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Runs have flown thick and fast in IPL 2024.
Be it international stars, or domestic talent, batters have put themselves on the map with their big-hitting. There were record totals set (both times by SunRisers Hyderabad) and also a record total chased down at a venue (CSK vs LSG).
From Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma sharing the limelight with their raw talent, to Travis Head smashing some brutal boundaries to notch up big runs and totals for his franchise, this season has had some real power hitters on show.
My 11 stunning knocks from this season of the IPL...
Travis Head, 102 (41) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, April 15
Head's maiden T20 hundred (102, 41b, 9x4, 8x6) drove Sunrisers to a record-breaking 287 for three.
RCB were left dumbfounded when Head got going -- Head's batting does not carry the traditional elegance of a left-hander but he more than compensates it with effectiveness.
The 30 year old displayed that chilling efficiency against RCB pacers Reece Topley and debutant Lockie Ferguson.
Timing the ball impeccably well from the onset, Head opened his boundary count off only the second ball he faced as he smashed Topley through the leg side and followed it up with a maximum to set the tone in the Powerplay.
RCB debutant Lockie Ferguson came into the attack in the fifth over and Head hammered the Kiwi pacer for back-to-back sixes.
In just the 11th over, the Australian had completed his century in 39 balls, the fifth fastest ever in IPL history.
The knock included nine fours and eight sixes and laid the base for the highest IPL total ever.
Jos Buttler, 107 not out (60) vs Kolkata Knight Riders, April 16
In what was the joint highest target successfully chased down in IPL history, the Rajasthan Royals pulled off a shock win over the Kolkata Knight Riders by 2 wickets at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Sunil Narine first put on a great show of six hitting as he completed his maiden IPL century to help KKR post 223 for 6 on the board.
At one stage Rajasthan were down and out at 121 for 6 in the 13th over, before Jos Buttler put on a master class of batting in a chase as he hit a 55-ball century, single-handedly guiding his team home.
The Englishman started off his innings by pummelling Mitchell Starc for a couple of fours and then lofting Vaibhav Arora's juicy full toss for a six over long on in the Powerplay.
Against some smart, accurate, bowling in the middle overs from Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine in particular, Buttler was stifled at one end while wickets kept tumbling at the other.
And fight back he did to shift the momentum in Rajasthan's favour. At one stage of his innings, Buttler was on 42 off 33, but turned on the screws in the latter quarter of the innings, hammering 65 runs off just 27 balls.
He dealt in singles and two for most part of the innings until the 15th over he hammered Chakravarthy -- coming back for his second spell -- for 17 runs including four boundaries.
Buttler made Starc his bunny as he clobbered the Australian for 18 runs in the 18th over, including a six and a four, to bring the equation down to 28 off 12 balls.
KKR were penalised for slow over rate and they could only have four fielders outside the circle in the final over making things a little more easy for Buttler, who finished it off with a six off the first ball to bring up his 7th IPL century.
Three dots, a few jitters later, a quick couple and a single took Rajasthan home.
Virat Kohli, 113 not out (72) vs Rajasthan Royals, April 6
Kohli struck his eighth IPL century but RCB could only manage a below-par 183/3 after the home side opted to bowl.
Scoring at a rate of 156.94, he treated the crowd to some vintage strokes, smashing 12 fours and four sixes in his innings of 113 off 72 balls.
After reaching his fifty in 39 balls, Kohli stepped up well and took just 28 balls for his next fifty as he reached the milestone with a single off Nandre Burger in the penultimate over.
While Kohli's knock was undoubtedly impressive, it wasn't his most fluent. The slightly tacky pitch in the first half of the innings restricted his stroke-making, leading to a slower start. He took 67 balls to reach his century, the joint-slowest in IPL history for a three-figure mark.
After getting off the mark with a single off Trent Boult, Kohli opened his boundary count in the second over, taking two fours off Nandre Burger.
A stellar pull shot saw him clear midwicket to take his first boundary off the evening off Burger. Kohli got another one as he dispatched Burger through square leg to get his innings off to a steady start.
Kohli picked Burger to hit his first maximum off the evening as lifted a gorgeous shot over square leg for a six.
Dropped on 66 by Burger, Kohli switched gears -- treating the spectators to some vintage shots, he brought up his eighth IPL hundred off 67 deliveries -- his first ton against the Rajasthan Royals.
Travis Head, 62 (24) vs Mumbai Indians, March 27
Australia's ODI World Cup hero, who was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 6.8 crore (Rs 68 million), showed he is worth every rupee.
The left-hander toyed with the Mumbai Indians attack and set the tone for SRH's record-breaking total as he smashed.
The first ball he faced, in the opening over bowled by MI debutant Kwena Maphaka, he slapped it for a boundary through the covers.
