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Rediff.com  » Cricket » Raina was IPL3's most valuable player

Raina was IPL3's most valuable player

By Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji
April 29, 2010 18:16 IST
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After an indifferent start, Chennai Super Kings exceeded all expectations to win the Indian Premier League. They beat favourites Mumbai Indians in the final.

Let us have a look at each of the eight teams and find out the best players and biggest disappointments in this year's tournament.

Also remember to check out the analysis of the inaugural IPL in 2008 and IPL 2009, at the half-way mark.

Kings XI Punjab (won 4, lost 10)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI

($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Irfan Pathan

276

148.4

15

9.2

14

579

453

925000

1599

2042

25

M Jayawardene

439

147.3

0

--

13

536

264

475000

887

1698

32

K Sangakkara

357

138.9

0

--

13

486

321

700000

1439

2181

32

Yuvraj Singh

255

128.1

5

6.6

14

387

444

1063750

2751

2394

28

Piyush Chawla

62

103.3

12

7.5

14

364

249

400000

1099

1605

21

Irfan Pathan comfortably tops the list. He scored enough runs, and at a good strike rate, and took wickets too. However, Irfan's big problem was his high economy rate. Mahela Jayawardene became immensely valuable once he started opening the innings. He is a great player to have for Punjab, and would also prove to be an outstanding captain. Kumar Sangakkara looked lost and forlorn, but he still performed reasonably. Yuvraj Singh makes the list only because he took some wickets at a decent economy rate. But his low strike rate suggests that something is indeed amiss.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI

($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

S Sreesanth

27

128.6

3

10.1

6

47

58

625000

13298

9698

27

Brett Lee

11

122.2

0

10.3

4

-13

139

900000

--

2682

33

Karan Goel

18

90.0

0

7.0

6

30

101

30000

989

276

23

Mohd Kaif

28

93.3

0

--

4

31

0

250000

8065

--

29

S Sreesanth had a terrible tournament, bowling without control, and certainly no guile. But Brett Lee was even worse: he didn't get a single wicket in his four matches! Mohammad Kaif took a $400,000 pay cut to find refuge in Kings XI Punjab after Rajasthan Royals said they didn't want him (he was RR's most expensive Indian player), but sadly his cricket form is falling apart. Karan Goel contributed value worth 5 runs per match in the 6 matches he played. He used to be quite a dasher, but something's now going wrong.

Rajasthan Royals (won 6, lost 8)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Yusuf Pathan

333

165.7

5

7.2

14

589

412

475000

806

1136

27

Naman Ojha

377

132.3

0

--

14

452

195

30000

66

141

26

S Watson

185

162.3

6

8.4

6

345

0

125000

155

--

28

Michael Lumb

278

144.8

0

--

11

320

 

50000

156

 

30

S Trivedi

20

142.9

11

7.5

11

285

92

30000

105

295

27

Yusuf Pathan did all he could, but that wasn't enough. Naman Ojha blossomed, especially when RR entered their middle winning streak. Shane Watson, who was the outstanding player of IPL1, contributed his bit -- but he came in too late. Michael Lumb made up for Graeme Smith's absence, and announced himself as a good T20 player. Siddharth Trivedi too recovered his IPL1 form after his IPL2 disappointments. But Gautam Gambhir was right; RR didn't have a second Yusuf Pathan.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Shane Warne

11

55.0

11

7.6

14

254

323

450000

1769

1375

40

Munaf Patel

4

80.0

3

9.1

4

52

317

275000

5255

830

26

Shaun Tait

12

92.3

10

8.5

8

202

 

400000

1980

 

27

Abhishek Raut

56

116.7

0

--

6

83

86

30000

361

325

23

It must seem strange to see Shane Warne's name in this list, but he was a disappointment if one looks at his awesome cricketing achievements. Warne still offers great value as captain, but he's finding it harder to rediscover his bowling magic and his batting is completely gone (recall how RR defeated RCB in IPL1 because of Warne's batting at the end?). Munaf Patel seemed as lost in RR colours as he is in Indian colours and more was expected of Shaun Tait given his high price (by RR standards). Abhishek Raut is in this list because he failed again to live up to his IPL1 promise.

