In the 2020 Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, Kohli found himself engaging in a verbal duel with Suryakumar Yadav, who was then batting on 40 off just 25 balls. The Indian skipper, however, was all praise for the Mumbaikar when the latter was picked in the national team and talked about the X-factor that the player brings to the table.On being asked about the same, Yadav later revealed that the sledge made him happy for a particular reason. &ldquo;It&#39;s not just me, he goes hard at any batsman batting against him. I was happy that he sledged me. It means even Kohli knew that if I bat on, we will win the match and if they got my wicket, then maybe they could slow us down and create a chance to win,&rdquo; Suryakumar said.&ldquo;I am a cool and calm customer on the pitch, so I don&#39;t get into these rivalries. But there was that moment in Abu Dhabi, so I guess that can go down as one,&rdquo; he added.Yadav since then went on to represent India in T20s and was even picked for the ODI squad as well. Kohli even sacrificed his No.3 position to make space for the Mumbai Indians star batsman.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Kohli even sacrificed his No.3 position to make space for the Mumbai Indians star batsman

Indian Premier League, 2020

Mumbai Indians

Royal Challengers Bangalore

"Even Kohli knew that if I bat on, we will win the match" - SKY opens up about Abu Dhabi sledge

IPL came to a halt after 29 games. The characteristic of the first half of the IPL this year was good performances from new or relatively unknown players. Let us have a look at the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of each side this season based on the performances in the matches concluded.The calculation is based on criclytics and the emphasis is not on the total MVP points collected. But, the points collected per match. This is because total points is a factor of the number of matches played, as a player with more games is likely to earn more points. Also, a player considered should have played a minimum of five games in this season. So here are the MVPs of each side-<img data-fr-image-pasted="true" src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F17fa1ae2f95b9348941a15c33d72f0271235c870.jpg" data-code="200" style="box-sizing: inherit; border-style: none; max-width: 100%; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; color: rgb(65, 65, 65); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; width: 1200px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 1) CSK: Moeen Ali 77.2 MVP points per matchMoeen Ali was the torchbearer of the shift in Chennai&rsquo;s batting mindset. Playing fearless cricket at number three, Moeen hit a boundary every 3.9 balls. Among players with 200+ runs, this is second after Prithvi Shaw (3.8), who opened the batting.Being an all-rounder, he contributed with the ball too. His season economy was an exceptional 6.2 and a spell of 3/7 against Rajasthan was a match-winning one. In three games: against Punjab, Rajasthan and Mumbai, he was Chennai&rsquo;s best player as per Criclytics. No other player has more MVP points per match than him.2) SRH: Rashid Khan 67 MVP points per matchIt is by now a habit. No matter how Sunrisers perform as a team but, Rashid continues to be the gift that keeps giving. With an economy of 6.1 and 10 wickets in seven games, Rashid was one of the few bright spots for Sunrisers in this season. His spells of 2/18 and 0/22 against Bangalore and Mumbai should have won the game for his side if not for the batting frailties of Hyderabad&rsquo;s middle-order.3) DC: Avesh Khan 63.6 MVP points per matchAvesh was the find of the season for Delhi and perhaps the best uncapped player on display this year. As it turned out, his performance was one of the reasons why Delhi could negate the absence of Shreyas Iyer to an extent. With Avesh performing the role of Anrich Nortje, Delhi could fit Steve Smith in the middle-order.&nbsp;Avesh was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps. He was effective in all three phases unlike the more celebrated pacer in his side. Avesh announced himself with an in-swinger to dismiss Faf du Plessis in the first game and then bowled crucial spells against Rajasthan, Mumbai and Sunrisers. He accumulated the most MVP points in the season: 509. But, he played eight games, one more than most other players.4) RR: Chris Morris 60.4 MVP points per matchNevermind the fortune Rajasthan spent on him, but Morris provided a decent return of investment. He was not only Rajasthan&rsquo;s most effective enforcer in the tournament but also won them a game against Delhi with the bat. He was the player of the match in two out of their three wins, against Kolkata in addition to Delhi and he finished the season with 14 wickets, joint-second most.5) KKR: Pat Cummins 59.7 MVP points per matchHere is another high valued player who has delivered to an extent. Though not at the same prowess as we see him at the Test level. But, in consecutive seasons, Cummins has emerged as Kolkata&rsquo;s MVP. This tells us more about the state of the team than an actual reflection of Cummins&rsquo; performance.&nbsp;Cummins scalped nine wickets in the season but an economy of 8.8 was higher in comparison to his global peers. But, his contributions with the bat were a lot more impactful. Even with a strike rate of 166.1 and an average of 31 for Cummins, the Knight Riders kept Cummins at number eight and persisted with the failed experiment of using Sunil Narine as a pinch-hitter6) RCB: Harshal Patel 55.1 MVP points per matchEven the curtailed season proved to be a tale of two halves for Harshal. While RCB played in Chennai, Harshal proved to be unhittable. But, in two out of the last three games, he had forgettable outings against Chennai and Punjab. Nevertheless, he was still the holder of the Purple Cap when the tournament came to halt.&nbsp;Patel&rsquo;s emergence as RCB&rsquo;s MVP can also be due to their batsmen distributing the honours among themselves. While among the bowlers in Bangalore, Harshal took around two times more wickets than any other.7) MI: Rohit Sharma 52.1 MVP points per matchRohit often gets the flak of not batting with more aggression given Mumbai&rsquo;s envious hitters in the lower middle-order. But, in a season when most of those hitters failed to lift the side, Rohit&rsquo;s contributions were immense. He was the only batsman in the side to score more than 200 runs in the tournament. He was Mumbai&rsquo;s best player in the games against Delhi and Punjab, both games when Mumbai finished second.8) PBKS: Deepak Hooda 49.1 MVP points per matchProbably the biggest surprise of them all. But, for a team with the three lowest first-innings scores and a constant chopping of the bowling unit, it is tough to single out a consistent performer. &nbsp;Being involved in both facets helped Hooda&rsquo;s cause. His economy rate of 7.1 was the next-best after Ravi Bishnoi&rsquo;s 6.2 among bowlers who featured regularly for Punjab. His strike rate of 143.2 was also the highest among the regular Punjab batsmen. Both KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal received more batting MVP points than Hooda for obvious reasons but could not get ahead enough to counter Hooda&rsquo;s aggregate over both fronts.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Here is a look at the Most Valuable Player of each side based on the 29 concluded games in IPL 2021