Head, who was dropped by Tim David in the next over off Hardik Pandya, made MI pay heavily for that lapse. He went after 17-year-old Maphaka for back to back sixes followed by two fours in a row in the third over.
Pandya was shown no mercy as he smashed for a hat-trick of boundaries, while Gerald Coetzee was hammered for two fours and a six as the Australian raced to 50 from just 18 balls -- the fastest by a SRH batter.
He broke David Warner's record of the fastest fifty by an SRH batter with a 18-ball half-century before Abhishek Sharma surpassed Head's feat 20 balls later by reaching the milestone in 16 balls.
Courtesy of Head's blitzkrieg SRH raced to 81/1 in six overs -- their highest ever in a Powerplay.
His entertaining innings came to an end when he miscued the upper cut off a slower bouncer from Coetzee and was caught at third man. Head walked back to a huge ovation from the home fans after a whirlwind 62 from 24 balls, including nine fours and three sixes.
Heinrich Klaasen, 80 not out (34) vs Mumbai Indians, March 27
In the same match, SunRisers Hyderabad Wicket-keeper Heinrich Klaasen's brutal strokeplay propelled SRH to a massive 277/3 -- the highest ever total in the league's history.
Klaasen (80 not out off 34 balls) provided the fireworks at the end to help SRH break an 11-year-old record. The previous highest total in the IPL was 263 for five achieved by Royal Challengers Bangalore back in 2013. It was also the highest total recorded in a T20 league.
When he he walked out to bat in the 12th over with SRH scoring at nearly 15 per over, the in-form Klaasen ensured there was no stopping to the SRH's six hitting spree. He lofted left-arm spinner Shams Mulani for a six over long-off off the second ball he faced.
A Hardik full toss was despatched over square leg for a six while he went after Jasprit Bumrah pulling him for a maximum to take SRH past the 200 run mark in the 15th over -- the second fastest 200 by any team in the IPL.
He brought up his 50 off 23 balls. Klaasen was unstoppable at the end as he hammered Bumrah for back to back fours in the 19th over before Mulani was taken to the cleaners in the final over as he was slammed for a four and couple of sixes.
Klaasen finished unbeaten on 80 from 34 balls, hitting seven sixes and four boundaries -- a maximum off a Bumrah bouncer standing out.
Marcus Stoinis, 124 not out (63) vs Chennai Super Kings, April 24
If you have to beat Chennai Super Kings at home, you need something special.
And that is exactly what Lucknow Super Giants' Marcus Stoinis dished out, scoring a scintiallating ton to not only beat CSK at home but beat them after a record chase at the Chepauk.
Stoinis unbeaten hundred came after Ruturaj Gaikwad's classy century that saw CSK put up 211 on the board.
Stoinis (124, 63b, 13x4, 6x6) helped the Super Giants to mount the highest chase at the Chepauk in the IPL, ending up at 213 for four.
The Australian all-rounder bagged the record for the highest individual score in a run chase, beating the previous record held by Kings XI Punjab's Paul Valthaty, who had stroked 120 not out in 2011, against CSK in IPL 2011.
Stonis crunched some fours and sixes, and nothing was more special than his maximum off pacer Mustafizur Rahman -- Rahman pitched an off-cutter slightly fuller on the off-stump from over the wicket, but Stoinis produced a physics-defying straight crunch over the bowlers' head for a six.
He targetted the CSK spinners. He lofted Ravindra Jadeja for a six over long on in his first over and smashed Moeen Ali for a four and a six in the next over, forcing CSK to alter their gameplan.
He raced to fifty from 26 balls. He dominated the 55-run third wicket stand from 38 balls with Devdutt Padikkal (13 from 19 balls).
In the 17th over, Stoinis again took charge and cut loose. He swung Mustafizur over midwicket for a six and two runs throught point saw him bring up his century from 56 balls, in the 18th over.
Courtesy of Stoinis' stunning assault, LSG raked up 49 from the last 15 balls. Stoinis needed to take 17 runs off the last over bowled by Rahman and did the job with three balls to spare, smashing the Bangladesh left-arm quick for 6, 4, 4 (+1NB) and 4.
Jake Fraser-McGurk, 84 (27) vs Mumbai Indians, April 27
This 22-year-old Australia batter could very well become the country's next destructive hitter like we saw in the match against the Mumbai Indians.
Put to bat first by the MI skipper, DC Opener Jake Fraser-McGurk wasted no time and went on the attack from the get go as he welcomed pacer Luke Wood with three fours and a six in the opening over.
He showed no respect to Jasprit Bumrah, whom he smoked for 18 runs in his opening over. Not only Bumrah, no MI bowler was spared the misery by Fraser-McGurk.
The hosts raced past the 50 run mark in 2.4 overs as Fraser-McGurk slammed a boundary off Nuwan Thushara.
