CLT20: Meet the top performers

Tags: Champions League Twenty20 2014, top performers, Suresh Kumar Raina, Kane Stuart Williamson, Robin Venu Uthappa, Sunil Philip Narine, Ashish Nehra

Published on: Oct 05, 2014

Another edition of the Champions League T20 has come to an end, with Chennai Super Kings defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final on Saturday at Bangalore to clinch their second CLT20 title, and add to their list of growing T20 crowns.

Another edition of the Champions League T20 has come to an end, with Chennai Super Kings defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final on Saturday at Bangalore to clinch their second CLT20 title, and add to their list of growing T20 crowns. As the teams reflect on their performances in the tournament, we look back at some players who made a major impression during the last fortnight.


Suresh Raina: He was undoubtedlythestar of the show in yet another T20 event. In five matches, the southpaw blazed his way to 234 runs at an average of 58.5, with one hundred and one fifty. Raina reserved his best for the last smashing an unbeaten 109 to almost single-handedly take in his team to victory in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders. The left-hander finished with a magnificent strike rate of 173, and scored his runs having faced only 135 balls in the tournament. During the course of the same, he hit 14 fours and as many as 16 sixes. Without doubt a memorable tournament for the T20 rockstar.


Kane Williamson: The NewZealand talent did a lot of good to his reputation as a T20 player. His Test skills have never been in doubt, but questions have been raised about his ability to play the T20 format. Williamson put some of the queries to rest with an impressive performance in the CLT20. He played seven games, and finished as the event’s leading run-getter with 244 runs at an average of 40.6 with one hundred and two fifties. Williamson’s strike rate in the event was 155.5. He faced a total of 161 balls during the tournament, during which he hit 24 fours and 8 sixes.


Robin Uthappa: The Kolkata Knight Riders’ opener continued his good run in the T20 format. With 210 runs from five games, he finished among the leading run-getters in the tournament. Uthappa only hit one fifty during the tournament, but he was constantly getting the team off to good starts. Uthappa finished the series with an average of 52.5 and a strike rate of 131.2. He faced a total of 160 balls, and hit 28 fours and 3 sixes in all.


Sunil Narine: In spite of not featuring in the final after having been reported for a suspect action, Narine still finished the tournament as the leading wicket-taker. He played five matches and claimed 12 wickets at a sensational average of 8.8, and an equally unbelievable economy rate of 5.3. If that was not good enough, his strike rate during the tournament was exactly 10. He bowled 20 overs and claimed a wicket every 10 balls! Narine’s best in the event was 4/31.


Ashish Nehra: The left-arm seamer’s India days may be behind him, but he showed in the CLT20 that he still has some fight left in him. In five games for Chennai Super Kings, he picked up 10 wickets at an average of 15.3 and a strike rate of 11.4. His economy of 8.05 was slightly on the higher side; his best figures in the tournament were 4 for 21.


--By A Cricket Analyst

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