Moeen Ali

Rashid Khan

Avesh Khan

Chris Morris

Indian Premier League, 2021

Chennai Super Kings

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Delhi Capitals

Rajasthan Royals

Kolkata Knight Riders

Punjab Kings

IPL 2021: MVP of each side

The 2021 edition of IPL was suspended at the half way stage as there was an outbreak of the pandemic inside the bio-bubble. Though only 29 matches were played, there were abundance of individual performances with the bat. Few were in winning cause and few in losing. Let&rsquo;s have a look at some of the best individual performances form this 2021 edition of IPL:Jos Buttler &ndash; 124 (64) vs SRHMatch 28, DelhiButtler as an opener has always been a successful batsmen, especially for Rajasthan Royals in IPL. However, of late, Ben Stokes has taken over the duty of being an opener for them. After his national teammate departed sighting an injury, Buttler had the opportunity to open the innings. In the first four innings, he got two scores of 40 but couldn&rsquo;t convert. A big innings was on the cards and that came against Sunrisers Hyderabad.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fb7dbe8df398d7e01c4d9ca37b2580cdf8aedaf5b.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Slow at start, Buttler took his time before he got settled in. Buttler had scored at a strike-rate of 80 in his first 15 balls. In the next 15, he had struck at 133.3. After facing 30 balls is when the carnage started. In balls range between 31-45 he had struck at 213 and after 45, he struck at 316. Eventually, He scored 124 runs before being dismissed in the 19th over - the highest score by a Rajasthan batsmen in IPL.Kieron Pollard &ndash; 87* (34) vs CSKMatch 27, DelhiThere is a reason Mumbai Indians team management persist with Pollard, even if he has underperformed and in their match against Chennai Super Kings, it was evident. Not only did he pick up wickets, but also, contributed with the bat, for which he is known for. &nbsp;In deep trouble while chasing a mammoth target of 219, Mumbai needed something special from their middle and lower middle order which was their strength last year. Pollard came into bat with MI requiring 138 runs of 11 overs. From there on it was a one-man show. Pollard brought up his half-century in just 17 balls, the joint fastest for Mumbai in IPL and the fastest of this season. Out of the 138 required, Pollard alone had amassed 87 runs. From the jaws of defeat, Pollard snatched a victory, which is why, this knock will go down as one of the best in IPL history.Devdutt Padikkal &ndash; 101* (52) vs RRMatch 16, MumbaiDown with COVID, Padikkal missed the first match of IPL 2021. The highest run scorer for Royal Challenger Bangalore in IPL 2020, continued from where he had left off on his return. After few scratchy innings, Padikkal was in full flow against the Rajasthan Royals.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F75fe3c9e608ec91d3061902e757c2619e29345b0.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Chasing a target of 178, Padikkal, who partnered with the skipper Virat Kohli, was the aggressor from the start. In fact, Kohli was a mere spectator at the other end, at least till the halfway stage (first 10 overs). Padikkal alone had scored 80 out of 107 runs. Padikkal had brought up his half-century in 27 balls. With a century in sight, Padikkal went all guns blazing to reach the milestone in the next 24 balls. Padikkal became the third youngest batsman to a ton in IPL and also registered the fastest ton by an uncapped player.&nbsp;Prithvi Shaw &ndash; 82 (41) vs KKRMatch 25, AhmedabadA typical Virender Sehwag approach is what can be seen in Prithvi Shaw. Watch the ball and go for it. Earlier, the approach had some technical drawbacks, but in IPL 2021, there never seemed to be one.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fb1a571c8c1a5ce09053d9769711b5b9f3ea4dc18.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Kolkata Knight Riders has been one his favorite opponents in IPL. In four innings prior to the 25th match, Prithvi had scored three 50+ scores against them. He continued the trend by smashing another half-century that started with six fours in the very first over itself. His U-19 teammate Shivam Mavi was dispatched for a boundary in off all six deliveries. In the end Shaw smashed 82 runs before Pat Cummins got the better of him in the 16th over.Sanju Samson &ndash; 119 (63) vs PBKSMatch 4, MumbaiSanju Samson has always been a prolific run scorer for Rajasthan and that is one of the reasons they released Steven Smith and gave captaincy to Samson. The start to his captaincy would have been exceptional if he had managed to pull off a blinder of a chase.&nbsp;It was a d&eacute;j&agrave; vu of what had happened in IPL 2020 in Sharjah between the two teams. Punjab had a set a mammoth target of 222, a run shorter to what they had set last year. Rajasthan skipper was early into the scene (1st over). Due to the lack of support from the other end, Samson scored the bulk of the runs. He reached his half-century in 33 balls. But, the next 50 runs came in 21 balls as Samson registered his third IPL century off 54 balls. He also became the first ever captain in IPL history to hit a century on his captaincy debut. Though, Samson and Rajasthan fell short by four runs, his innings will go down as one of the best.&nbsp;Ravindra Jadeja &ndash; 62* (28) vs RCBMatch 19, Mumbai&nbsp;Making his comeback to competitive cricket this season, Ravindra Jadeja had missed a large chunk of action over the months. Jadeja was one of the key finishers for Chennai in the last season.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F500bc67a184fdf66d1de00a2de2f032ad31e3678.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">In his first match, Jadeja looked a bit rusty scoring 26* off 17 balls. Even in his innings against Bangalore, Jadeja was slow to start. However, one over changed the dynamics of everything. Heading into the last over of the innings, Jadeja was on 26 off 21 balls. Against the Purple Cap holder &ndash; Harshal Patel &ndash; he walloped 36 runs for himself and an extra run through no-ball. He clubbed five sixes, one four and a double in that over. He became the second batsman to score 36 runs in an over after Chris Gayle. In addition, he was also the third batsman to hit five sixes in an over. &nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Here are a few scintillating batting performances from the suspended 14th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL)

