5 dreams that were realised in IPL 2016

IPL 2016 was memorable for a lot of reasons. There were plenty of records that were broken. It had some amazing batting and bowling performances throughout the tournament and to cap it all off there was a new winner that was added into the tournament's short but already incredible history.

Yet, for all those things, the tournament was made more memorable because for a select few a distant dream became a reality. All the years of hardwork finally culminated in a moment that will be savoured for years to come.

Here are 5 dreams that were realised in IPL 2016:

Krunal Pandya's maiden IPL performance

When you are an all-rounder just making your way into cricket and are bought for big money by the reigning IPL champions (at the time), who also happen to be the same team that your brother plays for, then expectations are sure to be high when you take to the field for the first time. And that is precisely what happened with Krunal Pandya after Mumbai Indians secured his signature.

Those who rise to the occasion are usually the ones who make it to the top and that is what Krunal did in his debut IPL season. He finished as not only one of his side's best performers but also comprehensively outplayed his brother, Hardik, who was already an Indian international.

So impressive were the all-rounder's performances that it was he, more than Hardik Pandya, who would have been disappointed when the news about India's squad for Zimbabwe came out. Still, the 25-year-old has plenty of time to represent India, especially if he continues on from his impressive IPL debut.

Sunrisers Hyderabad claiming maiden IPL title

Although Sunrisers Hyderabad only came into existence in 2013, they had already managed to ruffle a few feathers in the IPL. In their inaugural season they made it to the play-offs as well as the Champions League T20 but in the two seasons following that they disappointed. Although they were in a position to reach the play-offs in both seasons, they failed to do so.

2016 was supposed to be a fresh start, they had got rid of quite a few players and while they still retained the core, they went the opposite direction as most IPL teams. While the rest concentrated on the big-hitting batsmen, SRH picked up bowlers who could win them games and in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur Rahman, they had an attack that could give anyone a run for their money.

Although their 2016 IPL success was thanks largely to their incredible bowling performance and their ability to restrict batsmen from going big, especially at the death, the performance of their openers shouldn't be forgotten. While Virat Kohli has been getting all the plaudits, David Warner shouldn't be too far behind in terms of the praise he receives as he has been in phenomenal form with the bat.

His opening partner hasn't been too shabby either and the duo set the platform with the bat that helped the bowlers flourish and claim their maiden IPL title.

Chahal finally getting an Indian call-up

Chahal’s impressive performances were rewarded

Over the last two editions of the Indian Premier League, the most consistent bowler has been Yuvzendra Chahal. As the only bowler to have picked up 20 wickets in the last two editions of the tournament, the leg spinner's performances have been rewarded with a spot in the Indian squad for the tour of Zimbabwe.

The 25-year-old was one of the major reasons why RCB managed to win their games towards the end of the season and qualify for the final. Although he couldn't help them win their maiden title, his 20 wickets in 12 matches meant he finished as the second-leading wicket-taker in the tournament and had more wickets than Indian internationals such as Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan and Ravindra Jadeja.

With the squad for Zimbabwe looking experimental, there is very high possibility that he gets his first Indian cap as well. Having already represented India in Chess, he might become the only Indian to represent the Indian cricket team along with it.

Yuvraj Singh completing his trophy cabinet

Yuvraj Singh is one of India's greatest all-rounders. He has won every tournament there is to win in international cricket. Whether it is the Champions Trophy, U-19 World Cup, World Cup or the World T20, he has won it all. But when it comes to the IPL, his name was always synonymous with an unfulfilled prophecy.

He had been moved around for big money but still that elusive maiden Indian Premier League title eluded him. Yet, 2016 proved to be the year in which he got that elusive medal that had evaded him since 2008. Despite missing the start of the season due to injury, he came back and provided the balance that the Sunrisers Hyderabad were looking for in the middle-order.

Although he didn't contribute a bucketload of runs, the form of both David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan meant that he didn't have to and all they needed from him were cameos and that he provided perfectly. All of which meant that not only did Sunrisers claim their maiden IPL title but Yuvraj Singh added that elusive IPL trophy to his kitty as well.

Virat Kohli scoring maiden T20 hundred

Kohli’s 100 went in vain as RCB lost to Gujarat Lions

Virat Kohli had a tournament to remember with the bat. He almost became the first player to score over 1,000 runs in a T20 tournament but had to settle for the Orange Cap and second place in IPL 2016. Of all the records that he managed to break over the course of the tournament, oen has to be close to his heart.

It was after all something he had never done before on the cricket field. Considering the amount of records that he has to his name, that was certainly surprising. And with 625 runs in 13 matches already in 2016, he had the perfect opportunity to break it. And so it happened against Gujarat Lions on April 24.

Kohli managed something that he hadn't done for 192 previous T20 matches over the last nine years. He finally had a T20 hundred to his name. Instead of stopping there and admiring his work, he went on to score three more and finished the tournament with the record of most hundreds in a calendar year in T20s and in a tournament as well.