IPL 2016: Top 10 Batsmen of Week 3 of Indian Premier League
We are three weeks into the Indian Premier League season and the table is taking shape with newcomers Gujarat Lions, at the time of writing, top of the pile.
This is in no small part to their big-hitting lineup, two of whom have done enough to make the cut for Bleacher Report's top 10 batsmen of the week.
But who else has managed to make this hallowed list? And can you guess who made the top spot?
Here, based on their combined performances over the last seven days and ranked in ascending order of their achievements, are the top 10 batsmen of the IPL’s third week.
*All performances from 23 April to 29 April were taken into consideration.
10. Ajinkya Rahane
1 of 10
Team: Rising Pune Supergiants
Total runs: 120
Best performance of the week: 67 from 52 balls vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
It's been a mixed week for Ajinkya Rahane who has recorded two assured half-centuries either side of a duck at the top of the order for Pune.
His first fifty, a slick effort against Kolkata's all-star bowling lineup, contained seven boundaries but couldn't prevent his side slipping to a narrow loss.
Similarly, his second significant innings, a 45-ball 53, also proved to be in vain with the Supergiants going on to lose to the high-flying Gujarat Lions.
9. Kieron Pollard
2 of 10
Team: Mumbai Indians
Total runs: 80
Best performance of the week: 51 not out off 17 balls
When Kieron Pollard strode to the crease against Kolkata, Mumbai needed 69 runs from 42 balls. Not the stiffest task in this modern era of T20 cricket perhaps but not a walk in the park either.
Well, it turned out to be a gentle stroll for the West Indian who slammed six maximums in no time at all to blast his side over the line at a canter.
Prior to this knock, Pollard had managed to score just 71 runs in his last six innings, but he appears to be coming into form at just the right time for the Indians.
8. JP Duminy
3 of 10
Team: Delhi Daredevils
Total runs: 97
Best performance of the week: 49 not out off 31 balls vs. Mumbai Indians
JP Duminy's recent return from injury can only be a good thing for the Daredevils, and the left-hander helped his side to an important win over Mumbai this week.
The South African added 71 in 8.3 overs with Shane Samson and then upped the tempo for the last few overs to make a major contribution to a total that proved to be too much for the Indians.
Duminy also scored 48 against Gujarat, an innings that, given the loss of early wickets, required a more measured approach but couldn't help his side record the win.
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7. Chris Morris
4 of 10
Team: Gujarat Lions
Total runs: 82
Best performance of the week: 82 not out off 32 balls
When Chris Morris strode to the crease against Gujarat for his only innings of the week, the Daredevils, needing 116 runs to win from 9.2 overs, seemed down and out.
One ballistic display of hitting containing eight huge sixes later, the South African almost single-handedly managed to inspire his side to one of the most remarkable wins in IPL history.
However, with 14 runs required from the final over, Morris and Pawan Negi could only manage 12, and the all-rounder had to settle for defeat and the man-of-the-match award.
6. Virat Kohli
5 of 10
Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Total runs: 100
Best performance of the week: 100 not out off 63 balls
Surprisingly, given his ever-growing list of batting feats, Virat Kohli had never hit a T20 ton, but all that changed after this masterclass against Gujarat Lions, which was his only knock of the week.
The Indian Test skipper batted fluently throughout Bangalore's innings finding the gaps at will, and his four off the final ball, his 12th boundary in total, took him to three figures.
However, as something of a perfectionist, Kohli will be disappointed that his personal milestone wasn't enough to seal a win for Royal Challengers who lost by six wickets with three balls to spare.
5. Ambati Rayudu
6 of 10
Team: Mumbai Indians
Runs: 122
Best performance of the week: 65 off 37 balls vs. Kings XI Punjab
Mr Consistency, Ambati Rayudu, maintained his relentless run of form by contributing another 122 runs for Mumbai's cause across the course of the week.
The 30-year-old's most impressive knock was an explosive effort against Punjab where he took 39 off 17 balls from spin duo Glenn Maxwell and Axar Patel to propel Mumbai to a match-winning score.
Rayadu has yet to score fewer than 20 in any of his innings during the current IPL campaign, and the Indians will be hoping for more of the same as they try to make the cut for the play-offs.
4. Rohit Sharma
7 of 10
Team: Mumbai Indians
Total runs: 133
Best performance of the week: 68 not out vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
Rohit Sharma's dominant anchor role against Kolkata topped off a roller-coaster week that yielded two half-centuries and a duck.
Chasing down a stiff target of 175 against wily spin duo Sunil Narine and Shakib Al Hasan, the Indian star used all his experience to keep the scoreboard ticking over before Kieron Pollard finished the job off.
Having scored four single-figure scores and four half-centuries in the tournament so far, Sharma will be looking for a little more consistency as things begin to get more serious.
3. Brendon McCullum
8 of 10
Team: Gujarat Lions
Total runs: 145
Best performance of the week: 60 off 36 balls vs. Delhi Daredevils
Another week, another trio of trademark innings from Brendon McCullum whose powerful hitting is one of the main reasons for Gujarat's flying start to life in the IPL.
The former New Zealand skipper began with a 24-ball 42 to help see off the big-hitting Royal Challengers and finished with a 22-ball 43 against Rising Pune Superstars.
In between these efforts, McCullum, alongside fellow opener Dwayne Smith, fired the Lions to victory over Delhi with the 32nd T20 half-century of his career.
2. Dwayne Smith
9 of 10
Team: Gujarat Lions
Total runs: 148
Best performance of the week: 63 off 37 balls vs. Rising Pune Supergiants
Gujarat had already made an impressive start to their inaugural IPL campaign, but the return from injury of Dwayne Smith has made them an even more formidable-looking unit.
The Barbadian shook off the cobwebs with a 21-ball 32 against Royal Challengers Bangalore before really hitting his stride versus Delhi with a rapid half-century that included three monstrous sixes.
But Smith topped these two efforts with a brutal effort against Pune that contained 12 boundaries and helped his side chase down an intimidating total of 195.
1. Steven Smith
10 of 10
Team: Rising Pune Supergiants
Total runs: 178
Best performance of the week: 101 off 54 balls vs. Gujarat Lions
On top of the pile this week, after a quiet start to the tournament, is Steven Smith who has burst into life over the last seven days, culminating in his emphatic century against the Gujarat Lions.
This was the Australian skipper's first triple-figure score in T20 cricket, and he only allowed eight dot balls while scoring 12 boundaries in his masterly innings.
Surprisingly, Smith ended up on the losing side, but as evidenced by his other scores over the last seven days—31 against Kolkata and an unbeaten 46 versus Hyderabad—he's back in form.
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