Jos Buttler

Kieron Pollard

Devdutt Padikkal

Prithvi Shaw

Sanju Samson

Ravindra Jadeja

IPL 2021: Individual brilliances that set the stage ablaze 

The 2021 season of IPL saw only 29 matches but there were still a number of overseas players who stood head and shoulders above others. Here is Cricket.com&rsquo;s Overseas XI of the Year from the season conducted thus far:Faf du PlessisWith 320 runs in seven innings (average 64, strike-rate 145.4), Faf du Plessis was the highest run-scorer for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021. But more importantly, he was the foundation-setter for the side. He was one of the only four batsmen to have scored over 100 runs in the Powerplay while batting at a strike-rate above 140 (148.5).Du Plessis&rsquo; efforts lifted Chennai&rsquo;s Powerplay run-rate from 8 runs per over in IPL 2020 to 9.6 this year. It also helped his opening partner, Ruturaj Gaikwad to bide his time at the top (strike-rate of 91.5 in the Powerplay). As a result, Chennai enjoyed three games in a row without losing a wicket in the first six overs.&nbsp;Du Plessis notched up four half centuries in the season, first of which was an unbeaten 95 against Kolkata. He then scored three consecutive fifties proving his worth to the side. There is no competition behind picking du Plessis as the first-choice opener for this XI.&nbsp;Jonny Bairstow (wk)Jonny Bairstow (248 runs, 41.3 average, strike-rate 141.7) is the second opener. While Sunrisers Hyderabad had a troubled time, Bairstow shone as their best batsmen. The most appreciable facet about Bairstow&rsquo;s season was the way he tackled the Chennai track, scoring 211 runs at an average of 52.8 while striking at 141.6.He was unapologetic in the Powerplay, scoring 149 runs at 74.5 and an astonishing strike-rate of 167.4. He scored 43.3 percent of Hyderabad&rsquo;s Powerplay runs. Yet, his best was probably his unbeaten 63 off 56 balls against Punjab Kings where Bairstow took the responsibility to see the chase through and get Hyderabad off the mark on the points table - their only win of the season.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F5698b5e0588d2ad63c8c206a156297c6cd50bfdb.png" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Moeen AliScoring 206 runs at 34.3 and a strike-rate of 157.4, Moeen Ali left a lasting impression on Chennai&rsquo;s fortunes this year. Slotted in at number three, Moeen was the epitome of Chennai&rsquo;s fresh approach of consistently going for the big hits during the middle-overs. It was quite obvious in his cameos like 24-ball 36 against Delhi and 12-ball 25 against Kolkata to mention a few.&nbsp;In Chennai&rsquo;s last game before the season suspension, he amassed his maiden fifty in Chennai colors, scoring a 36-ball 56 against Mumbai. His strike-rate of 169.9 between overs 7 to 15 was the third highest.&nbsp;With the ball, Moeen picked five wickets, including a match-winning spell of 3/7 against Rajasthan Royals. Hence, he is a valuable part of this XI.&nbsp;Glenn MaxwellAfter a poor last season, Glenn Maxwell turned his fortunes around this time in Bangalore&rsquo;s colors, scoring 223 runs at an average of 37.2.&nbsp;Given the license to do what he does the best in format, Maxwell was a breath of fresh air in Bangalore&rsquo;s middle-overs with the bat. He negated spin expertly, that too on the challenging decks of Chepauk with knocks of 39 off 28, 59 off 41 and 78 off 49. His tally of 142 runs against spin is the second-highest in the tournament and came at a strike-rate of 161.4.AB de VilliersAB de Villiers has made a habit of winning matches for Bangalore. He came into this season with no cricket since the last edition of the tournament. Yet, he was effortless in the season opener, scoring 48 off 27 coming at the crux of the run chase.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F26e9f0676e82f2dba3d55c287196584cbd9ab461.jpg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Two matches later, he mauled an unbeaten 76 off 34 balls against Kolkata, helping Bangalore to notch up at least 20 runs over the par score. Add his 75 not out off 42 balls against Delhi as de Villiers won Bangalore three out of the six games he batted in. This is a terrific record for someone batting at number five. De Villiers once again nailed the finisher&rsquo;s role for Bangalore.&nbsp;Kieron PollardKieron Pollard arguably played the innings of the tournament when he smashed Chennai for an unbeaten 87 off only 34 balls. The knock single-handedly pulled off the second highest successful chase in IPL history - 218.&nbsp;Prior to that, Pollard had a slow start to the tournament with the bat. Struggling to cope with the slowness of the Chennai track, Pollard managed only 12 runs from the first two games. In the third, however, he scored a handy 35 not out which gave Mumbai enough runs to pip Hyderabad. He also bowled two crucial overs for only 10 runs in a low-scoring game.&nbsp;That has been Pollard&rsquo;s legacy in this season. Filling up the extra bowler&rsquo;s role, Pollard conceded only at an economy of only 7.5 in his 7 overs. He also picked three wickets, two of which came in the match against Chennai, before his storm with the bat. He is also the captain of this side.Andre RussellAndre Russell is a debatable selection but the need of a hard-hitter who can provide something with the ball brings the big Jamaican at number 7. Russell had a better season than IPL 2020. He scored 163 runs with the bat at a strike-rate of 155.2 and grabbed seven wickets which included his maiden five-wicket haul in T20s - 5/15 against Mumbai. Hence, he was still one of the better all-rounders in this truncated season.&nbsp;Russell was majorly used as a two-over bowler by Kolkata that too majorly during the death overs, making him a perfect fit for this XI.&nbsp;Chris MorrisSigned at INR 16.25 crore, the biggest amount given to a player in the IPL auction history, Chris Morris justified the big paycheque with his all-round show.&nbsp;With his primary skill, Morris picked 14 wickets, the joint second-most. Nine of these wickets came at the death, while conceding at an economy of 9.5 runs per over. His 4/23 against Kolkata included the crucial scalps of Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. Bowling first or second, Morris was always amongst the wickets. With the bat, Morris&rsquo; 36 not out off 18 balls against Delhi got Rajasthan their first win of the season.Rashid KhanThe wily leg-spinner once again did not do much wrong while Hyderabad&rsquo;s campaign was falling apart around him. There is not much to write about their pace attack this year which fell flat on its face. However, Rashid Khan took care of the spin facet. His 10 wickets are the second most by a spinner this season. He bowled with an economy of 6.1, a tad higher than last year but still brilliant. His best performance of the season was 3/36 against Chennai but by impact, it was 2/18 against Bangalore which included the key wicket of AB de Villiers. Unfortunately, Hyderabad lost both games but it was another decent season for the Afghan spinner.&nbsp;Trent BoultThe Kiwi pacer bagged 16 wickets during the Powerplay last year. This season, his impact with the new ball was restricted to only two wickets in seven games. It was a season where swing was absent. Boult rather laid his impact at the death where snaffled six wickets.&nbsp;Boult formed a lethal death bowling duo with Jasprit Bumrah where he turned a couple of games around in Mumbai&rsquo;s favor. He picked 2/4 against Kolkata and ⅜ against Hyderabad in his two overs each at the death. His sixth wicket in this phase was that of Sanju Samson which came through an impeccable yorker. Boult was, in fact, one of the best yorker bowlers in the season which sneaks him in as one of the three prime pacers of this XI.&nbsp;Mustafizur RahmanThe &lsquo;Fizz&rsquo; was back this season in his old self. Sam Curran, Pat Cummins and Kyle Jamieson picked more wickets than Rahman (8) in as many games but the left-arm seamer pipped everyone with a superior economy of 8.3, that too having bowled more overs at the death than any of them.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fc5f3b308560c71018d98338d3abe865f6df6702b.png" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Rahman brought his cutters back that had troubled batsmen way back in 2015-16. Releasing the ball like he was Muttiah Muralitharan, Rahman extracted grip on the lesser suited tracks in Mumbai and Delhi.&nbsp;Rahman picked up 3/20 in his four overs against Hyderabad, a match where the average run-rate was 9.6. His inclusion also provides this XI the variety of left-arm seam. Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Here is an XI acknowledging the best overseas performers in the curtailed 2021 season of IPL

