IPL 2022: From Kuldeep to Buttler, from Rahul to DK – the most impactful players of the season so far | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: With IPL 2022 headed for the business end, it’s a good time to look back at some of the most impactful performances so far this season.
There are a few players who have been head and shoulders above the rest in terms of their consistency and have hogged the limelight in the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League, earning praise from experts and fans alike. Some are established players, who are expected to perform well, and some are newcomers who have impressed everyone with their performances.
Some of them are scoring truckloads of runs, and some are taking a bucketful of wickets for their teams. But are they the most impactful players for their teams? How will we decide their impactfulness?
There can be many different criteria to check the impact of a player in the team, but one tried and tested way is to count the number of Man-of-the-Match (MoM) won by the players. The Man of the Match award is given to the player who had the maximum impact in the match, sometimes regardless of the result. Which is why every once in a while we see a player who ended up on the losing side walking away with the Man of the Match award.
Taking that as a criteria, Timesofindia.com analysed the winners of MoM awards so far to find out who have played the biggest roles in their team’s success and found Delhi Capitals’ wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav as the frontrunner, playing the lead role in all their four wins so far. Apart from Kuldeep, six more players have won multiple MoM awards for their teams — but they are all two awards each.
Here’s how these seven players have played a leading role in their teams’ success so far in IPL 2022:
(All statistics in this article are updated till Match No. 47 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals on May 2, 2022.)
Kuldeep Yadav (Delhi Capitals): M 9 | W 17 | Best 4/14 | Av. 15.82 | Econ 8.23 | SR 11.52

Currently the second highest wicket-taker of the season with 17 victims in 9 matches, Kuldeep Yadav has, incredibly, been awarded the MoM award in all the four wins DC have registered so far – claiming 13 wickets in the four winning matches. DC are sixth on the 10-team standings currently with four wins in 9 games.
Kuldeep shone from the beginning of the campaign, leading DC to a 4-wicket win against MI with 3 for 18 in their first game. He kept chipping in with wickets in almost every match since then, except against RR at Wankhede. His first four-for (4/35) of the season helped DC beat KKR by 44 runs, then another economical 2/24 led DC to a comprehensive 9-wicket win over Punjab Kings. He came up with his best figures so far this season in the second leg against KKR, a 4/14 to help DC register a 4-wicket victory.
The wrist spinner has taken just four wickets in the five games DC lost in the season, which included two wicketless spells. And so far, DC have struggled whenever he has failed to deliver.
Kuldeep Yadav’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
– vs MI – 3/18 in 4 overs | Result: DC won by 4 wickets
– vs KKR – 4/35 in 4 overs | Result: DC won by 44 runs
– vs PBKS – 2/24 in 4 overs | Result: DC won by 9 wickets
– vs KKR – 4/14 in 3 overs | Result: DC won by 4 wickets
Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals): M 10 | R 588 | HS 116 | Av. 65.33 | SR 150.76 | 3x100s | 3x50s

With three hundreds and three fifties in 10 games, Jos Buttler is the run-away leader in the race for the Orange Cap this season. The Rajasthan Royals’ opener has accumulated a staggering 588 runs so far already at a 65.33 average and a strike rate of 150.76. Buttler has won two MoM awards for the Royals, who are currently third on the points table with six wins in nine games.
All his three centuries resulted in Royals’ victories. A 100 against Mumbai led to a 23 run win for the Royals, a 116 run knock against Delhi resulted in a 15-run victory. His 103 also resulted in RR beating KKR by 7 runs – a match in which his teammate Yuzvendra Chahal won the MoM award for figures of 5 for 40.
Interestingly, so far all his three fifties of the season have all been in losing causes.
Jos Buttler’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
– vs Mumbai Indians – 100 (68) | Result: RR won by 23 runs
– vs Delhi Capitals – 116 (65) | Result: RR won by 15 runs
Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals) – M 10 | W 19 | Best 5/40 | Av. 15.31 | Econ 7.27 | SR 12.63

The Purple Cap race leader of the ongoing season with 19 wickets, Yuzvendra Chahal has so far played a major role in Rajasthan Royals’ successful run, along with Buttler. Like Buttler, Chahal has also won two MoM awards for the Royals – for a fifer against KKR and a four-for against Lucknow Super Giants.
Chahal has 15 wickets in the six games Royals have won so far, with a best of 5 for 40 against KKR in a high-scoring thriller. His first player of the match award this season was won against LSG in a narrow 3-run win, in which he took 4 for 41 in 4 overs.
In the four matches that the Royals have lost so far, Chahal took just 4 wickets, including a wicketless spell against KKR on Monday.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
vs LSG – 4/41 in 4 overs | Result: RR won by 3 runs
vs KKR – 5/40 in 4 overs | Result: RR won by 7 runs
KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants) – M 10 | R 451 | HS 103* | Av. 56.38 | SR 145.01 | 2x100s | 2x50s

