The Cricketer looks back on the second week of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League, picking out the eye-catching moments as the competition builds pace
We are now well into the season with every team having played at least three games each and it's becoming clear which have playoff ambitions, and who may be fighting in mid-table
A stylish Virat Kohli half-century got Royal Challengers Bengaluru up to 182 for 6 but it was nowhere near enough as Sunil Narine blitzed 47 from 22 to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to a comfortable chase in his 500th T20 game.
The following day was the birth of a possible superstar as Lucknow Super Giants comfortably defended 200 at home thanks to 21-year-old Mayank Yadav. He took an electric 3 for 27 including deliveries touching 96mph.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings fell to their first defeat of the season as despite MS Dhoni's late innings flurry, which wasn't enough to chase down the 191 posted by the Delhi Capitals.
Twenty-four hours later it was Rajasthan Royals duo Trent Bout and Nandre Burger who ripped through the Mumbai Indians' top order. The RR batting lineup then comfortably chased the low target inside 16 overs.
Yadav was back in action the next day, his 3 for 14 derailing RCB's chase of 181 in front of a home crowd.
Sunil Narine bettered his innings from earlier in the week when he scored 85 from 39 to get KKR to a mammoth total of 272. Andre Russell and Rinku Singh also chipped in with some big hits to get to just five shy of the IPL record set only last week.
DC finished short by over 100 runs in the end despite a well-made 50 from skipper Rishabh Pant.
The week rounded off with the closest game came when Punjab Kings chased down 200 against GT in a last-over thriller. They looked dead and buried before Shahant Singh's 61 from 27 clawed them over the finish line.
KKR and RR are joint top with three wins from as many games whilst five-time champions MI are rock bottom without a victory under the belt.
Jos Buttler's slow start to the competition continued in week two (Getty Images)
Just the six English players featured this week as Luke Wood was dropped since his nightmare start for the Mumbai Indians.
Phil Salt produced a couple of quick cameos, while Reece Topley announced himself with a wicket against LSG. But Jos Buttler's rough start continued as RR chased a low total against Mumbai Indians.
Kings' English trio of Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran were all in action against LSG. The former took 3 for 28 with the ball and Bairstow hit a well-made 42 before being caught out by a rapid bouncer from Yadav.
Livingstone played a handy cameo in the victory over DC, hitting an unbeaten 38 from 21 balls in the chase.
At the time of writing, Chris Woakes, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Will Jacks, Tom Curran and Moeen Ali have yet to feature. David Willey has now completely withdrawn from his proposed spell with Lucknow.
Virat Kohli is the top run-scorer with 204 runs in four matches (IDREES MOHAMMED/AFP via Getty Images)
The performance of the week was a toss-up between Narine's exceptional powerplay hitting and Mayank Yadav's pair of three-wicket hauls. However, Yadav's lighting quick pace mixed with good accuracy takes the edge.
In Yadav's first game against Punjab Kings, his 3 for 27 in four overs was not only economical but his wickets came from an excellent use of the short ball. Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma were all caught out by his pace.
He went and bettered that in his following game away in Bangalore against RCB. His three wickets cost just 14 and he increased his top speed from the previous game by hitting 97mph.
The delivery of the bunch came when he bowled a thunderbolt that blew away the top of Cameron Green's off stump.
An honourable mention goes to Shashank Singh, who scored 61 from 29 to get Punjab Kings over the line against Gujrat Titans in a chase of 200.
Mustafizur Rahman is the leading wicket-taker after the opening fortnight (R.SATISH BABU/AFP via Getty Images)
Rishabh Pant scored back-to-back fifties for Delhi Capitals as he began to regain form following his return after 16 months out of the game.
Kohli has also returned to form after his own return from cricket and he starts week three as the leading run-scorer. He has 204 runs in four innings whilst striking at an impressive 140.
Teammate and Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is yet to find any sort of timing with the bat having made just 31 runs in his four innings including a pair of ducks.
Bangladeshi seamer Mustafizur Rahman currently holds the purple cap for most wickets with seven, but pace sensation Yadav is only one behind him.
There have been more changes to the IPL schedule with a festival in Kolkata meaning that KKR, RR, Gujrat Titans and DC all have games moved from their original dates.
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