Faf du Plessis

Jonny Bairstow

Glenn Maxwell

AB de Villiers

Trent Boult

Mustafizur Rahman

Andre Russell

Overseas XI of IPL 2021, thus far

For the first time in the 14-year history of the Indian Premier League, the tournament had to be postponed mid-way with only 29 matches being played. The tournament faced roadblocks due to the impact of the second wave of Coronavirus crisis in India, which breached the bubble, and left the situation in dire straits. Now that no one is quite sure of the rescheduling and how the remainder of the season would look like, we, at Cricket.com, take a look at the five best, or rather most impactful, overseas performers who took the stage by storm and left us asking for more.Faf du PlessisDespite the consistency that the Saffer has shown in the IPL over the years, it is easy to look beyond him and position Moeen Ali as the most impactful player for Chennai Super Kings this season. Partially that is true, for Moeen&rsquo;s free-flowing approach was the reason behind CSK flourishing at the batting paradise of Mumbai, but Faf&rsquo;s reinvention as a complete T20 batsman this season is a story that needs to be told over and over again and put into context for it was the fulcrum on which CSK chanted their success Mantra.&nbsp;Till last year, Faf and Shane Watson formed a mirror image batting pair - whose inability to get off the blocks in the powerplay - pushed CSK backward often. However, in the IPL 2021, the former Proteas skipper had a powerplay strike rate of 148.5 with a boundary percentage of 67.9%. With a minimum of 50 runs in the first six overs this season, only Prithvi Shaw had a better strike rate.&nbsp;Not only in terms of impact, but du Plessis was also head and shoulder above all batsmen in the entire tournament, piling up 320 runs from seven innings, including four 50+ plus scores. The next best in the team - Moeen Ali - had 114 runs less than him, albeit with a slightly better strike rate. For all the early calls about Faf being benched to accommodate a more free-flowing batsman, the Pretoria batsman made everyone eat their pies and then had ripe mangoes for his own meal.AB de VilliersTry imagining an RCB win without an AB de Villiers hand in it? The ageless warrior proved it yet again, with some of the most impactful performances which played a big role in everything coming together for the Virat Kohli-led franchise in IPL 2021. His 48 off 27 against Mumbai Indians was as effortless as his 75 not out off 42 balls against Delhi Capitals or unbeaten 76 off 34 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders. Such was his consistency and class!With Glenn Maxwell being provided with the responsibility of batting at No.4 - which he did with elan - de Villiers had been sent to counter the spin in the middle overs as well as dismantling the pace at death and boy, did he do that with some swag!&nbsp;Between overs 16 and 20, he scored 146 runs at a strike rate of 243.3 with a boundary percentage of 72.6%. With Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal taking care of the powerplay and Maxwell delivering in the middle-overs, things finally seemed to be on track for the Bangalore-based franchise. That alone justifies the importance of Abraham Benjamin de Villiers for Royal Challengers Bangalore.<img src="https://images.cricket.com/articles-editor/26a8a0402663763d75d093891a989a6701d5052c.png" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Kieron PollardMuch like Chris Gayle and AB de Villers, the history of T20 cricket will remember Kieron Pollard fondly for the way he dominated the format. Mumbai Indians, four years after using the RTM on a person who was called a spent force back then, have been reaping the benefits of his magnetic charisma. Chennai Super Kings were battered, bruised, and were left to rue their own luck when Pollard showed up with his devastating avatar. Picked up two wickets for 12 runs in a game 437 runs were scored with the most prolific 34-ball carnage you&rsquo;ll ever see to go with that. It was a game that celebrated the Peak Pollard in all its might.That game alone would tell you why Pollard was one of the best performers this season but then again, there was the Sunrisers performance too. Coming in at a time the side needed him to put the accelerator early, he did just that to milk 35 runs off 22 balls on the tricky track of Chepauk. There was no stopping for the man from Trinidad and one would be left wanting more. A sheer powerful T20 dynamite.Jonny BairstowIn the season of gloom and despondency for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jonny Bairstow held the fort as the biggest anomaly, with consistent performances in almost every game. Playing on the difficult tracks of Chennai, he was closest to what ABD and Maxwell did for RCB but without support from the other end, scoring 248 runs at an average of 41.33 and an SR a tad over 141.&nbsp;He was the lone batsman standing against Kolkata Knight Riders and following his dismissal, the team lost track of their business. Against Punjab Kings, his 63* helped the side secure their only win in the league this season while he was in his elements against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals subsequently. Third-highest run-scorer among the overseas professionals this season, Bairstow has surely made himself indisposable ahead of the mega-auction next year, and his absence, as indicated by ECB, for the rescheduled tournament will be a massive loss for the Hyderabad-based franchise.Chris MorrisWhen Chris Morris was offered 16.5 Crore, the discourse was not about his quality rather it flew between the money earned and money wasted. Few South African journalists listed out how Morris&rsquo; windfall was a slap on the face for normal South African people who struggle for basic things in their lives. On the IPL landscape though, it hardly mattered and for Morris, it was an opportunity to prove his worth.<img src="https://images.cricket.com/articles-editor/b930a864e5d3725dcdaf3af3b6d31d4c80c5563a.png" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">With 14 wickets from seven games, not only did he emerge as the second-highest wicket-taker of the season, his SR of 11.1 was the third-highest for a bowler with a minimum of two wickets. His four-wicket burst against the Knight Riders broke their back while he ran through the Sunrisers middle-order to give the side a cutting edge in the tournament.&nbsp;Batting wise, he didn&rsquo;t really have a telling impact but try selling that to a Delhi Capitals fan. His unbeaten 18-ball 36 laden with four sixes landed the Royals an unbelievable victory from the jaws of defeat and his subsequent statement summed that up beautifully. &ldquo;There are guys who get paid to bat and there are guys who get paid to slog, I know what I am. I am a slogger that swings everything I can, I play so much golf,&rdquo; he added. Talk about impact, talk about swag.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

We, at Cricket.com, take a look at the five best, or rather most impactful, overseas performers from the first half of the tournament

