IPL 2019: Top five biggest match-winners in this season

IPL 2019 is in its final week and we have witnessed some of the most enthralling cricket in the past 6 weeks of this fabulous tournament. Like the past, we need to wait till the last league to ascertain who will be the fourth team to reach the playoffs and join the Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Delhi Capitals.

The twelfth edition of the IPL has been the most closely contested and fiercely competitive seasons in the tournament history.

This season has shown us plenty of close finishes and we have seen some of the best big hitting in the game of cricket in the past month or so courtesy of players like Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell among others.

This IPL has seen many a time where a player single-handedly has taken his team over the victory line and some took it to close. We will see those players who have been the biggest match winners in the 2019 edition of the IPL.

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#5 Kagiso Rabada- Delhi Capitals

Kagiso Rabada - Image Courtesy (BCCI/IPLT20.com)

The Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada is one of the biggest reasons why the Delhi Capitals have managed to reach the playoffs for the very first time since 2012. He has given the Shreyas Iyer led side crucial breakthroughs throughout the season which meant won most of the moments of a game and ultimately the match.

He has taken 25 wickets in 12 games but will not be present with team for the rest of the tournament due to back niggle. With the World Cup in mind, he was advised to take rest and return home by the South African board.

He will surely be missed by the Capitals and will need the other players to step up if they harbour hopes of a IPL title for the very first team.

#4 David Warner- Sun Risers Hyderabad

David Warner Image Courtesy (BCCI/IPLT20.com)

The Australian had a reason to prove and it was exactly what he did. David Warner punched above the others in the batting charts and in all probability will be the winner of the Orange Cap despite being absent at the fag end of the season.

He is all set to make a comeback to the national team along with Steve Smith after a gap of more than a year and there was no bigger match practice for the duo than the IPL.

Warner, widely regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen going around in world, cricket never looked like out of touch in the entire course of the tournament and he has surely lit up the IPL along with Jonny Bairstow who formed one of the most dangerous opening patnerships we have ever since in T20s.

Warner had scored close to 700 runs and will be missed by SRH if they qualify for the playoffs.

#3 Hardik Pandya- Mumbai Indians

He is quite stunning to watch- (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

If there is a player at the moment who can match the power hitting that is possessed by a more muscular Andre Russell, it has to be Hardik Pandya. He has proved to be an X-factor the team required. Be it smashing the bowlers by his explosive batting, troubling the batsman by his variations or his electric fielding in the ground.

Pandya's stunning effort with the bat this season especially his 91 against KKR was a treat to watch and this will hold good for India in the World Cup 2019.

He has looked matured as a player overall after his infamous statement made in TV and subsequent ban along with KL Rahul. He has put that all behind him and has proved to be the biggest match winner for the Mumbai Indians in this season of the IPL.

#2 Andre Russell- Kolkata Knight Riders

Andre Russell deserves this IPL trophy- (picture courtesy: BCCI/iplt20.com)

The reason why Andre Russell is not the No. 1 in this list is because of one fact - he has managed to take his team over on some of the occasions, unlike the one who has been chosen due to his consistency bringing in success.

Dre Russ is surely is the Most Valuable Player of this seasons IPL without an iota of doubt and his returns are indeed quite stunning, to say the least. But apart from the personal record, his teams' performance this IPL especially the second half has been quite appalling with six losses on the bounce.

He has struck more than 50 sixes this season which is staggering and could very well surpass the record set by Chris Gayle (59) while playing for RCB in 2012. He has done all this being a less than 100% for most part of the tournament. Imagine what a fully fit Russell is capable of?

#1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni- Chennai Super Kings

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-( Image Courtesy - BCCI/IPLT20.com)

He is perhaps the best finisher the world has ever seen and is showing no signs of slowing despite being 37 years old. He is in the form of his life in 2019 so far and is easily has been the best batsman for the Men in Yellow in this edition of the IPL.

MS Dhoni is the leading run getter for the team so far despite missing few matches in the league stage due to illness but the side to another playoff for a record tenth consecutive time. He will be a crucial factor yet again for the team in their bid to defend the title and winning it for a record fourth time in the history of the IPL.

His remarkable consistency throughout the IPL is a huge boost for India in the context of the World Cup.