IPL III: The Desi tadka of Week One

The third edition of the Indian Premier League is heading into its second week; the opening days did witness a few notable efforts.

While players like Jacques Kallis, Ravi Bopara, Angelo Mathews were the success stories, there were some stand-out Indian performances as well.

- IPL-III Complete Coverage

In the first part of our analysis, rediff.com takes a look at the Indian players who stamped their mark early on in this third edition.

Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)

The Rajasthan Royals star played what can arguably be termed the innings of this Indian Premier League.

His 37-ball 100 may have been an effort in vain -- Mumbai Indians winning that match even if by a whisker -- but it was an entertaining innings nonetheless.

It also happened to be the fastest hundred ever in the IPL, bettering Deccan Chargers' captain Adam Gilchrist's 42-ball effort against the same opposition in the inaugural edition.

Pathan, who was the find of the inaugural season, has hit a purple patch this season, with strings of good knocks in the various domestic competitions.

Pathan failed to open his account in Rajasthan Royals' second match against the Delhi Daredevils.

But another innings, akin to the one mentioned above, maybe just round the corner.

And the fortunes of Rajasthan Royals in this tournament will depend a lot on how the elder of the Pathan brothers' performs in the coming days. 

Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils)

To say Virender Sehwag can win a match on his own will be an understatement which we'll refrain from making.

However, the third edition of the IPL has already witnessed this Delhi dasher at his destructive best -- in the match against Rajasthan Royals.

Sehwag, who had missed out on a big score in the opening match against the Kings' XI (scoring only eight), smashed a 34-ball 75 at Motera.

The former Daredevils' captain's blitzkrieg was inclusive of eight hits to the fence and five massive ones over it and made the match a no-contest.

With Delhi Daredevils trying hard to shed their semi-final choker's tag, they will require a few more innings of such magnitude from Sehwag's blade.

Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Daredevils)

Captaincy is a burden. It can affect your performance as a player.

Virender Sehwag felt it. So did Yuvraj Singh.

But Gautam Gambhir seems to be relishing it. At least till a hamstring injury in the match against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday put him out of action. 

The Delhi Daredevils skipper led from the front in their match against Kings XI Punjab, scoring a fluent 54-ball 72, an effort that earned him the man-of-the-match award.

He may have missed out against Rajasthan, but he gives that solidity to the Delhi batting in case Sehwag fails.

It is unfortunate that he will have to sit out of Friday's match against Chennai Super Kings also.

Gambhir sustained the injury after being on the field for barely 10 minutes during the 98-run loss to Mumbai Indians and Dinesh Karthik led the Daredevils in his absence.

Robin Uthappa (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Robin Uthappa had been in slumber for sometime before he again exploded on the scene against Kings XI Punjab.

The Karnataka opener, who lost his place in the national squad due to poor form, was at his destructive best against the visitors, spanking the second fastest fifty in the IPL to lead his team to victory.

Uthappa's superlative 21-ball 51, inclusive of four boundaris and as many sixes, made the chase of a seemingly mammoth Kings XI Punjab total (203) easy.

The team from Bangalore will expect him to continue with his aggressive streak if they are to go one better than their runners-up finish last season.

Ambati Rayudu (Mumbai Indians)

He is perhaps the surprise package in this list.

Making his debut in the IPL for Mumbai Indians, after being associated with the 'rebel' Indian Cricket league (ICL), Rayudu stood like a rock and was involved in a crucial partnership with Saurabh Tiwary.

His magnificent 33-ball 55 was inclusive of six boundaries and two huge sixes and helped his side to a what proved to be a match winning total against Rajasthan.

In Mumbai Indians' second outing -- against Delhi Daerdevils -- too he proved his worth. Sent ahead of Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, he scored 34 off 21 balls.

And most of those runs came from sixes. Yes, there were three of them and just one four.

Murali Kartik (Kolkata Knight Riders)

When the Kolkata bowlers were getting hit to all corners off the park against Deccan Chargers in the opener, Murali Kartik stood up tall and was instrumental in his team's victory.

