being put on:

"

Leg slip, slip, and silly point all in for Narine. Aggressive captaincy from Gambhir. #DDvsKKR

— HoldingWilleyCricket (@holdingwilley) April 20, 2015"

He may not be the most amicable of characters or the biggest hitter in the competition, but Gambhir is superb in the IPL and knows exactly what’s needed in a variety of different situations.

Encouragingly for Kolkata, he seems to be growing as a captain, too, and that’ll only serve to stand the Knight Riders in better stead as they move towards the competition’s climax.