IPL 2021: Most impactful overseas performers

When it comes to the Indian Premier League, one thing is guaranteed, that you are bound to get entertained. However, the 14th edition of the lucrative T20 league didn&#39;t go as planned because COVID-19 managed to breach the bio-bubble of four franchises and the tournament had to be suspended indefinitely. There were still 29 matches played and quite a few of them turned out to be thrillers.So, here are the five games that stood out this season (thus far), not necessarily in that order.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/199880/scorecard/rr-vs-pbks-match-4-indian-premier-league-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rajasthan vs Punjab, Match 4</a>For a brief moment, this game felt like the first fixture between these two sides in Sharjah last year. Then, Rahul Tewatia brought Rajasthan home out of nowhere. Here, Sanju Samson almost repeated the feat. Only difference being that then, Tewatia built on a platform that Samson laid for him. But, Samson here did it all by himself with a little help from a brief effervescence of Jos Buttler, Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag. A pitch that saw 438 runs in 40 overs has to be a bowler&rsquo;s grave. But, if most of those runs came from players like KL Rahul and Samson, it was also an evening filled with an overdose of eye-pleasing strokes.Asked to bat, Rahul (50-ball 91), Chris Gayle (28-ball 40) and Deepak Hooda (28-ball 64) helped Punjab amass 221/6 in their 20 overs. It was also a night of Chetan Sakariya who stood out with a spell of 3/31 on a bowler&rsquo;s graveyard. In reply, RR lost their openers early and they needed 127 off 10 overs. By the half way mark of the innings, Samson was on 41 off 30 balls, but that&#39;s when put on a show to remember. The likes of Buttler and Parag chipped in with fiery cameos but it was Samson who hitting everyone out of the park.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F747f9d47342db7f3c6742dc1ed1a77388d05ae8c.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Samson whacked Jhye Richardson for 19 runs in the 18th over and got the equation down to 21 off 12. Riley Meredith then only conceded eight runs in the penultimate over and Arshdeep Singh was asked to bowl the final over with 13 runs to defend. He kept his nerve to keep Rajasthan down to only two runs in the first three balls but then got smoked over long-off for a six. In what turned out to be a questionable move, Samson refused a single off the next ball that would have had Chris Morris on the strike for the last ball. Samson then failed to clear the sweeper cover fielder on the final delivery and Punjab won by four runs.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/201003/scorecard/rr-vs-dc-match-7-indian-premier-league-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rajasthan vs Delhi, Match 7</a>There&#39;s something special about bowlers dominating the show at the Wankhede in T20s. From Jaydev Unadkat to Chris Woakes, from Mustafizur Rahman to Avesh Khan, tonight&rsquo;s game between Rajasthan and Delhi celebrated them in all might. Yet all it took were 10 balls for Morris to turn the game around to hand Delhi an inexplicable three-wicket loss. After Rishabh Pant (32-ball 51) dragged Delhi to 147/8, Rajasthan were reduced to 42/5 inside 10 overs, with Woakes, Avesh and Kagiso Rabada wreaking havoc. David Miller (43-ball 62) and Tewatia steadied the ship by putting on a 48-run stand for the sixth wicket.Tewatia was dismissed in the 15th over but Miller smashed five boundaries in two overs to ensure the game was well within the reach. It was a roller-coaster in many ways that never for a moment you could be fully certain that the game was going one way. Miller smacked Avesh for two sixes before getting dismissed in the very same over. That&#39;s when Morris took over and blasted Rabada for two sixes in the 19th over. With 12 needed off 6 balls, Morris, who was denied the strike last game by his skipper, hammered Tom Curran for two maximums and sealed the game for RR. The South African scored 36* off just 18 deliveries. &nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/201011/scorecard/kkr-vs-csk-match-15-indian-premier-league-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kolkata vs Chennai, Match 15</a>This game was not supposed to get this close! Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis put up a batting masterclass and helped Chennai amass 220 against Kolkata. Deepak Chahar then did his thing with the new ball and reduced Kolkata to 31/5 before the end of six overs. The Men in Purple looked down and out but Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins refused to throw in the towel and almost ended up outmuscling MS Dhoni and Co.Kolkata skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and asked Chennai to bat first. However, the opening combination of Gaikwad (42-ball 64) and du Plessis (60-ball 95*) put on 115 runs and propelled Chennai to a massive first innings total. The game looked dead and gone before the powerplay ended in the second innings, but that&#39;s when Russell, Karthik and Cummins went berserk and kept Kolkata alive till the very last over. It was Karthik (24-ball 40) and Russell (22-ball 54) who started the carnage before Cummins (34-ball 66*) joined the party and ripped apart Chennai&#39;s bowling attack.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F1f45eb07494d081217533dbfe55622e49395eb67.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">If you combine Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur&#39;s bowling figures, the two leaked 106 runs in just 7.1 overs. The former was whacked for 30 runs in an over by Cummins but managed to bounce back and displayed tremendous courage for his age. Curran bowled a superb 19th over and got the equation down to 20 off 6. Cummins was still there but Kolkata were already nine down. Things could have taken a wild turn, but before anything could happen, Prasidh Krishna was run out on the first delivery of the final over and Chennai managed to win by 18 runs.