IPL 2018 Review: Top 5 standout overseas players this season
Chennai Super Kings managed to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad to clinch third IPL trophy in the final played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The overseas players played a major role in helping Chennai and Sunrisers go the distance in the competition. Sam Billings, Shane Watson, Lungi Ngidi produced superlative performances for Chennai in this year’s competition. Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan were the standout overseas players for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The likes of Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils did not do well as their overseas players could not deliver consistently good performances in the competition. For any franchise to win the coveted IPL trophy, overseas players have always been instrumental in terms of contribution with bat and ball.
Let’s take a look at the standout overseas players of 2018 Indian Premier League:
Sunil Narine
West Indies off-spinner made telling contributions with the bat and ball in this year’s competition. Narine’s batting improved drastically as he scored 357 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders as a makeshift opener. His bowling was also effective in the competition as he picked up 17 wickets at a splendid economy rate of 7.65.
He also earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of 2018 IPL due to his crucial contributions with bat and ball.
Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson was able to put A-game to the fore in this year’s competition. The newly appointed captain for Sunrisers Hyderabad produced memorable performances with the bat in this year’s competition. He scored close to 800 runs and finished as leading run scorer in the competition to clinch Orange Cap Award (Most runs in the IPL 2018). New Zealand skipper amassed 735 runs at an average of 52.50 with eight half-centuries to his name.
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan proved to be a standout player for Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year’s competition. He continues to impress with his bag of variations. The premier spinner finished with 21 wickets in the competition. He turned out to be the most economical bowler for Sunrisers as he finished with an economy rate of 6.73.
The 19-year old proved to be a difficult proposition with the ball for opposing batsmen this season. He kept in tight in the middle overs for Sunrisers Hyderabad to help them defend paltry scores in a couple of games played in this year’s competition.
Shane Watson
Fourth on the list is Shane Watson who looked renewed figure with the bat and ball. Former Australian all-rounder looked in great touch with the bat and produced a scorching ton to help Chennai clinch their third IPL trophy. He chipped in with consistently good performances and scored 555 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 154.6.
Watson also smashed two big hundreds for Chennai in this year’s competition. He was chipped with crucial wickets with the ball.
Andrew Tye
Fifth on the list is Kings XI’s Andrew Tye who topped the bowling charts in this year’s competition. Tye was the standout performer with the ball for Kings XI as he picked up 24 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 18.66.
Andrew Tye also picked up a heap of wickets due to his bag of variations. He made clever use of knuckleballs and slower balls at the backend of the innings to pick up vital wickets for Kings XI. He finished at the top of the bowling charts to clinch Purple Cap in the competition.
