IPL 2019: 5 talking points this season

IPL 2019 has been nothing short of an exciting cricket tournament this year and the reason for its humungous success has been some tight close matches and some mind-blowing performances by the players. The players showed their potentials and skills, whereas the fans flocked to the grounds to support their teams.

Apart from this, IPL 2019 has been a quite controversial affair as compared to its previous seasons. There have been few eyebrows raising moments this year that became a talking point and a matter of debate for everyone not only in the cricketing world but also among the media and fans alike.

Here are some of them:

#5 Poor Umpiring Decisions

The umpiring decisions have been questionable in this year's IPL. Given it is the biggest franchise cricket tournament in the world, the level of umpiring has been below par.

The umpires were caught guilty a couple of times for not calling no-balls. It happened first in the match between RCB vs MI where Lasith Malinga bowled the last ball of the match as a front-foot no-ball and it wasn't called by the on-field umpire. RCB suffered a 6-run defeat in that game.

Another incident came in the match against RR vs CSK, where on-field umpires were found guilty of not calling a no-ball for height in the last over of the match where CSK required 11 runs of the last 4 balls. The incident even made MS Dhoni lose his calm and step onto the field with a furious look, which is a very rare sight to witness. CSK, however, won the match courtesy a last-ball six from Mitchell Santner.

These incidents became a talking point for everyone as it happened at the beginning of the IPL 2019.

#4 The Andre Russell Show

Andre Russell kept KKR's hope alive in IPL 2019

KKR had entered this year's IPL with the least number of players in their squad as compared to the other teams. So, it became obvious that they hoped their key players to deliver for them and make it to the playoffs.

However, to their disappointment, it didn't happen and it was the Carribean all-rounder to their rescue on the most number of times.

Russell put upon an extravagant performance both with his batting and bowling. He provided them with the cushion of scoring quick runs as and when needed, (not just from the last overs) and win matches from dire situations, even through bowling.

Russell scored an astonishing 510 runs this year with a strike rate of 204. He muscled his way to becoming the highest run-scorer for KKR in this season of IPL. Eventually they failed to make it to the playoffs, but the Andre Russell show kept everyone glued to the KKR matches throughout this season.

#3 The Resurgence of Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya was the MVP for MI in IPL 2019

IPL 2019 will always be remembered for two all-rounders - Andre Russell and Hardik Pandya. With all the controversies and injuries surrounding the younger Pandya in the last couple of months, his performance was very important for both Team India and himself as a player and an individual.

What everyone witnessed in IPL 2019 was a different Hardik altogether. He was hitting big sixes and hitting them cleanly, bowling at the death and taking wickets in the middle overs as well. There was a sense of a more matured Hardik Pandya, both as a person and a cricketer.

There was an improvement in his bowling and also in his batting. He scored more than 380 runs at a strike-rate of 193, and also picked up 14 wickets.

This resurgence in Hardik Pandya after everything that happened to him in the past few months became one of the talking points in IPL 2019.

#2 Rise of Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals dominated this season of IPL

After a poor run of form in IPL over the last few years, the Delhi team entered this year's IPL with a new name - Delhi Capitals instead of Delhi Daredevils to change their fortunes.

With a new look coaching staff that included the likes of the legendary Ricky Pointing and Sourav Ganguly and a young captain like Shreyas Iyer, the Delhi team did actually good to themselves this season.

They made it to the playoffs this season for the first time since 2012 with some really good performances both from the batsmen and the bowlers. Shreyas Iyer led from the front, scoring more than 400 runs this season, and was equally supported by the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, whereas Kagiso Rabada and Ishant Sharma handled the bowling duties, with help from the spinners.

The fans cheered for the Capitals and hoped for their maiden IPL title this year, but were defeated in the eliminator by the might of CSK. Though they might have lost this year, it has made them believe that they can win matches and also lift the trophy in the coming years.

#1 R Ashwin Mankads Jos Buttler

R Ashwin (R) mankading Jos Buttler (L)

Unarguably the most talked-about moment in IPL 2019 will be R Ashwin mankading Jos Buttler. IPL has never been short of controversies, and this season was no exception.

It all happened in Match 4 of IPL 2019, RR vs KXIP. Punjab batted first and scored 184-4 in their first innings on the back of some good knocks form Gayle and Sarfaraz Khan. The Royals needed 77 runs from 43 balls with Jos Buttler (69 runs of 43 balls) going strong still at the crease, and was joined by Sanju Samson.

KXIP captain R Ashwin saw Buttler backing up too far at the non-striker's end and ran him out before dellivering the ball. Eventually, Rajasthan Royals suffered a 14-run defeat, as they were not able to carry themselves along after Buttler's dismissal.

The event grabbed eyeballs all over the world and became a topic of debate for all the cricketers and cricket pundits. Everyone placed a different opinion of himself about the incident, but was surerly the biggest talking point in IPL 2019.