STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsIt was the first double header day of the 14th edition of Indian Premier League and it turned out to be action packed Sunday. In the first match, Royal Challengers Bangalore cruised to a mammoth total of 204 on a slow Chennai pitch. Thanks to monumental efforts by Glenn Maxwell (78 off 49) and AB de Villiers (76* off 34), Bangalore won by a comfortable margin of 38 runs to make three out of three.
In the second match it was another tussle between two wicket-keeper captains as Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings took centre stage in Mumbai. Mayank Agarwal’s quick fire 69 off 36 had set the stage for a big total for Punjab. However, Delhi bowlers managed to pull it back and restricted them for 195. A Shikhar Dhawan masterclass, helped Delhi chase the target with ease as they won with 10 balls remaining.
Second most 50+ scores after coming to bat in the 11th over
The most loved overseas player in India, AB de Villiers, is known to be one of the biggest entertainers in IPL. Let be any conditions, slow, quick or tacky, he knows ways to score runs that too at a brisk pace. In today’s match, de Villiers came into bat in the 12th over of the match. This was for the 41st innings, AB was coming into bat in the second half of the innings (after 11th over) in IPL. In no time he reached his fifty. This was his seventh 50+ score when he had come to bat after the 11th over in IPL. Only MS Dhoni has more 50+ scores after coming in this stage of the match.
A faulty start, but a grand finish
Bangalore were off to a poor start after Virat Kohli chose to bat against Kolkata. Within 10 runs, the skipper Kohli and Rajat Patidar were packed off, that too in the same over. Glenn Maxwell who has been exceptional so far for Bangalore, bailed them out of jail with a blistering knock off 78. Like always, de Villiers provided them the late flourish that propelled their total to 204. This was only the third time in IPL that a team had posted 200+ total when they were two down for less than 10 runs. Mumbai Indians feature in this record twice, once in 2013 and another in 2018.
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s best start
The Bangalore based franchise are up and running in this edition of IPL with three in three. They are sitting pretty at the top of the table with six points. In none of their previous 13 editions of IPL, Bangalore had won their first three matches. Hence, making this as the best start to their campaign. They have won their opening match by 2 wickets against the defending champions Mumbai. In the second they snatched a 6-run victory against Sunrisers and in their third, it was a cake walk over Kolkata by 38 runs.
Most man of the match awards
There is a reason why de Villiers has been the most successful player for Bangalore. In their match against Kolkata, de Villiers knock of unbeaten 76 at a strike rate of 223 is what impelled Bangalore to a total of 204. By virtue of his crucial knock, de Villiers received his 24th man of the match award. No other player has more man of the match awards as much as de Villiers has in IPL.
Off to a flyer
In recent times, the Karnataka pair of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been extremely successful in IPL, especially when they are opening. In just 16 innings as opening partners, they have amassed 906 runs with three century stands. In tonight’s game against Delhi, their opening partnership of 122 became the highest against the Delhi based franchise in IPL. Previously, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith in 2016 had posted 112, which was the highest then.
Chase master “Gabbar”
When it comes to internationals for India, none can be delegated to as the chase master, other than Kohli. But, in IPL, Shikhar Dhawan “Gabbar” is ranked amongst the highest in chases. In fact, better than Kohli in all aspects. In a successful chase, Dhawan has scored 1731 runs at an average of 61.8 and 18 fifty plus scores as compared to Kohli’s 1601 runs at an average of 53.4 and 10 fifty plus scores. His 18 fifty plus scores in a successful chase is the joint most by a batsman in IPL. On another hand, Dhawan registered his 45th fifty plus score in IPL to pip past Kohli’s tally of 44.
Second highest chase at Wankhede
There are few venues in IPL which are known to be the “graveyards for bowlers” and Wankhede is one of them. Surprisingly, there hasn’t been a chase of over 200 at this venue in IPL. In tonight’s game, Delhi chased a target of 196 with 10 balls to spare, which is the second highest target chased at this venue in IPL. Mumbai, in 2019 had hunted down a target of 198 against Punjab, which remains to be the highest target chased. In addition, this also the joint second highest target chased by Delhi in IPL. Against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions, Delhi had chased 209 in 2017 in Delhi, their highest till date in IPL.
