KKR are the new Kings of IPL

Regular readers will know that the IPL and me are not natural bedfellows. I don't sit in front of BBC4 every afternoon in May yawning through the timeouts and ad breaks while the pitches gleam like coloured glass, the boundary ropes creep ever closer to the stumps, the cheerleaders shake their....pom-poms and that blasted trumpet trill punctuates seemingly every over.

Nevertheless, the IPL is part of the world cricket scene and I can't ignore it. Many players in the UAE and India have smashed or twirled their way into my Team of the Week and it's always interesting to see how many globetrotting T20 mercenaries fail while internationally unknown locals find themselves thrust into the spotlight, if only for a few months. I don't necessarily see it as a training ground for proper cricket, Test cricket, but it does produce some entertainment and excitement, the vital ingredient for any sport.

IPL 2014 definitely benefited from its truncated length. Maybe more franchises should go bust and keep the competition even more concise and less drawn out. Another positive from this year is the way the two best sides reached the final and produced a classic of big hitting, albeit not from the big names.

For once, Chris Gayle was useless, accumulating fewer than 200 runs at barely a run a ball. The Bangalore opener was presumaby unfit but an essential part of the IPL nonetheless, at least in the eyes of sponsors and the casual spectator. Kevin Pietersen fared a little better as Delhi skipper, yet a single 50 in 11 innings at a scoring rate of 126 was not a good return. Dare I suggest he was - er - distracted?!

Of the Aussie recruits, only Glenn Maxwell and David Warner did the business with the bat, while Watson, Bailey, Finch and Mike Hussey disappointed on the whole. The English counties will surely hope from more from their Antipodean investments this summer. South Africans Miller, AB and Duminy were their consistent selves, unlike De Kock and the once reliable Jacques Kallis. With no international cricket in his schedule, the Saffer legend produced only one score of note, a 72 in the very first game for KKR. At least he was part of the victorious squad.

With the ball, Sunil Narine took another 21 wickets at a typically miserly 6.35 an over, Mitch Johnson had some memorable days but Dale Steyn proved human, at times being clouted around the grounds he once ruled as a dangerous death bowler. Meanwhile Lasith Malinga restored faith in his ability to bowl fast and full to frustrate the big hitters when it matters.

Overall, numerous Indian players caught the eye. Sehwag, Raina and Yusuf Pathan might be remembered for their brutal landmark innings but they were not the outstanding performers of the tournament. Robin Uthappa demonstrated the consistency of a great Test opener rather than a Powerplay power merchant. He struck a sensational ten consecutive scores of 40 or more in a total of 660. Only 18 sixes yet a laudable scoring rate of 138 made him a deserving winner of whatever colourful trophy goes to the top run-getter.

Mohit Sharma took more wickets than anyone else (23), albeit conceding more than eight an over. Another seamer Bhuvi Kumar wasn't far behind, but his economy rate for the Sunrisers was a more impressive 6.65. The experienced Harbhajan Singh, Ravi Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin bowled creditably, but for me the star names were probably 20 year-old Akshar Patel and a man more than twice his age, Pravin Tambe. Slow left-armer Patel's 17 wickets at only 6.13 an over proved vital for Kings XI's progress to their first final. Meanwhile leg-spinner Tambe, whose age in years easily outnumbers the number of senior matches under his belt, usually proved hard to hit for the Royals. Tambe's time for a Test career has probably past him by - by about twenty years - but Patel is a promising prospect. He'll command big money at IPL 2015 and how he copes with that may determine his opportunities for international cricket, whatever the format.

Team of the Week 2nd May 2014: Rogers and Anderson in the swing

Last week it was all about the openers but this time there were only really two candidates for those places in my team of the week. Chris Rogers belied his 'Steady Eddie' reputation by plundering an unbeaten 241 in 290 balls to ensure Middlesex achieved a Lord's record fourth innings target against Yorkshire. The Aussie has been a man in form over the past twelve months, something which can't be said of Somerset skipper Marcus Trescothick. However, Tres struck his first hundred since September 2012 on a tricky wicket against a Sussex attack that only last summer wiped him out for a 'pair'! Buoyed by this, his side pulled together and delivered an innings defeat of Ed Joyce's team.

Unike the previous seven days, the County Championship saw a number of centuries. Ian Bell's excellent 122, Alexei Kervezee's 110 and Ben Foakes's 132 not out all came close, but I could not ignore the following performances. Hampshire's rain-hit draw against Surrey was memorable only for James Vince's splendid 156, while another early season star, Gary Ballance, earns his place for a second week in succession thanks to his 130 in 143 balls in what turned out to be a losing cause for Yorkshire. Wayne Madsen was one of Division Two's top run-scorers in 2013 and this week he top-scored in both Derbyshire's innings, aggregating 167 runs. Worcestershire still beat them with ease.

Leicestershire's Irish wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien thumped a belligerent 133 against Glamorgan, although he claimed only two victims behind the stumps, eclipsing Essex 'keeper James Foster who shared a double-century stand with the aforementioned Foakes.

Lewis Gregory took his season's wicket tally to 20 as he helped Somerset to that excellent triumph at Hove. He followed a 5-49 with a telling 4-48, including the scalp of Ed Joyce, inducing a play-on when the rival captain was going strong on 93. The 21 year-old Devonian has compensated for the loss through injury of Craig Overton and Steve Kirby and let's hope his form continues on the bat-friendly Taunton strip!

Steve Finn staked another claim for an England recall with eight wickets for Middlesex but an incumbent, James Anderson brought success for Lancashire by snaffling two five-fors in the win over Northamptonshire. His former county coach Peter Moores will expect more of the same when Jimmy joins the England squad shortly. The Chelmsford faithful were treated to another David 'Masters-class' as the 36 year-old took 6-48 for Essex against Glamorgan.

For the last two, I have dipped my toe in the wild waters of the IPL. One man is 20, the other is more than twice his age! Sandeep Sharma's medium pacers brought figures of 3-21 and 3-15 for Kings XI Punjab; his wickets against Bangalore included those of Gayle and Kohli. Finally I have picked ahead of Worcestershire spin debutant Saeed Ajmal the veteran leg-spinner Pravin Tambe. Well into his 43rd year, the man from Mumbai was only promoted from club cricket last May, yet this week he picked up four cheap Bangalore wickets (including Kohli again) and 2-31 versus Kolkata in the premier T20 competition. His is an amazing story!