Tata IPL 2022 has come to its next stage; “The Playoffs.” The top four teams will battle it out in the playoffs to become the supreme champions. The new franchises, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, managed to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season. This season, Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans were the table-toppers with ten wins and four losses. On the other hand, KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants were in the third position after the group stage. The other two teams to qualify for the playoffs are Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals.
Rajasthan’s captain Sanju Samson played a crucial role in Rajasthan’s success this year as the side was coming with a new squad after the IPL mega-auction 2022. Also, Faf du Plessis, who made his IPL captaincy debut this year for RCB, showed commendable leadership and played some match-winning knocks. Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, and Faf du Plessis have been tremendous skippers to their respective sides. To explore more about their brilliance, let’s have a look at their captaincy record.
Hardik Pandya:
In his inaugural season as a captain, Hardik Pandya did an admirable job. He not only took strategic decisions but also played some crucial knocks up the order. Gujarat Titans’ was lacking the batting strength in its middle order. With David Miller being the only experienced batsman in the middle order, Hardik Pandya took the responsibility to bat up the order. Pandya batted at No.2 and No.1 several times throughout the tournament. Pandya helped Gujarat Titans emerge victorious in 9 out of 13 matches as a captain. Pandya’s fantastic captaincy record fetched him the position of Vice-Captain in India’s upcoming T20 series against South Africa.
Sanju Samson:
The Indian young-gun Sanju Samson couldn’t be consistent with his bat this season. Samson played with an average of 28.77, which is comparatively low compared to his previous seasons. Additionally, the highest score this season for Sanju Samson was 55, which is the lowest highest score compared to the rest of the seasons. However, Samson did exceptionally well as a captain. He was always calm in challenging situations and handled the pressure pleasingly. Samson has an overall captaincy record of 14 wins and 14 losses in 28 matches. Nine of the wins are coming this season.
KL Rahul:
The classy right-handed batsman appeared to be at his best again this season. Rahul scored 537 runs in 14 matches, including one spectacular inning of 103* runs. Additionally, Rahul batted his way through the tournament with an incredible average of 48.82. Rahul holds a captaincy record of 21 wins and 20 losses in his stint of 41 matches as a captain.
Faf du Plessis:
The former South African captain made his IPL captaincy debut this season. Faf was made RCB’s captain after Virat stepped down as RCB’s captain post-IPL 2021. As a leader and as a batsman, Faf is known for his temperament and ability to play big innings. In the past, Faf had captained South Africa in 40 T20Is, out of which SA won 25. Faf has played 79 matches as a captain in franchise cricket and led his team to victory on 43 occasions. Faf secured eight wins out of 13 for RCB as a captain this season.
With the playoffs starting on the 24th, it would be thrilling to see which team comes out on top. And what are the new combinations and strategies the captains will come up with.