Kolkata Knight Riders (won 7, lost 7)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Sourav Ganguly

493

117.7

0

10.8

14

471

154

1092500

2318

6981

37

Chris Gayle

292

158.7

4

9.5

9

405

196

800000

1553

2280

30

Angelo Mathews

233

126.6

8

8.4

14

392

6

30000

77

3909

23

Murali Kartik

22

--

9

6.5

10

313

135

425000

1359

2968

33

Ashok Dinda

0

0.0

9

6.6

7

232

66

30000

129

420

26

After the horrors of IPL2, Sourav Ganguly made a smart comeback, scoring a lot of runs – although his below par strike rate suggests that Dada was still holding something back. Chris Gayle played his part, but never seemed completely engaged in the team's mission – although that's how he is even when he captains the West Indies. Angelo Mathews provided all-round value and Murali Kartik bowled economically, and with guile. Ashok Dinda bowled with fire and determination and reminded us that he is still the wonderful talent who announced himself in IPL1. We have included Dinda ahead of Manoj Tiwary because Tiwary is much more expensive ($675,000) and was therefore expected to go even better.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Ishant Sharma

6

35.3

7

9.4

7

98

210

950000

9661

4325

21

David Hussey

94

109.3

0

8.0

6

93

137

675000

4649

1967

32

B McCullum

114

103.6

0

--

5

101

318

700000

2961

2140

28

Ajit Agarkar

40

137.9

4

9.2

7

99

107

330000

3322

2959

32

Ishant Sharma provided no value, let alone breakthroughs. His economy rate was unacceptably high for a front-ranking bowler. Since Ishant only brings in bowlings skills it is likely that his price will fall drastically in IPL4. David Hussey, rather like Brad Hodge, was an also-ran. His strike rate was unacceptably low, and we'll probably remember him best in IPL3 for that catch across the boundary line. Brendon McCullum too did not justify his high price tag, especially because he wasn't even burdened with wicket-keeping duty. His strike rate too is a shocker. Ajit Agarkar -- remember he has a Test century? -- scored too little and conceded too many runs. Sadly his wicket tally too is drying up. We expect he'll get one more chance in the IPL -- very probably as a Sahara Pune Warrior -- but time is clearly running out.

Delhi Daredevils (won 7, lost 7)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

V Sehwag

356

163.3

3

4.1

14

514

226

833750

1623

3539

31

Amit Mishra

39

76.5

17

6.8

14

481

281

30000

62

102

27

Dinesh Karthik

278

117.3

0

--

14

390

433

525000

1346

1231

24

David Warner

282

147.6

0

--

11

369

219

250000

677

1030

23

P Collingwood

203

130.1

5

6.8

8

336

--

275000

527

--

33

Even when you think that Virender Sehwag hasn't done well, you look at the numbers and find that he is right up there. Sehwag started IPL3 threatening to run amuck but failed to deliver in the second half (perhaps his shoulder was troubling him?). Amit Mishra bowled exceptionally and looks set to command a price of at least $400,000 in the next IPL. Dinesh Karthik batted and kept well, although the DD slide began when he was captain. Paul Collingwood with his cool proved to be just the stabilizing presence DD needed and David Warner threatened to explode every time without quite fulfilling the promise.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

AB de Villiers

111

93.3

0

--

7

133

609

300000

2250

500

26

T Dilshan

44

83.0

3

8.6

6

93

408

250000

2698

613

33

Ashish Nehra

23

115.0

6

6.9

4

165

349

400000

2419

1113

31

F Maharoof

31

134.8

8

8.6

7

182

86

225000

1234

2212

25

AB de Villiers didn't get too many chances in IPL3, but he did nothing exceptional in the 7 matches that he played. He scored only 111 runs at a strike rate below 100! After his heroics at home in IPL2 this was a big fall. Tillakaratne Dilshan just didn't get the runs, and his strike rate was abysmal. Ashish Nehra was India's best bowler in 2009 and expected to bowl match-winning spells. Like Nehra, Farveez Maharoof too was not a failure; but he is clearly capable of better things, especially with the bat.

Deccan Chargers (league: won 8, lost 6, placed fourth)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

A Symonds

429

125.8

12

7.0

16

755

420

1350000

1787

1655

35

Rohit Sharma

404

133.8

2

8.1

16

499

510

750000

1502

1513

23

Pragyan Ojha

3

37.5

21

7.3

16

477

325

30000

63

94

23

Ryan Harris

45

115.4

14

7.6

8

355

131

60000

169

419

30

T Suman

307

119.5

0

12.0

14

298

339

30000

101

86

26

Andrew Symonds had his best IPL season consistently making useful all-round combinations.  His strike rate was a trifle low suggesting that he took his time to build his innings. Rohit Sharma produced magical batting spells and confirmed that he can finish well; sadly his bowling faltered and there were no great bowling spells this year (and certainly no hat-tricks). Pragyan Ojha made the selectors look stupid for choosing Piyush Chawla ahead of him. Ryan Harris averaged almost two wickets per game and, without being spectacular, certainly made DC look a better team. Tirumalsetti Suman was the star of DC's mid-IPL3 revival.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