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/201017/scorecard/srh-vs-dc-match-20-indian-premier-league-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hyderabad vs Delhi, Match 20</a>It was a game of inches. David Warner ran a short run on the final ball of Hyderabad&rsquo;s innings in the Super Over which brought down Delhi&rsquo; target to 8, instead of 9. It proved to be a decisive moment as Delhi scampered through to the target with a leg bye each on the final two balls. However, that was not the only big moment in the game which went through various ups and downs on its way to a tie. Hyderabad seemed down and out in a run chase of 160 which was clearly 20 runs above the par score observed at the Chepauk, but Kane Williamson&rsquo;s calmness and class kept pushing Hyderabad towards the target.Walking in at 28/1, Williamson (51-ball 66*) single-handedly carried Hyderabad&rsquo;s chase with his expertise of tackling spin and finding gaps. David Warner was run out for just 6, while Jonny Bairstow (18-ball 38) did his thing but couldn&#39;t survive for long. There was no contribution from the middle-order but Williamson kept fighting. But, with 39 required off the last three overs, he still required someone to provide the impetus from the other end. That&#39;s when Jagadeesha Suchith (6-ball 14*) stepped up and played a superb cameo. With 16 needed off 6, Rabada was smashed for a four and a six in his first three deliveries but the paceman gave away three single in as many deliveries and the game went to the Super Over.Earlier, Prithvi Shaw (39-ball 53), Shikhar Dhawan (26-ball 28), Pant (27-ball 37) and Steve Smith (25-ball 34) all chipped in and propelled Delhi to 159/4. Once the game was tied, SRH for some reason didn&#39;t send Bairstow to bat and went with Warner and Williamson. Axar Patel gave away only seven runs, and then Pant reverse lapped Rashid Khan and got the equation down to 2 off 3 balls. Pant and Dhawan managed those two runs off leg byes and took Delhi over the line. &nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/201019/scorecard/dc-vs-rcb-match-22-indian-premier-league-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Delhi vs Bangalore, Match 22</a>Shimron Hetmyer almost overpowered AB de Villiers&#39; brilliance but Mohammed Siraj somehow managed to defend 14 runs in the final over and gave RCB a thrilling one-run win over Delhi in Ahmedabad. Rishabh Pant too was there till the very end but couldn&#39;t finish the job in what was Delhi&#39;s 200th IPL game. Asked to bat, Bangalore lost their openers early before Rajat Patidar (22-ball 31) and Glenn Maxwell (20-ball 25) chipped in with decent cameos. RCB needed something special from de Villiers and the Superman from South Africa didn&#39;t disappoint. The swashbuckling right-hander whacked three fours and five sixes in his 42-ball 75* and propelled his team to a competitive total of 171/5 in their 20 overs.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F40f856f93c7d0969fa986ff479ce8cbf86af72ed.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">All of a sudden, prior to the second innings, there was a sandstorm and that kept the dew away. Every RCB bowler bowled with great discipline and had Delhi on the mat before Hetmyer walked in and started hitting sixes for fun. Pant was still around but looked far from his best. The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 58* off 48 deliveries - his slowest fifty in IPL, while Hetmyer smashed two fours and four maximums in his 25-ball 53* and kept Delhi alive till the very last over. Harshal Patel finished with figures of 2/37, while Siraj conceded 44 runs for his one wicket, but when the time came to step up, the two young Indian bowlers did the job for Bangalore.Delhi needed 46 off 18 and Hetmyer blasted Kyle Jamieson, who had given only 11 runs in his first three overs, for three sixes in the 18th over. Harshal then bowled a pretty decent penultimate over, giving away 11 runs. And, Siraj was superb in the final over and kept nailing those yorkers, not allowing Pant and Hetmyer to get underneath it. Pant slammed two fours in the last two balls but it was simply just not enough.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/201029/scorecard/mi-vs-csk-match-27-indian-premier-league-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mumbai vs Chennai, Match 27</a>On a small ground with an excellent batting pitch, the power-hitting was at its brutal best. Bowlers had nowhere to hide, even on the few occasions when they pitched the ball in the right areas. Jasprit Bumrah leaking 56 runs in four overs, his most expensive spell in his IPL history, says a lot about the conditions. Earlier, on the back of du Plessis&rsquo; 50 off 28 balls, Moeen Ali&rsquo;s 56 off 36 and Ambati Rayudu&rsquo;s 72* off 27 balls, Chennai smashed their highest total against Mumbai Indians.But, in the end, it was Kieron Pollard&rsquo;s mighty 87* from 34 balls that superseded all batting efforts to take Mumbai to their first successful 200-plus run chase and the second highest run chase in IPL history. Pollard came out to bat at a time when Chennai had their foot in door. The required run-rate was already touching 14 but that&#39;s when Pollard turned the game on its head. He clobbered Ravindra Jadeja for three maximums in the 13th over and never looked back from thereon. Chennai tried many things against Pollard but nothing with conviction. They tried bowling wide of the crease, short-length deliveries, slower balls but there was no respite.A stunning 17th over from Curran - two runs and a wicket - kept their hopes up. But there was no support from the other end. Shardul conceded 17 in the 18th over. It also consisted an improbable event - du Plessis dropping a catch, a sitter by his standards. The drop proved to be critical when Pollard single-handedly razed off the 16 runs required in the last over. There were yorkers, miscued full tosses but when it got down to 8 off the last two balls, Pollard hammered a full toss from Lungi Ngidi for a six and then sprinted across for two to fetch two points for Mumbai. Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

