#IPLGOAT Semi-Final: AB de Villiers vs Lasith Malinga
The #IPLGOAT has reached the Semi-Finals stage. We are two steps away from crowning the Greatest IPL Player of All Time. In today's clash, AB de Villiers goes up against Lasith Malinga in this epic battle to reach the Grand-Finale.
The #IPLGOAT is a knockout competition to determine the greatest IPL player of all time. We have done our homework and have come up with a list of 24 players. It will be a knock-out competition. Each day, you will see head-to-head matchups, with the winner progressing to the next round. The round of 24 will be followed by the Quarter-Finals, then the Semi-Finals, and ultimately the Grand Finale to determine the Greatest IPL player of all time. So what are you waiting for? Cast your vote and make it count.
Beware though, do not get carried away by merely the exploits of the current IPL; remember that you are selecting the Greatest IPL player of All Time! Choose wisely.
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After some intense contests and epic battles, we have finally reached the Semi-Finals of the #IPLGOAT. The good players have fallen by the way-side and the great players have been eliminated; and now only the greatest of the great remain to battle it out. In the first Semi-Final, AB De Villiers, the batsman extraordinaire, faces off against the fearsome Slinga Malinga.AB De Villiers has redefined the art of batting like probably no other batsman has done. With a bat in hand, there is not a thing that he cannot do.Lasith Malinga does not know the meaning of impossible and over the course of his IPL career, he has pulled off some unbelievable heists. In the Quarter Finals, De Villiers destroyed Gayle cornering 86% of the vote while Malinga eased past Harbhajan Singh with 68% of the vote. Which of these legends will make it to the Grand-Finale of #IPLGOAT? Â Â
1. AB de Villiers
The Stats:
Matches: 115, Runs: 3108, Batting Average: 38.85, Strike Rate: 148.92
Claim to Greatness:
When AB de Villiers gets going, the bowlers are reduced to a mere side-show. He drives, he scoops, he pulls and he paddles; with a bat in hand, there is not a thing that he cannot do. To watch perfect deliveries sailing over the boundary, ball after ball, demoralizes the best of the bowlers. In one memorable innings, AB de Villiers scored 24 off a Dale Steyn over; the champion bowler could do little but applaud in awe and dis-belief. AB de Villiers averages just a tad under 40 and scores his runs at a strike rate of nearly 150. He has 3 centuries to his name and also contributes crucially in the field with 61 catches in just 83 matches.
2. Lasith Malinga
The Stats:
Matches: 98, Wickets: 143, Bowling Average: 17.8, Economy Rate: 6.67
Claim to Greatness:
In all probability, no player has dominated the IPL like Malinga has done. He is not just a good bowler; he is not just a great bowler; he is an out-of-the-world bowler! Malinga has slinged his way to 143 wickets in 98 matches at an average of 17.8 and an economy rate of 6.67. These are staggering numbers. Malinga has the most wickets, has the best bowling average, and has the best strike rate of any bowler with more than 40 wickets. He takes 1.46 wickets per match; the other bowlers in the top ten wicket-takers list take exactly 1 wicket per match. I am tempted to rest my case here, but then the numbers do not do justice to the impact that Malinga has had. In a 20-over game, opposition teams have simply chosen to play out Malinga’s four overs. Not that it has worked though. No total was too small to defend as long as Malinga had overs left in the bank. Malinga running in and slinging a 150 km/h toe-crushing yorker at yet an other hapless batsman will remain as one of the enduring memories of IPL.