Here's a recap of IPL's highs & lows this season

IPL's costliest-ever player Rishabh Pant at last delivered the goods with a ton in the final match but Lucknow Super Giants missed the bus.

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Axar Patel’s Delhi Capitals nosedived from cruise control. Former winners Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders cut a sorry figure while Sunrisers Hyderabad misfired all the way through.

In all, it took 67 days including a 10-day break, for the IPL to go through its preliminary round of 70 matches this year which witnessed some surreal highs and disappointing lows.

Here’s a recap so far before the playoffs begin:

Young guns make a strong dent:

RR’s Vaibhav Suryavanshi was a 13-year-old when he was picked in the mega auction last December and at 14 in May, he became the youngest ever to score the fastest IPL ton for an Indian off 35 balls and second fastest ever, against Gujarat Titans.

His finesse in stroke play and spunk at the biggest stage captivated the game’s greats.

While India T20I opener Abhishek Sharma was also among those who hit centuries, it also included Punjab Kings’ uncapped Priyansh Arya, who took apart a lowly CSK with his maiden IPL ton. Prabhsimran Singh also showed he has got the goods while Ayush Mhatre gave CSK some reasons to smile.

Daunting SRH misfire:

Last year’s runner-up SRH came in with one of the most intimidating batting line-ups but the all-out attack approach fell flat on its face.

SRH began the IPL with the second highest total ever of 286/6 against RR and ended with the third highest, of 278/3 against KKR.

In between, it looked like SRH never had a Plan B with the bat, Nitish Kumar Reddy largely disappointed and not having a quality spinner to bowl in the powerplay hurt them.