There were some last-over finishes, while one game went to the Super Over

The top-six close encounters of IPL 2021

The 2021 season of the Indian Premier League was going in its full pomp before coming to an abrupt halt due to Covid-19 positive cases inside the bio-bubble. In the 29 games played this season, some players rose above others to become a force in their own sweet way. Following is Cricket.com&rsquo;s IPL XI of the Year from the season conducted thus far:&nbsp;Prithvi ShawHaving lost his place in the Delhi Capitals&rsquo; XI last season, Shaw roared his way back into Cricket.com&rsquo;s halfway mark team of the season. Ironing out the flaws in his technique, Shaw was a joy to watch this season with his &lsquo;see the ball, hit the ball&rsquo; approach.Shaw stunned Chennai in his first outing of the season - scoring 72 off 38 balls. He notched up two more fifties - 53 off 39 balls on a tough pitch against Hyderabad where he started the innings with three consecutive boundaries and an 82 off 41 balls against Kolkata, where he began with six consecutive boundaries, thus becoming the second batsman to score six fours in an over in the IPL history. Overall, Shaw&rsquo;s strike-rate of 166.5 is the highest by any opener and the highest for any batsman with over 200 runs in the season.&nbsp;Shikhar DhawanEasily the best opener of the season, even beyond numbers. With 380 runs in his kitty, Shikhar Dhawan is nearly 50 runs ahead of any other batsman to acquire the Orange Cap at the mid-season suspension of IPL 2021.&nbsp;Dhawan carried on from where he left the last season, having scored 618 runs. He started in the most ballistic fashion, turning the Chennai bowling attack to dust with a match-winning 85 off 54 balls. Two games later, he almost notched up his third T20 hundred, when he amassed 92 off 49 balls against Punjab in winning cause.&nbsp;What really stood about Dhawan was his willingness to contribute even when he was not at the forefront of things. On occasions when his naturally more aggressive opening partner - Shaw - exploded, he was happy to take the backseat. He also held the fort when the going got tough. Dhawan guided Delhi through a tricky run chase against Mumbai with his 45 off 42 balls.&nbsp;Dhawan&rsquo;s match awareness mixed with Shaw&rsquo;s blatant aggression enabled Delhi to make the most efficient use of the Powerplay. Delhi had a strike-rate of 147.9 in the first six overs, the highest by a decent margin. The average of 64 between Shaw and Dhawan is the highest for any opening duo this season. Yes, Faf du Plessis was superb but we won&rsquo;t separate this opening pair in our team of the season.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.cricket.com/articles-editor/04da7c033c9dc60bdb95233d30036c7b347a7048.png" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Sanju SamsonFor a while, it appeared as if it would be the same old story with Sanju Samson - one admirable knock but nothing to write about afterwards. After a magnificent 119 off 63 balls against Punjab Kings (albeit in a losing cause), Samson produced only 26 runs in the subsequent three innings.&nbsp;However, the Rajasthan Royals&rsquo; skipper rectified his mistakes this season to get back amongst runs. The effort was visible in his unbeaten 42 off 41 balls to steer Rajasthan&rsquo;s chase against Kolkata. He followed it up with a couple of more 40+ scores.&nbsp;Overall, Samson made 277 runs, averaging 46 at a healthy strike-rate of 145.8, more than perfect for a number three batsman in T20 cricket.&nbsp;Glenn MaxwellAfter a poor last season, Glenn Maxwell turned his fortunes around this time in Bangalore&rsquo;s colors, scoring 223 runs at an average of 37.2.&nbsp;Acting as the link between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and given the license to do what he does the best in format, Maxwell was a breath of fresh air in Bangalore&rsquo;s middle-overs with the bat. He negated spin expertly, that too on the challenging decks of Chepauk with knocks of 39 off 28, 59 off 41 and 78 off 49. His tally of 142 runs against spin is the second-highest in the tournament and came at a strike-rate of 161.4.Maxwell did not bowl in the season but provided off-spin variety to the bowling attack.&nbsp;AB de VilliersAB de Villiers has made a habit of making it to the IPL XI of the Year just as he has made a habit of winning matches for Bangalore. He came to this season with no cricket since the last edition of the tournament. Yet, he was effortless in the season opener, scoring 48 off 27 coming at the crux of the run chase.&nbsp;Two matches later, he mauled an unbeaten 76 off 34 balls against Kolkata, helping Bangalore to notch up at least 20 runs over the par score. Add his 75 not out off 42 balls against Delhi as de Villiers won Bangalore three out of the six games he batted in. This is a terrific record for someone batting at number five. De Villiers once again nailed the finisher&rsquo;s role for Bangalore.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.cricket.com/articles-editor/22946e652acc8fedc348d074399a24571837e5b9.png" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Kieron PollardKieron Pollard arguably played the innings of the tournament when he smashed Chennai for an unbeaten 87 off only 34 balls. The knock single-handedly pulled off the second highest successful chase in IPL history - 218.&nbsp;Prior to that, Pollard had a slow start to the tournament with the bat. Struggling to cope with the slowness of the Chennai track, Pollard managed only 12 runs from the first two games. In the third, however, he scored a handy 35 not out which gave Mumbai enough runs to pip Hyderabad. He also bowled two crucial overs for only 10 runs in a low-scoring game.&nbsp;That has been Pollard&rsquo;s legacy in this season. Filling up the extra bowler&rsquo;s role, Pollard had done decently, conceding only at an economy of only 7.5 in his 7 overs. He also picked three wickets, two of which came in the match against Chennai, before his storm with the bat. Pollard takes the batting all-rounder&rsquo;s slot in this team. He is also the captain of this side, with Samson the only full-time captain this year to make it to the XI.&nbsp;Ravindra JadejaRavindra Jadeja put up one of the most grand all-rounder&rsquo;s performances in IPL history when he scored 62 not out off 28 balls against Bangalore before picking 3/13 with the ball and affecting a run out. His knock included a record-levelling 37 runs off the last over against Harshal Patel. Overall, Jadeja was dismissed only once in six innings and had a strike-rate of 161.7. With the ball, he was lethal in helpful conditions and was used judiciously by MS Dhoni. Alongside his 3/13 against Bangalore, he picked 2/28 against Rajasthan. Jadeja is the perfect spin bowling all-rounder in this unit.&nbsp;Chris MorrisSigned at INR 16.25 crore, the biggest amount given to a player in the IPL auction history, Chris Morris justified the big paycheque with his all-round show.&nbsp;With his primary skill, Morris picked 14 wickets, the joint second-most. Nine of these wickets came at the death, while conceding at an economy of 9.5 runs per over. His 4/23 against Kolkata included the crucial scalps of Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. Either bowling first or second, Morris was always amongst the wickets. With the bat, Morris&rsquo; 36 not out off 18 balls against Delhi got Rajasthan off the mark on the points table. &nbsp;Avesh KhanProbably the find of the season. Avesh Khan has been around for a while but never has he left the kind of impression that he did in the 2021 IPL season. At first, it was surprising to see him getting a headstart over bowlers like Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav in the Delhi camp but his 14 wickets in eight games justified why the management went ahead with him.Moreover, Avesh bowled with an economy of only 7.7. His economy at the death was only 9.2, a run less than the average death over economy of 10.2 runs per over in the tournament. Avesh showed a thinking head, mixing his length and pace accurately. He had at least one wicket in each of his eight games, including 3/32 against Rajasthan and 3/34 against Hyderabad. His brilliant bowling performance has also put him in the radar for an India call-up. Avesh, in fact, will be flying to England as a standby for the Indian Test team.&nbsp;Rahul ChaharWith 11 wickets in seven games, Rahul Chahar turned out to be the most impactful spinner in the tournament. He announced himself in Mumbai&rsquo;s second game where he spun his team to victory with 4/27 against Kolkata. He laid a similar impact in the next game - picking 3/19 against Hyderabad. Both these spells staged come-from-behind wins for Mumbai while defending a low total.&nbsp;It was a strange year where other wrist-spinners were struggling. Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan didn&rsquo;t lay the same impact they are known for. But Chahar can keep his head high with several match-winning performances for his team.&nbsp;Jasprit BumrahIn terms of wickets, Jasprit Bumrah had only six scalps to his name in seven matches. He suffered his most expensive bowling spell going for 1/56 against Chennai. But in terms of impact, he was up there, especially with an economy of only 7.9 runs per over at the death.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F0700abfe20801425ad9bb185974993dccf47008d.png" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Bumrah twice helped Mumbai to close out games at the death with his two overs - against Kolkata and Hyderabad. Against Rajasthan, he conceded only 15 runs in his four overs on a good batting wicket that made the lasting difference in the match. These performances helped Bumrah pip Mohammed Siraj and the Purple Cap holder, Harshal Patel in the prime seamer&rsquo;s role.&nbsp; Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Here is an XI acknowledging the best performers in the curtailed 2021 season of IPL