A Gilchrist

289

156.2

0

--

16

446

753

700000

1568

956

38

RP Singh

9

47.4

13

8.8

12

289

406

875000

3031

2218

24

H Gibbs

267

113.6

0

--

10

251

341

575000

2294

1685

36

VVS Laxman

64

106.7

0

--

6

58

1

375000

6466

435714

35

To understand why Adam Gilchrist is in this list, take a look at how much better he played last year (MVP of 753 last year; 446 this year). Gilchrist failed to convert aggressive starts into match-winning totals. His captaincy is still excellent, but he no longer looks the explosive batsman we've known him to be. R P Singh didn't do too badly, but he certainly didn't provide the sort of performance expected from someone with a $875,000 price tag. Like Ishant Sharma, R P Singh's price will crash in IPL4 to half its current price. Herschelle Gibbs showed up, played a few breezy knocks but never conveyed that intense desire to win. V V S Laxman is a puzzle: when batsmen like Dravid and, especially, Jayawardene could unravel the T20 batting puzzle, why not Laxman? He's just as talented as those two.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (league: won 7, lost 7, placed third)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Jacques Kallis

572

115.8

13

8.4

16

780

411

900000

1153

2221

34

R Uthappa

376

172.5

0

--

16

581

192

800000

1376

4226

24

Anil Kumble

6

54.5

17

6.4

16

452

436

500000

1106

1180

39

Dale Steyn

13

76.5

15

6.9

15

404

36

325000

804

7662

26

Virat Kohli

307

144.8

0

9.4

16

379

268

300000

792

1150

21

For most of IPL3, Jacques Kallis looked to be the most valuable player. But he faltered just a bit at the end, his scoring rate dropped, his economy rate rose … and that was enough to upset the RCB applecart. But to have a PVI of 1153 on a $900,000 price tag is remarkable. To put things in perspective, Kallis had a PVI of 4647 in IPL1. Robin Uthappa finally played the way he used to in his halcyon 2007 days; his strike rate of 172.5 surpassed even Virender Sehwag's! Anil Kumble equaled his stupendous 2009 performance and proved to be an outstanding captain. He did nothing wrong … till that ill-fated last over versus MI. Dale Steyn took wickets with speed and accuracy and Virat Kohli showed amazing maturity … although if he had sacrificed his wicket to Kevin Pietersen, RCB could've ended third in the league table because of a higher NRR and avoided playing MI.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Mark Boucher

13

130.0

0

--

5

48

206

450000

9441

2127

33

Cameron White

48

145.5

0

19.0

7

61

0

500000

5269

--

26

Eoin Morgan

35

116.7

0

--

6

70

 

220000

3143

 

23

Ross Taylor

88

117.3

0

--

7

96

307

100000

446

312

26

T20 is cruel to wicket-keepers: a bad keeper who can bat explosively is more valued than a keeper with pedigree. That's why Mark Boucher lost out, although he too can be a fine finisher. Cameron White was coming in to bat at funny times and just couldn't be effective; he also seemed the least favoured among the trio of Pietersen, Taylor and White. Eoin Morgan just couldn't score. Neither could Ross Taylor after his heroics in the Champions League. It does look as though White's tenure at RCB is over; perhaps we'll see him at Kochi next year with his Aussie skipper Michael Clarke.

Mumbai Indians (league: won 10, lost 4, losing finalist)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Kieron Pollard

273

185.7

15

7.4

14

772

 

750000

972

 

23

Sachin Tendulkar

618

132.9

0

--

15

631

375

1121250

1777

2945

37

Harbhajan Singh

105

166.7

17

7.0

15

557

383

850000

1526

2189

29

Ambati Rayudu

356

144.7

0

--

14

489

 

30000

61

 

24

Saurabh Tiwary

419

135.6

0

--

16

451

11

40000

89

3117

20

The big riddle of IPL3 will be: What if Kieron Pollard had come in to bat earlier? After a tentative start, Pollard conquered the IPL arena with a brand of aggression that made even Viru look docile. But let's not forget that Pollard is MI's leading player because he also took 15 wickets at a better than par economy rate. To have a PVI below 1000 with his sort of price is a remarkable achievement!

