As the DLF IPL enters its second half, the Indian players are finally coming into their own: Virender Sehwag [ Images ], Gautam Gambhir [ Images ], Rohit Sharma [ Images ] and Irfan Pathan [ Images ] are among the League's five most valuable players after Match 29.

What about the foreign players? Who's doing well? And who's doing badly?

The table below indicates that Shane Watson [ Images ] currently tops the list, with Adam Gilchrist [ Images ] at the second place. Michael Hussey [ Images ] and Matthew Hayden [ Images ] are still in the top 10 although they played just four matches.

Herschelle Gibbs [ Images ], Ricky Ponting [ Images ] and Shivnarine Chanderpaul [ Images ] have proved to be the most disappointing so far. Some players figure low down in the list because they joined late, or were benched for long periods.

Table 1: The most successful foreign players in DLF IPL (after Match 29; based on MVPI)

Runs (scored) | Balls (taken) | Bat-pts: Batting points | | Rc: Runs conceded | Bb: Balls bowled | W: Wickets taken | Bowl-pts: Bowling points | Ct/St: Catches taken / Stumpings | Run outs (participated) | Field-pts: fielding points | M: Matches played | MVPI = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points | *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

Which foreign players have so far provided the best returns on investment? Table 2 provides the complete list. Some numbers in the table below may be inaccurate because we don't have confirmations of the exact money offered to some of the players.

Table 2: The foreign players offering the best value for money (after Match 29; based on PVI. The PVI indicates the dollars paid for every 'run'):

DD: Delhi Daredevils [ Images ] | CSK: Chennai Super Kings [ Images ] | DC: Deccan Chargers [ Images ] | RCB: Royal Challengers [ Images ] Bangalore | RR: Rajasthan Royals [ Images ] | KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders [ Images ] | KXI: Kings XI Punjab [ Images ] | MI: Mumbai Indians [ Images ]

M: Matches played | MVPI: Most valuable player index | Money offered; some estimates may be incorrect | MA: Matches available | MF: Fraction of money earned so far | PVI: Paisa vasool index; dollars paid for every run equivalent scored

Srinivas Bhogle, Purnendu Maji and Arthur DSilva work for Cranes Software International [ Get Quote ] Limited, Bangalore.