The first two weeks of IPL season 5 have seen some excellent individual performances by the Knights. Gautam Gambhir played a captain’s knock of 64 (49b) against RCB which set his boys up for their 1^st win of the tournament. Gauti came in to open the innings for the first time this season and showed his class and composure, playing every shot in the book to take the game out of RCB’s hands. He was supported ably by Manvinder Bisla, who was at his aggressive best, smashing 46 runs off 29 balls in a partnership with Gambhir that set the Knights up for a big total.

Lakshmipathy Balaji shone with the ball against RCB, delivering what the skipper later called the best T20 bowling performance he had ever seen. ‘The Smiling Assassin’ finished with 4/18 and was given the Man of the Match award in his first game of the season. He followed this up with another good display in the Knight’s match against Rajasthan Royals.

Shakib Al Hasan was the star of the match for KKR in their home game against the Royals. The Bangladeshi all rounder was unplayable on the day and picked up 3/17 in his 4 overs. When the Knights were under pressure in their chase, he walked in and coolly smashed 16 runs off just 10 balls to guide the Knights home in a tight finish. The fans expected nothing less from the one of the best all rounders in the modern game.

All eyes were on the mystery spinner Sunil Narine on a turning Eden track when the Knights took on KXIP on 15^th April and he did not disappoint, unleashing his giant bag of tricks to leave the KXIP batsmen searching for answers. He delivered the best bowling performance by a Knight in the history of the IPL, getting 5 wickets for just 19 runs off his 4 overs. Narine was given the Man of the Match award for his display in this match.

Rajat Bhatia has been deceiving batsmen with his clever variations in pace from the very first match. Against the Kings XI Punjab, Bhatia did not concede a single boundary in his 4 overs and picked up 2 wickets for just 14 runs.

Debabrata Das has also shown glimpses of his talent, with some powerful hitting in the matches against Delhi and Punjab at home. He will be disappointed not to have finished the game off against Punjab after top scoring for his team with a well compiled 35 runs off 23 balls. The fans are looking forward to the exciting young local lad making his mark in the tournament with some solid performances.