There have been a lot of players in the Indian Premier League(IPL), who have gone onto have great careers in international cricket, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are some of the big names, who have had successful careers in the league. However , there are some players who have not been that lucky. They might have been on top in these franchise leagues, but their career in the blue jersey has not really been much to talk about. These players have given great performances in franchise and domestic cricket, but once they got the opportunity in international cricket not everything went to plan.
Ranganath Vinay Kumar was one of these players who might not have had a long-lasting career in his international career, but his time in the IPL is some of the best he has ever had. Kumar was a medium pacer hailing from Davanagree, Karnataka and started his career in the IPL in 2008. In his 10 years in the IPL Kumar has played for 4 teams in the franchise league where he has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB), Kochi Tuskers Kerala(KTK), Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) and Mumbai Indians(MI). he has had a long career in the IPL and has played over 100 matches and taken 105 wickets.
So here are some of the best performances by Vinay Kumar in the IPL:
4. 3/27 vs Mumbai Indians (IPL 2013)
This was one of the thrilling matches early into the IPL season in 2013 where Vinay Kumar showed his experience on the big stage for RCB. The Bangalore batters could only manage to score 156 at the Chinnaswamy. RCB needed a special bowling performance to defend this modest total and they got it from Vinay Kumar, who took big wickets of Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu to bring his team back in the game. He ended with a spell of 3/27 in his 4 overs and was the best bowler on the night and contributed to the thrilling 2 run win for his team.
3. 3/22 vs Deccan Chargers ( IPL 2012)
This might have been one of the most embarrassing losses for RCB in the tournament where they failed to score 132 runs while chasing in Hyderabad, But Vinay Kumar was still at his best in the game where he ended up with figures of 3/22 in his 4 overs. Kumar’s spell was enough to keep the Deccan Chargers under the pump and restrict them to a modest total. RCB must have lost this fixture, but Vinay Kumar still managed to give a great bowling performance for his side where he used his variations very well and made it tough for the Deccan Chargers batters.
2. 3/18 vs Rajasthan Royals ( IPL 2013)
This was a match where the RCB bowlers were all over the Rajasthan Royals batters, who were one of the best teams that season. Vinay Kumar was at his absolute best as well where he took 3/18 in his 4 overs. He once again took the wickets of a set Stuart Binny, a dangerous Brad Hodge to keep RCB in control of the game. This spell was helpful enough to get the Royals out for a paltry total of 117, which the RCB batters chased down easily in the end with 13 balls to spare. Vinay Kumar was the player of the match for his brilliant spell in this match.
1. 4/40 vs Chennai Super Kings ( IPL 2010)
This was not only the best figures for Vinay Kumar in his IPL career, but also one that showed his ability of taking wickets at the crucial moments in the game. RCB had scored a competitive total of 171 in their 20 overs thanks to a brilliant knock from Robin Uthappa. Vinay Kumar might have gone for over 10 runs an over in this game, but his spell of 4/40 in 4 overs had some crucial wickets of dangerous batters like Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel and Subramaniam Badrinath who could have easily taken the game away from them. His spell came at a very crucial time where RCB needed wickets and that is what he accomplished. RCB went on to win the game by 36 runs with Vinay Kumar being the best bowler on the day.