The enduring image of Sachin Tendulkar's batting at IPL3 will be the way he timed and caressed his shots to reach boundaries. Tendulkar hit 86 fours, but only 3 sixes, and showed that you don't have be brutal to succeed as a T20 batsman. Harbhajan Singh showed what a wonderful T20 player he can be, especially when he replaces slaps with hugs.

Ambati Rayudu provided the most heart-warming story of IPL3; we'll remember IPL3 most for Rayudu's endearing smile after winning a man of the match award, and for that remarkably acrobatic stumping. A lot of commentators called MI's IPL3 approach 'fearless'. Saurabh Tiwary with his flaying hair and carefree batting best exemplified this approach. We are all watching; let's see how this talented lad grows up.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

JP Duminy

157

119.8

1

6.7

7

186

450

950000

5098

2083

26

S Jayasuriya

33

106.5

2

7.6

4

79

302

975000

12394

3136

40

Dwayne Bravo

64

120.8

4

8.7

10

159

395

150000

945

358

26

R Sathish

112

116.7

2

10.1

12

174

 

30000

172

 

31

Jean-Paul Duminy had an unhappy IPL3: first he didn't find a place in the batting eleven, and then he didn't find the correct batting slot. Duminy is the sort of player who needs to bat in the top four; he must have wondered why Rayudu and Tiwary always batted ahead of him. In fact the MI batting order never made too much sense. Sanath Jayasuriya's is a sad story of declining ability. His MVPI over the last three years has gone down shockingly: 729, 302 and, now, 79. It looks very much like 'exit cricketer, enter politician' for him now, unless he sparkles one last time in the T20 World Cup.

Dwayne Bravo too suffered because he had to bat lower down, and, when he tried to bowl, he found that the ball was going all over the place. He even failed as MI captain! Rajagopal Sathish must be feeling miserable; like Rayudu, this ICL refugee too got his chance … but, unlike Rayudu, he failed to make the grade.

Chennai Super Kings (league: won 7, lost 7, Champions)

Top five

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Suresh Raina

524

143.6

6

7.5

16

784

667

650000

829

975

23

Murali Vijay

458

156.8

0

--

15

588

44

50000

85

581

25

Albie Morkel

198

151.1

11

8.5

14

471

293

650000

1381

2159

28

MS Dhoni

287

136.7

0

--

13

425

400

1500000

3529

3752

28

R Ashwin

30

75.0

13

6.1

12

373

52

30000

81

476

23

Suresh Raina wasn't just CSK's top player; our analysis makes him IPL3's most valuable player (MVP), and even the most valuable player across the three IPLs (MVPI sum of 1976 in IPL1+IPL2+IPL3). Raina batted with great aggression, but was always in control. He often bowled during the most difficult phase of the innings and managed to take a wicket or at least slow the batting tempo. His only blemish – if you could call it that – was his captaincy; but then, it's impossibly hard to substitute for a Dhoni.

Murali Vijay's electric 127 was a revelation, but the bigger revelation was that he is indeed equipped to bat in the T20 mode.

Everyone called Albie Morkel a failure, but look at his numbers: he consistently made useful contributions. M S Dhoni spent the first half of the IPL telling us how you could do social networking with Aircel, but when he heard the call of the mountains he hit two sixes to change everything for CSK. It was hard to pick the last name on this list – with Hayden, Muralitharan, Badrinath, Bollinger and Jakati all having MVPIs of about 300 or more – but we picked R Ashwin for his fearless bowling at the start of the innings, and an amazing performance in the all-important final.

Disappointing four

Player Name

Runs

Strike Rate

W

Eco

M

MVPI

MVPI 2009

Money offered ($)

PVI ($ per run)

PVI 2009

Age

Matthew Hayden

346

124.0

0

--

16

380

678

375000

987

537

38

Justin Kemp

26

108.3

3

7.4

5

90

 

100000

1115

 

32

L Balaji

18

90.0

7

9.0

7

131

183

50000

382

162

28

Sudeep Tyagi

3

75.0

1

10.0

6

-2

86

50000

--

321

22

Matthew Hayden figures in this list not because he was an abject failure but because his performance has dropped appreciably given his lofty standards. A PVI of 987 suggests that he still offers a great return on investment, but he no longer appears intimidating. Hayden has to play it differently in IPL4, he can start by setting that mongoose bat on fire.

Justin Kemp was unfortunate to be injured but a strike rate of 108 doesn't do justice to a recognized striker. L Balaji and Sudeep Tyagi struggled with the new ball in the first half of the tournament till respite came in the form of Doug Bollinger.

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Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji

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