The Indian Premier League has entered the second half of the tournament and going by the performances so far in the tournament it can established that the openers are having a great time out there in the middle. There are nine batsmen who have breached the 300 runs mark in the tournament and eight of them are openers and with at least four matches remaining, anyone could walk away with the Orange Cup.

Let us take a brief look at the top five batsmen of the IPL V so far.

Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan Royals): Rahane has been leading the pack of batsmen in the tournament. He is looking is terrific form. He has registered the first century of this year’s IPL and came close to breaching the three figure marks in a match on two occasions. He plays pure cricketing shots and has stamped all over. He has scored 463 in 11 matches at a strike rate of 137.38 averaging 51. He has two half centuries and one century to his name in this year’s tournament.

Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils): He is looking dangerous as ever and his strike rate of 163.60 is the highest among all the top six batsmen. He is the main reason as to why Delhi is at the top of points table. Sehwag is leading his side from the front and his five half centuries in a row is a new record for T20’s across the World. He has scored 445 runs in 10 matches averaging 49 including five half centuries.

Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders): Skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders is sure playing like one. Ever since he has found his form, KKR is on a roll and the team has moved up to the second spot on the points table. He already has five fifties in his name and the way he is playing definitely shows that there is more to come. He has piled up 421 runs in 10 matches at an average of 52.

Chris Gayle (Royal Challengers Bangalore): He helped Royal Challengers Bangalore reach the finals of the last edition single-handedly. He is playing a little differently this time around and unlike last time where he went after the bowling from the word go, he is taking some time to settle and once he gets his eyes in, launches his onslaught. He has the highest number of sixes (29) to his credit this season. He has amassed 407 runs in nine matches at an average of 50. He has registered five fifties in the tournament till now.

Francois du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings): This man from South Africa is the most consistent batsmen for Chennai Super Kings this season and has been giving them good start continuously. His average is on the lower side as compared to other players. He averages 35 but his contribution has been very important in Chennai success in this year’s tournament. He has scored 385 in 12 matches at a strike rate of 133.68 which included three half centuries as well.

By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News