Currently second in the Orange Cap race, KL Rahul is only the second batter this season to score a hundred after Buttler. The LSG skipper is leading his team from the front, scoring 451 runs so far at a 56.38 average in 10 games. He has scored two centuries so far, both against the Mumbai Indians, and helped LSG win the two matches riding on his batting prowess, resulting in two man-of-the-match awards.
Since starting the new campaign with a first-ball duck against GT, Rahul has come a long way with a series of good scores – 40, 68, 24, before another first-ball duck against the Royals. But he came back strongly, scoring two hundreds in the next three matches that he played.
Riding on his batting form, LSG are in second place on the standings currently with seven wins from 10 games.
KL Rahul’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
– vs MI – 103* off 60 | Result: LSG won by 18 runs
– vs MI – 103* off 62 | Result: LSG won by 36 runs
Dinesh Karthik (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – M 10 | R 218 | HS 66* | Av. 54.50 | SR 194.64 | 1x50s

Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is the odd one out in this list, as he is nowhere really in the race for the Orange Cap currently. But Karthik has made a huge impact as a finisher in the RCB line-up this season. He has the best strike rate of 194.64, among the batters with more than 100 runs currently.
Karthik was unbeaten in all the five RCB wins, and played a major role in two of those victories. Chasing 170 against RR, RCB were in trouble at 87/5 in 12.3 overs, Karthik (44*) along with Shahbaz Ahmed (45) took their team home. And against Delhi Capitals, the duo of Karthik (66*) and Shahbaz (32*) took RCB to 189/5 from 92/5, eventually winning the game by 16 runs.
His exploits have been praised by one and all, even prompting many to suggest that Karthik should be in the India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. But his dip in form in the last three matches have coincided with successive losses for RCB, who were even bowled out for 68 by SRH. RCB are fifth on the standings currently with five wins in 10 games.
Dinesh Karthik’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
– vs RR – 44* off 23 | Result: RCB won by 4 wickets
– vs DC – 66* off 34 | Result: RCB won by 16 runs
Umesh Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders) – M 10 | W 15 | Best 4/23 | Av. 19.06 | Econ 7.15 | SR 16.00

Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Umesh Yadav is currently fourth in the Purple Cape race standings with 15 wickets, after being the early leader at the start of the campaign.
Umesh started the campaign on a high, leading KKR to three victories in the first four matches in which he took a total of 9 wickets for the team. A 2 for 20 in the first game helped KKR restrict CSK to a below-par 131/5, which they won by 6 wickets. After losing their second game against RCB, Umesh led KKR to victory against Punjab Kings. Umesh took a match-winning 4 for 23 to help KKR bowl out PBKS for 137, which they chased down in just 14.3 overs with six wickets in hand.
After 10 wickets in the first five games, Umesh’s form has dipped and along with it KKR’s fortunes too have suffered. They lost five games on the trot, before registering their fourth win of the season against RR on Monday, in which Umesh returned figures of 1 for 24 in 4 overs. KKR are currently 7th on the points table.
Umesh Yadav’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
vs CSK – 2/20 in 4 overs | Result: KKR won by 6 wickets
vs PBKS – 4/23 in 4 overs | Result: KKR won by 6 wickets
Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad): M 9 | W 15 | Best 5/25 | Av. 19.13 | Econ 8.44 | SR 13.60

The biggest find of this year’s IPL has to be fast bowler Umran Malik of Sunrisers Hyderabad, who has mesmerised everyone with his sheer pace. He has consistently bowled over 150 kmph, and has registered the fastest delivery of the season – 154 kmph against CSK.
The speedster has taken 15 wickets so far in 9 games, and is sixth in the Purple Cap race.
Malik has won two MoM awards so far for SRH, but one of them came in a losing cause. His first four-for – a 4/28 against Punjab Kings helped SRH register a comprehensive 7-wicket victory. But his fifer – 5 for 25 failed to stop GT from chasing a massive 196-run target. Umran though was given the MoM award for what are still the best figures of the season so far.
Riding on Malik’s heroics, SRH are keeping themselves alive in the play-offs race and are in 4th place currently in the standings with five wins in 9 games.
Umran Malik’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
– vs Punjab Kings – 4/28 in 4 overs | Result: SRH won by 7 wickets
– vs Gujarat Titans – 5/25 in 4 overs | Result: SRH lost by 5 wickets
(All statistics in this article are updated till Match No. 47 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals on May 2, 2022.)