Rabada becomes the quickest to 50 wickets in IPL and Dhawan has the most runs as an opener

AB de Villiers single-handedly destroyed Rajasthan hopes while Shikhar Dhawan's maiden T20 hundred handed CSK another loss. Here is a look at the statistical highlights from the double-header on Saturday (17th October).

Chris Morris registers the third four-for in IPL 2020

Sidelined by an injury, Chris Morris was out for the first few games for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Since his return, it hasn’t taken much time for Morris to settle down as he is already amongst the wickets. In just four matches this season, Morris is the second-highest wicket-taker for Bangalore with 9 wickets. Against Rajasthan Royals, his spell of 4 for 26 is the third-best bowling figures in IPL 2020. Jasprit Bumrah’s spell of 4/20 against Rajasthan in Abu Dhabi, is currently the best spell by a bowler this season.

Virat Kohli hoists his 200th six as a captain in T20s

Virat Kohli and records always go hand in hand, especially when he is in form. Today (17th October) against Rajasthan Royals, in his innings of 43 he smashed two sixes and one four. The second six he hit was his 200th as a captain in T20s. Only two batsmen as a captain have done this. MS Dhoni tops the table with 257 and Kohli is behind him with 200.

Lowest Powerplay score in Sharjah

Sharjah has been a batsmen's paradise compared to the other three venues. However, from the last couple of matches it has slowed down a bit. But, certainly not to an extent of scoring less than 40 runs during the Powerplay, that too in the first innings. Chennai Super Kings are generally slow starters, their run rate of 7.1 during the Powerplay is proof of it. Against Delhi Capitals, they posted 39 runs for the loss of one wicket, which is the lowest Powerplay score by a team in Sharjah this season.

Kagiso Rabada becomes the fastest bowler to 50 wickets in IPL

In sub-continental conditions, for an overseas fast bowler to set this record is something of great prominence. Kagiso Rabada, when he picked up the former Proteas skipper, Faf du Plessis in the 15th over reached his 50th IPL wicket in 27 matches. Hence, he became the quickest bowler to reach the landmark of 50 wickets in IPL. In 27 matches, Rabada has failed to pick up a wicket only twice, to better that, in 23 consecutive matches Rabada has managed to bag at least a wicket. Previously, Sunil Narine held the record as he took only 32 matches to reach the landmark.

Shreyas Iyer reaches 2000 IPL runs

The present Delhi Capitals skipper, Shreyas Iyer is inching towards becoming the best batsman for Delhi in IPL. Against Chennai Super Kings, Iyer scored a run-a-ball 23 runs. En route his knock, he reached 2000 IPL runs, all for Delhi. Hence, he became the second Delhi batsman to score 2000 runs in IPL. Virender Sehwag leads the chart with 2174 runs, which isn’t far. Considering the rich vein of form Iyer has been in, there is a probability of him overtaking Sehwag by the end of this season.

Most runs as an opener in IPL

After blowing hot and cold in a couple of IPL seasons, Shikhar Dhawan in this season looks like he is hungry for runs. The ace opener has now scored over 4500 runs in IPL as an opener, which is the most in the league. During his unbeaten 101, he went past Chris Gayle’s tally of 4480 runs as an opener. Dhawan has 36 scores of 50+ as an opener, 35 half-centuries and one century. Those 36 scores of 50+ is the second-most by an opener. Now that Gayle is unlikely to open the innings, Dhawan has the chance to stretch the lead further.

Maiden T20 hundred for Shikhar Dhawan

Heading towards the business end of the tournament, one of the most seasoned campaigners of the Delhi Capitals’ setup - Dhawan - hitting purple patch is a boon. Dhawan started the season with a duck, then scored a couple of thirties, but failed to carry on. The turning point for Dhawan this season was his knock against Mumbai Indians. Although, a slow lagging fifty that went in vain, it was something Dhawan was striving for. From then on, he has been unstoppable, backing up his innings against Mumbai with another half-century against Rajasthan Royals. Today, against Chennai Super Kings, he went all the way to notch up his maiden T20 hundred which guided Delhi to a win almost single-handedly.