If his efforts against the Chargers was impressive, his figures (4-0-22-2) against the Royal Challengers Bangalore surpassed that while ensuring a second successive win for his side.

He may have failed to take a wicket against the Chennai Super Kings but was at his economical best.

In fact, he has one of the best economy rates so far, tying down the batsmen with his articulate bowling.

And against Chennai he showed he is no mug with the bat as well, scoring 21 off 20 deliveries.

Manvinder Bisla (Kings XI Punjab)

The team from Punjab put up a mammoth 203 for three in their stipulated 20 overs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

And if there was an effort which laid the foundations for this huge total, it was that of Manvinder Bisla.

The hitherto unknown name score a maiden IPL fifty and his 51-ball 75 -- inclusive of seven hits to the fence and four over it -- helped his side break free after a sedate start.

The youngster was also involved in a superlative 129-run opening wicket stand with Ravi Bopara (77).

Unfortunately for him, it was a lost cause -- Bangalore winning the match with ease.

But more such efforts from his blade might just do the trick for Kings XI.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)

He's the man who loves to lead from the front.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni plundered an unbeaten 66 from 33 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders, an explosive knock that ensured the Chennai Super Kings a splendid win from a pretty ordinary situation.

The Chennai captain in partnership with S Badrinath put 109 runs in 65 balls for the fourth wicket, including 83 runs from the last six overs.

Dhoni, who also made the most runs (42) in his side opening defeat to Deccan Chargers, completed his half-century in 28 balls. 

However, an injury to his right hand has cast a shadow on his future participation in the tournament. For the moment though, he is officially out for 10 days.

Sachin Tendulkar was at it yet again.

His masterclass 63 set the tone as the Mumbai Indians up their highest IPL total -- 218 for seven against Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Wednesday, eventually achieving a comprehensive 98-run win. It was also the highest total in this year's tournament.

Tendulkar's knock, his fourth IPL fifty, came off just 32 balls and was studded with 11 fours.

In the team's opening match against Rajasthan Royals he scored 17 off 11 deliveries, 12 of those runs coming from fours, as Mumbai won at home by four runs.

Praveen Kumar (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

The Uttar Pradesh bowler registered the first hat-trick in the third season of the Indian Premier League as Royal Challengers Bangalore bowled out Rajasthan Royals for a paltry 92 at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Thursday.

The young Indian pacer's figures of 3 for 18 restricted the champions of the inaugural edition to below the three-figure mark, and went into the record books as the seventh hat-trick in the tournament's history.

Delhi Daredevils' Amit Mishra, the Chennai Super Kings duo of Laxmipathi Balaji and Makhaya Ntini, Kings XI Punjab's Yuvraj Singh (twice) and Deccan Chargers' Rohit Sharma achieved the feat in previous editions.

Brought back into the attack in the 17th over, Praveen first bowled Damien Martyn with the second delivery of his third over, then had Sumit Narwal brilliantly caught at square leg by Manish Pandey and achieved the 'trick' by castling Paras Dogra of the next ball.

Warne and Co sink to Praveen's swing.

Saurabh Tiwary (Mumbai Indians)

Two matches, two fifties. That's been the success of young Saurabh Tiwary.

Jharkhand's Ranji Trophy captain hit his second straight fifty, slamming 61 from 37 deliveries, that was laced with four boundaries and three sixes, as Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Daredevils by 98 runs.

The 20 year-old left-hander may have gone on to make a bigger score had he not been unfortunately run-out.

In Mumbai Indians' first outing in the IPL, against Rajasthan Royals, Tiwary, who was one of the key batsmen when India won the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in 2008, showed scant respect for the great Shane Warne, hitting him for back-to-back boundaries as Sachin Tendulkar's side piled 212 for 6 in their 20 overs.

He scored 53 off 33 deliveries, which included four fours and two sixes.

It is not just the runs he scores, but the manner in which he does it. He has a high back-lift and power in his strokes that help him get the desired results.