IPL 2016: Top Run-Scorers, Wicket-Takers, Averages and More After Qualifier 1

Bangalore Royal Challengers skipper Virat Kohli suffered a rare failure with the bat on Tuesday, although his blushes were spared after a stunning innings from team-mate AB de Villiers saw their side past Gujarat Lions and into the final of the 2016 Indian Premier League.

Chasing 158, Bangalore were 29 for five in the sixth over. But De Villiers played a gem of a knock, finishing unbeaten on 79 from 47 balls to see his side to a four-wicket win and into Sunday’s final. He’s still 337 runs short of his captain in the race for the top run-scorer gong, though.

While the South African stole the show, there were also brilliant bowling efforts. Bangalore’s Shane Watson and Gujarat’s Dhawal Kulkarni both grabbed four wickets, with the former now the tournament’s joint-leading wicket-taker with 20.

Here’s a look at how the first play-off game impacted on the standings in the race for the orange and purple cap and a closer examination of how the star men fared in the contest.

Pos	Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	BF	SR
1	Virat Kohli	15	15	4	919	113	83.54	605	151.90
2	AB de Villiers	15	15	3	682	129*	56.83	401	170.07
3	David Warner	14	14	2	658	92	54.83	436	150.91
4	Rohit Sharma	14	14	3	489	85*	44.45	368	132.88
5	Ajinkya Rahane	14	14	3	480	74	43.63	379	126.64
6	Gautam Gambhir	14	14	2	473	90*	39.41	383	123.49
7	Shikhar Dhawan	14	14	4	463	82*	46.30	390	118.71
8	Murali Vijay	14	14	1	453	89	34.84	364	124.45
9	Quinton de Kock	13	13	1	445	108	37.08	327	136.08
10	Suresh Raina	14	14	1	398	75	30.61	307	129.64

Pos	Player	Mat	Inns	Overs	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Avg	Econ
1	Shane Watson	15	15	52.3	424	20	4/29	21.20	8.07
2	Yuzvendra Chahal	12	12	45.1	366	20	4/25	18.30	8.10
3	Dhawal Kulkarni	13	13	45.0	332	18	4/14	18.44	7.37
4	Bhuvneshwar Kumar	14	14	54.0	419	18	4/29	23.27	7.75
5	Mitchell McClenaghan	14	14	53.2	436	17	4/21	25.64	8.17
6	Mustafizur Rahman	14	14	53.0	356	16	3/16	22.25	6.71
7	Sandeep Sharma	14	14	50.0	366	15	2/11	24.40	7.32
8	Jasprit Bumrah	14	14	52.0	406	15	3/13	27.06	7.80
9	Andre Russell	12	12	36.3	291	15	4/20	19.40	7.97
10	Dwayne Bravo	14	14	52.0	462	15	4/22	30.80	8.88

Full standings available via the competition’s official website.

De Villiers Delivers a Masterclass

So frequently De Villiers stands up to produce a stunning innings when it matters most, and unfortunately for the Lions, they were on the end of one in this first play-off.

While the South African has probably played more brutal knocks down the years, certainly in terms of runs scored, the position the team found themselves in demanded a special performance. At 29 for five, had De Villiers fallen, it would have been game over for the Royal Challengers.

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But supported by Stuart Binny (21) and then brilliantly by Iqbal Abdulla (33*), De Villiers found his feet and started to strike the ball with conviction. As noted by former England captain Michael Vaughan, it was a pretty special innings from the 32-year-old:

Indeed, not only did it contain five fours and five more huge sixes, it was laced with maturity. De Villiers rotated the strike, took quick singles when possible and put bowlers under pressure brilliantly when the chances arose. That Bangalore eventually won with 10 balls to spare after being in such a perilous position is testament to his brilliance.

While Kohli is impossible to catch in the pursuit of the orange cap at this point, De Villiers did at least move ahead of his skipper in one category with this memorable effort, per statistician Mohandas Menon:

The reason why Bangalore found themselves in such a tough spot was due to a strong performance from Gujarat up until a point, with both bat and ball.

Indeed, as star players faltered up front for the Lions, Smith produced a brilliant counter-attacking effort of 73 from 41 balls. Had it not been for him, this one could have been a little embarrassing for Gujarat, with a high-calibre top order of Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina amassing just six between them.

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Kulkarni seemed to have this one won for Gujarat, too, as he produced a dazzling spell of bowling to get rid of Kohli, Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul and Sachin Baby, posting figures of four for 14. As ESPNcricinfo’s Bharath Seervi noted, the fast bowler seems to shine when challenged with opening the bowling:

Kulkarni now has 18 wickets for the tournament, leaving him two behind Bangalore duo Yuzvendra Chahal, who took one wicket on Tuesday, and Watson, who now holds the purple cap after posting four for 29 with the ball in this match.

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The Australian international may not be the quickest bowler in the Royal Challengers’ lineup, although he compensates for that with so much intelligence. A haul of 20 wickets for the tournament is an indication of just how much can be achieved with accurate, diverse bowling in this format; express pace and ripping spin deliveries aren't imperative.

He’s a player, like so many in this Bangalore setup, who seems to have a performance in them when backs are against the wall.

With Sunday’s final to look forward to with the top run-scorer, top wicket-takers and an in-form De Villiers in their ranks, it’s hard to see anyone halting the Royal Challengers juggernaut at this juncture.