Featuring Virat, Suryakant Yadav, Mustafizur Rehman, David Warner, AB, Krunal Pandya...
The second week of IPL 2016 picked up pace, witnessing some close games and fine individual performances.
Pre-tournament favourites took a beating as a result of which the Gujarat Lions, the Delhi Daredevils and the Sunrisers Hyderabad occupy the top half in the eight team league table.
As the season moves into its third week, Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com lists six memorable moments from Week 2, IPL 9.
1. Virat Kohli's maiden T20 century
April 24. Virat Kohli gave his idol Sachin Tendulkar a special birthday gift.
Virat scored his first century in all forms of T20 cricket.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper's whirlwind 100 off only 63 balls, which included 11 fours and a six, was in a losing cause.
The Gujarat Lions spoiled Kohli's party by chasing down an imposing 181 run target, with three deliveries to spare.
2. Gamble on Suryakumar Yadav pays off
A masterstroke by Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir!
In the absence of Manish Pandey -- who was laid low by chicken pox -- Gambhir promoted Yadav to bat at No 3.
Yadav, who plays his cricket for Mumbai, seized the opportunity and delivered a near perfect counter-attacking knock.
With openers Robin Uthappa (0) and Gambhir (11) out cheaply, Yadav shouldered the responsibility and steadied the innings.
His 46-ball 60 on a spin-friendly track played a vital role in KKR's 2 wicket victory over M S Dhoni's Pune Supergiants.
3. Mustafizur turns it around for Sunrisers
He is undoubtedly the best bowler in Season 9 so far!
Exactly 12 months after Mustafizur Rahman made his international debut, the Bangaldeshi left-armer underlined his potential as a future star with extraordinary figures -- 2 wickets for only 9 runs (including 17 dot balls!) in Sunrisers Hyderabad's 5 wicket win over the Kings XI Punjab on April 23.
Mustafizurhas taken 7 wickets in 5 games, at an astonishing economy rate of 5.75.
Thanks to his bowling and skipper David Warner's batting, Sunrisers have won three of its five games.
4. Warner's hat-trick of fifties
If Mustafizur is delivering with the ball, Sunrisers' captain is on a roll with his heavy bat.
The Aussie left-hander smashed three consecutive half centuries in his team's last three outings to power the side to a hat-trick of victories.
On April 23, Warner played another blazing knock, smashing a 31-ball 59, as Sunrisers scored a convincing 5 wicket victory over the struggling Kings XI Punjab in Hyderabad.
Chasing a modest 144, David Warner attacked from the start, scoring 7 boundaries and three sixes in his match-winning knock.
5. AB and Kohli blast Supergiants
Virat Kohli and A B de Villiers made life difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, scoring quickfire half centuries to set the Rising Pune Supergiants a challenging target.
AB, in particular, was hostile against Ravichandran Ashwin & Co as he set the platform for a convincing 13-run victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Put in to bat, the Royal Challengers rode on de Villiers's 83 off 46 balls, inclusive of 6 boundaries and two sixes, and Kohli's 80 off 63 deliveries, during which the Indian ace hammered 7 fours and two hits over the fence, to post a healthy 185/5. Pune could only muster 172/8.
6. Krunal Pandya's dream wickets
In RCB's previous game, the dangerous duo of Virat Kohli and A B de Villiers were halted by little-known Krunal Pandya.
Denied bowling in Mumbai Indians' defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Krunal claimed what he later termed his 'dream wickets' -- Kohli and AB.
After the duo added 59 runs off 39 balls for the second wicket, the left-arm spinner applied the breaks on Royal Challengers Bangalore.
First, he had Kohli caught on the long-off boundary, then he lured out de Villers to have the South African stumped as Bangalore slumped to 93/3 from 91/1 in 5 deliveries.
His impressive spell of 2/27 restricted the Royal Challengers to 170.
Mumbai chased down the target with 2 overs to spare.