Delhi raced to 92 for no loss in six overs to register its highest ever score in the Powerplay in the IPL. Fraser-McGurk dominated as he smashed 78 runs in the first six overs -- the third most runs by a batter in the Powerplay in the IPL.
He blasted his way to the fastest half-century by a Delhi Capitals batter in the IPL from just 15 balls -- the second time he had achieved it this seasn to help power DC to their highest-ever IPL total of 257.
Fraser-McGurk was eventually dismissed for 84 off just 27 balls, the carnage ending in the 8th over. He scored an amazing strike rate of 311. His brutal innings consisted of 11 fours and six maximums -- to boost Delhi to a healthy total.
Shashank Singh, 61 (29) vs Gujarat Titans, April 4
An unknown entity, Shashank Singh stole the show as he led Punjab Kings' chase of 200 with an unbeaten half-century against the Gujarat Titans.
Chasing a big total, PBKS suffered an early jolt in the form of Captain Shikhar Dhawan, who played on to an Umesh Yadav delivery. PBKS lost wickets at regular intervals and slid to 64 for three by the end of the eighth over.
But it was Shashank who capitalised on the reprieves he got clobbering Umesh for two boundaries and a six to pick up 17 runs in the 11th over.
Shashank held onto one end and brought up his 50 off just 25 balls with the help of five boundaries and three hits over the fence.
With all hopes faded, coming in to bat with 89 needed off 7 overs, the 32 year old revived the team's fortunes. He stood out with a 29-ball 61 to take his team across the finish line, his innings laced with six hits to the boundary and four maximums. He took the team home with one ball to spare.
Riyan Parag, 54 not out (39) vs Mumbai Indians, April 1
With a low score on the board, Riyan didn't need to dish out a sensational knock. But the youngster hit some lusty shots to take the visitors to a comfortable win.
Needing just 126 to win, Royals were reduced to 42/2 in 4.2 overs. Coming in at No. 4, the young batter shouldered the responsibility to take the Royals home.
He took his time to settle in but once he found his first boundaries off Gerald Coetzee, there was nothing to stop him.
A lovely shot over 'keeper Ishan Kishan off a 133.3 kph bouncer from Coetzee saw Riyan hammer his first four. The youngster followed it up with another lusty shot through fine leg.
Coetzee was his go-to bowler as he once again hammered him for another drive straight over cover.
Despite losing Ravichandran Ashwin at the other end, Riyan prevented another collapse, holding onto his nerves for a match-winning knock.
He even took the attack to Bumrah as he thrashed his attempted yorker through extra cover.
His innings were studded with a couple of out of the park shots as well as he hammered Piyush Chawla for a maximum over cow corner.
His unbeaten 39-ball 54 was peppered with five boundaries and three sixes and took the team to victory in just 15.3 overs!
Ashutosh Sharma, 61 (28) vs Mumbai Indians, April 18
Local talent has been Punjab Kings' flavour in the Indian Premier over the last few seasons.
These Indian players are a confident bunch and have what it takes to be T20 and IPL heroes.
Ashutosh Sharma, who along with Shashank Singh, has made his identity as that of a match winner.
One such instance was in the match between the Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Chasing 193, PBKS were 77 for 6 when Ashutosh walked in to bat the 10th over. They soon lost another wicket but Ashutosh kept hopes alive, almost pulling off a coup.
Ashutosh unleashed a flurry of sixes in his 28-ball knock which brought Punjab from the brink to near the finish line but his dismissal in the 18th over turned the game back in favour of the Mumbai Indians as Punjab failed to score 25 runs from 18 balls and lost.
Ashutosh produced a breathtaking knock, hammering seven sixes and two fours -- including a six through a sweep shot against Bumrah.
Shivam Dube, 51 (23) vs Gujarat Titans, March 26
Shivam Dube is a class act -- be it scoring quickly in the middle overs or laying the finishing touches, there is no doubting his ability.
And against GT, he finished with a flourish to power CSK to a 206 for 6. Dube used his long levers to whack 51 from just 23 deliveries to increase the challenge of GT batters by manifold.
Dube entertained the home fans in Chennai, smashing as many five sixes.
He came at the fall of Rahane's wicket and he didn't waste time, getting off the mark with back-to-back sixes -- he just plonked his front-foot and bludgeoned Sai Kishore for two monstrous sixes off the first two balls he faced and he also sent Spencer Johnson's delivery soaring for a maximum.
Known for scoring against spinners he took down Rashid Khan for a few big hits.
Mohit Sharma and Johnson were also given the treatment as the CSK fans were brought to their feet.
Dube scored 50 in just 22 deliveries. He was dismissed by Rashid but having hit as many as five sixes and two boundaries, he had propelled CSK towards a big score. They won the match by a massive 53-runs taking CSK to the top of the tablle early in the season.