IPL 2020: Top 5 IPL performances by Karnataka stars in the last two years

Karnataka were successfully able to defend their title as they won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 after beating Tamil Nadu by just 1 run.

This is the second time Karnataka got the better of their southern rivals, Tamil Nadu after they had recently beat them by 60 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Final in October. The winning side have been dominating the domestic circuit because of some of their star performers, who have performed exceedingly well for the state as well as their IPL franchises. Let’s have a look at top performances of the past two years by Karnataka players in the IPL

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IPL 2020: Top performances by Karnataka stars in the last two years

1. KL Rahul, 100* vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2019

KL Rahul slammed his maiden IPL century against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Rahul had missed out on a hundred in the same fixture in 2018 but made it count in 2019 with a sublime knock at Mumbai's backyard. After put in to bat, Chris Gayle and Rahul started the assault, putting on a 116-run stand for the first wicket to take KXIP to 197/4 in 20 overs. His knock included 6 boundaries and the same number of sixes.

2. Manish Pandey, 83* vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2019

Manish Pandey’s tournament wasn’t going as he had expected but he returned to form as he scored an unbeaten 83 off 49 balls at a strike rate of 169.38, which powered Sunrisers Hyderabad to a respectable total of 175 for 3 against Chennai Super Kings. Pandey’s efforts went in vain as Kings went on to win the game with a ball to spare.

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3. Shreyas Gopal, 4/16 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2018

Gopal picked up 4/16 from his 4 overs to knock Bangalore out of IPL 2018. Gopal struck in his second over to remove Parthiv Patel and dealt the first blow. The wily leg-spinner continued to bowl great line and length and was rewarded. He removed Moeen Ali in the same over when the Englishman hit one back straight back to him. His next wicket was Mandeep Singh, followed by AB de Villiers, who he had removed second time that season and ensured a fine match-winning performance.

4. Krishnappa Gowtham, 11 balls 33* vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2018

Needing 38 to win off 14 balls, Rajasthan Royals were almost down and out as Mumbai did very well to get back into the game after Sanju Samson and Ben Stokes built a solid platform for the home side. But the top order collapsed and out came Gowtham, who smashed an 11-ball 33 with 4 boundaries and 3 sixes to steer his side home.

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5. Prasidh Krishna, 4/30 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2018

Prasidh Krishna returned with figures of 4/16 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The bowling performance was instrumental in helping KKR register a win on the day and a playoff berth in the IPL 2018. He took the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, his Karnataka captain Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan, which helped his team derail the SRH batting for 172/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

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