IPL 2018: 5 best performing million-dollar buys

Over the years, the Indian Premier League has heralded the dawn of new era in cricket. It has put Indian cricket amongst the top sports leagues in the world and has generated a lot of economic opportunities in a sport where only a few players could represent the nation previously. The opportunities have helped many budding cricketers from India and across the world to showcase their talent to a wider audience and helped them to pursue the sport that they love.

Each team was given a purse of Rs. 80 Crore ahead of the auction and as many as 18 players were paid more than Rs. 6.4 Crore (1 million USD at the time of auction).

After the auction, every team looked formidable but only a few could live up to the expectations. Many top buys could not justify their price tags and have faltered at various stages of the tournament. But the following players have proved that they have the mettle to handle tough situations and came out on top by putting up good performances.

Here are the 5 best performing million dollar buys:

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#5 Jofra Archer - Rs. 7.2 Crore

Jofra Archer has attracted a lot of eyeballs in this IPL

After missing the first five matches, Jofra Archer entered the tournament with a bang as he picked up 6 wickets in his first two matches. Archer was the X-factor that Rajasthan Royals needed in their bowling line-up and is being used as a wicket-taking bowler by his captain.

Archer, with his pace and accuracy, has been exceptional for the Jaipur-based franchise. In the 30.5 overs that he has bowled, he has picked up 13 wickets and is the leading wicket-taker for Rajasthan Royals, with four wickets more than the second highest wicket-taker, Unadkat, who played 13 matches.

Archer's best performance came against the defending champions in his first ever IPL match. He gave only 22 runs in four overs and claimed three wickets, including the ones of the Pandya brothers, in the penultimate over of the innings. Thanks to Archer's tight bowling, Rajasthan could edge past Mumbai Indians with just two balls to spare.

Matches: 8, Wickets: 13, Economy: 8.27, Strike rate: 14.23

#4 Dinesh Karthik - Rs. 7.4 Crore

Dinesh Karthik is leading KKR from the front (Source: BCCI)

Dinesh Karthik has impressed one and all in his maiden IPL captaincy stint. He has also been performing consistently with the bat and behind the wickets. Karthik has taken up the role of the finisher well for his team and has remained not out on five occasions, thereby providing some stability at the end of the innings.

Even though he scored only one half-century this season, he managed to make 412 runs for his side with an average which is in excess of 50. Karthik has even upped his strike rate his season to 152.02, which is much higher than his overall IPL strike rate of 128.68.

His best innings came in a crucial match against Kings XI Punjab. KKR came into the match after a 102-run drubbing at the hands of Mumbai Indians and were desperately in need of a win to stay alive in the tournament. With a 22-ball half-century, the captain led his side to a mammoth 245 and helped his side win by 31 runs.

Kolkata Knight Riders will need him to fire in their final league stage match against Sunrisers Hyderabad if they want to ensure a spot in the playoffs. A lot will depend on Karthik in the next match and the Kolkata fans will hope that their captain will continue the good work in the crucial encounter.

Innings: 13, Runs: 412, Average: 51.50, Strike rate: 152.02

#3 Rashid Khan - Rs. 9 Crore

Rashid Khan has been the best bowler for SRH

The young Afghan leg-spinner has taken the cricketing world by storm in recent times. After performing well in the previous season, Rashid has continued his good work for Sunrisers. This season, he has taken up the role of being the leading bowler of one of the best-bowling lineups of the tournament.

Rashid has taken 16 wickets in the thirteen matches he has played so far, and has been Kane Williamson's go-to bowler at almost every stage of the game. In the absence of SRH's lead bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid has stepped up and proven his worth not only with the ball, but also in the field.

In the recent match against Royal Challenger Bangalore, he conceded only 27 runs in four overs and also picked up Three wickets in a match when the opposition scored 218/6. He also picked up the prized wickets of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who he got the better off even on the previous occasion.

Sunrisers will hope that Rashid will continue his good work even in the playoffs.

Matches: 13, Wickets: 16, Economy: 7.17, Strike rate: 19.50

#2 Andrew Tye - Rs. 7.2 Crore

Andrew Tye is the purple cap holder

Andrew Tye has performed exceptionally well for the Punajb-based franchise and has put the knuckleball to good use this season. Tye picked up four wickets in a match on three different occasions this season which is a rare feat in itself.

Even during Punjab's recent losing streak, Tye picking up wickets on a regular basis and has become the purple cap holder with 24 wickets, six more than the next highest wicket-taker, in 13 matches.

He registered his best figures against Mumbai Indians in KXIP's most recent match. He gave only 16 runs in four overs and picked up four wickets for his side, including the ones of the top 3 batsmen. In spite of him being consistent with the ball, the same cannot be said about most of his teammates and that's the reason why his team registered only one win in their last seven matches.

Tye might only get one more game this season, but with the lead that he has over the next highest wicket-taker, he has a high chance of taking the purple cap home.

Matches: 13, Wickets: 24, Economy: 7.71, Strike rate: 13.00

#1 KL Rahul - Rs. 11 Crore

KL Rahul is the orange cap holder

KL Rahul, in all likeliness, will not feature in the playoffs in spite of doing everything right. Rahul has been the lone warrior in Kings XI Punjab's batting line-up which collapsed more often than not.

Rahul has scored runs at a brisk pace without playing many audacious shots. The Karnataka batsman has scored most of his runs through risk-free shots and has tried his best to take his side to victory. In the previous seasons, he had a strike rate of 125.64 and he has increased it considerably this season to 160.98, which is quite phenomenal in its own right.

Rahul was the lone warrior for the Punjab side while chasing a target of 159 against Rajasthan Royals. While he scored 95 runs of the 143 runs made by Punjab, Marcus Stoinis, with 11 runs, was the only other batsman to have reached the double-figures.

The same has happened in the tournament so far; Gayle was the only other KXIP batsman who was among the runs, but even his form dipped and KXIP are now on the verge of not qualifying for the playoffs after winning five of their first six matches.

In the thirteen matches that he played, Rahul has scored 652 runs and is the orange cap holder. Of all the players who won't be playing in the playoffs, Rahul is the one who deserves to be there the most.

Innings: 13, Runs: 652, Average: 59.27, Strike rate: 160.98