Shikhar Dhawan

Jasprit Bumrah

Rahul Chahar

IPL XI of the Year 2021, thus far 

New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham doesn&#39;t think that there is any chance of the remaining 31 matches of Indian Premier League happening in India this year, after the tournament got postponed due to COVID-19 cases inside the bio-bubble.He also has serious doubts whether India would be able to host the 16-team T20 World Cup later this year.India is in the midst of a health crisis with the country recording 400,000 cases on a daily basis with at least 4000 deaths on an average.Both IPL and T20 World Cup are set to be re-scheduled to the United Arab Emirates.&quot;If it did start up again, I doubt the IPL would be in India again,&quot; said Neesham told Newshub.&quot;I think we&#39;ve already seen plans for the T20 World Cup to move out of India later in the year and they&#39;re going to be ultra-cautious about that sort of thing,&quot; said Neesham, who was playing for Mumbai Indians in the now suspended league.Neesham feels the bio-security lapses could be due to the fact that the teams were travelling across the country.&quot;Even though we were flying on chartered planes, we have to go through customs, hand your details over to people, walk through terminals, so there were always going to be pinch-points there,&quot; he said.Neesham said that it is difficult to comprehend how the bubble was breached.&quot;We obviously don&#39;t know yet exactly how teams were infiltrated, but... it&#39;s such a difficult prospect to keep everything perfect and when you&#39;ve got so many guys that are close to each other, there are going to be social interactions after games.&quot;Once one team has it, you start looking back through your last week at who you talked to and who you shook hands with. It certainly gets your mind racing.&quot;However Neesham isn&#39;t averse to the idea of going back to India again and playing the IPL if it resumes.&quot;For me, I signed up for the IPL knowing what it might be like. I felt like it was an obligation - I made the commitment to go and never had any thoughts of pulling out individually before the tournament finished,&quot; he said,&quot;Guys will have different opinions on that, but it&#39;s my job, I&#39;m a professional and you have plenty of times you tour countries you&#39;re not that keen on going to, but it&#39;s about getting on the field and getting the job done.&quot;I would sign up again, especially once vaccinations start rolling out. I don&#39;t think anyone really predicted how quickly it would all come crashing down over there and how quickly we would be on the first plane out.&quot;The IPL was suspended last Tuesday after four players and two coaches from four different teams tested positive for the virus within a space of 48 hours.&quot;To be honest, I wasn&#39;t expecting it to get called off. I think, when you&#39;ve got so many teams in different bubbles, the expectation was that there would always be some cases at some point during the tournament,&quot; Neesham said.&quot;We thought teams might have to lock down and miss a couple of games, like we&#39;ve seen in other organisations, like the NBA. The show must go on.&quot;The thing that was so shocking was how quickly it came up in so many different teams at the same time and we didn&#39;t really have an option in the end.&quot;Neesham said they were &quot;not out of the woods yet&quot; and may develop symptoms in the coming days.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham was doubtful if the remainder of the suspended IPL 2021 will be held in India due to the COVID-19 situation

James Neesham

Neesham unsure if remainder of IPL 2021 and T20 World Cup will be held in India

All New Zealand cricketers and coaches, who were involved in IPL 2021, have arrived home safely by private jets in two groups after the indefinite suspension of the T20 league midway into the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The lucrative league was suspended on May 4 after multiple COVID-19 cases were reported inside its bio-bubble.Cricketers Trent Boult, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, Adam Milne and Scott Kuggeleijn, coaches and former players James Pamment and Shane Bond, and Royal Challengers Bangalore&#39;s director of cricketing operations Mike Hesson were the first to land here late on Saturday night.They arrived on board a Bombardier Global Express private jet via Tokyo in the first of two chartered flights repatriating the Kiwis after the league was suspended.On Sunday, former Black Caps captains, Brendon McCullum and Stephen Fleming were among the second group of cricketers to touch down here.A second private flight of Vistajet carrying McCullum, Fleming, fellow IPL coach Kyle Mills, Kiwi fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, commentators Simon Doull and Scott Styris, and umpire Chris Gaffaney also safely landed at the Auckland Airport on Sunday evening.All the players and coaches went into managed isolation upon arrival, according to a report in stuff.co.nz.Wicket-keeper batsman Tim Seifert, who tested positive for COVID-19, is still in India and was awaiting his transfer to a private hospital in Chennai, the same facility in which former Australia player Michael Hussey was being treated after testing positive earlier in the week.New Zealand&#39;s UK-bound Test contingent, including skipper Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, and physio Tommy Simsek, have been transferred to Maldives. As per original plan, they were supposed to stay in New Delhi.The decision to transfer the players to the island nation came in the light of advice that their entry into the UK, initially thought to be around May 11, was likely to be delayed further by a week.New Zealand play a two-match Test series against England beginning on June 2 before facing India in the World Test Championships final at Southampton from June 18.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

All the players and coaches went into managed isolation upon arrival

Kane Williamson

Mitchell Santner

Brendon McCullum

Stephen Fleming

Tim Seifert

New Zealand

Kiwi cricketers reach home after IPL's suspension, second group lands safely

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday said that all their foreign players and support staff have reached their respective destinations safely after the IPL 2021 was indefinitely suspended midway into the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The lucrative league was suspended last week after COVID positive cases were reported in its bio-bubble.&quot;All foreign members of the MI contingent have reached their destinations safe &amp; sound. Paltan, make sure you follow all safety protocols. Stay at home. Stay safe,&quot; MI said in a message on its Twitter handle.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🛫🅃🄾🅄🄲🄷🄳🄾🅆🄽🛬 All foreign members of the MI contingent have reached their destinations safe &amp; sound. Paltan, make sure you follow all safety protocols. Stay at home. Stay safe. 😷🧴💙<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneFamily?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneFamily</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MumbaiIndians?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MumbaiIndians</a> <a href="https://t.co/1JwWGZkwpp">pic.twitter.com/1JwWGZkwpp</a>&mdash; Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) <a href="https://twitter.com/mipaltan/status/1391309145878319104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>A total of 14 foreign players and support of MI have left India after the cash-rich tournament had come to a halt on May 4.According to MI, Kieron Pollard reached Trinidad safely, South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock and Marco Jansen had landed in Johannesburg.The franchise&#39;s Australian players Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile and support staff members, including chief coach Mahela Jayawardene have reached Maldives via a charter flight, and they will serve a 14-day quarantine there.MI&#39;s New Zealand players, including the likes of Adam Milne, James Neesham, Trent Boult and support staff have reached Auckland via a charter flight arranged by the franchise.India is witnessing a devastating second wave of the pandemic with more than 4 lakh fresh cases and over 4,000 deaths being reported in the last two days.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The IPL franchise confirmed the development via their Twitter handle 

Mumbai Indians' foreign recruits reached their destinations safely: Franchise

Mumbai, the land of a myriad dream is a melting pot and the Mumbai Indians unit does its best to showcase the same. One of the costliest teams in the IPL, they are owned by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited. Sachin Tendulkar has to be the most iconic figure to play for them. In the initial years, the team possessed solid hitters like Aiden Blizzard, Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma combined with a host of exciting all-rounders like Kieron Pollard, James Franklin, etc and arguably the world's best T20 bowler in Lasith Malinga.
Mumbai's best show came in the third IPL season, wherein they ended up as finalists, losing to the eventual winners, Chennai Super Kings. They were also a part of the Champions League T20 that year, but could not sustain for long. In 2011 too, Mumbai Indians qualified to play in the CLT20 as a result of finishing third in the IPL. Despite the absence of senior players like Tendulkar, Mumbai went into the competition as underdogs with Harbhajan Singh leading from the front and emerged as winners of the 2011 Champions League T20, beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the finals.
Mumbai Indians gained a lot out of the 2012 auctions, as they bought some valuable foreign players in the form of Herschelle Gibbs, Mitchell Johnson, Richard Levi, Thisara Perera, etc. Andrew Symonds announced his retirement from all forms of cricket and was hence missing. While Johnson was ruled out even before playing a single game, others contributed fairly. However, that wasn't enough as a struggling Mumbai side was thrown out by the Chennai Super Kings in the Eliminator, thus ending their average campaign.
A year later though, the wait for their first IPL trophy ended as they beat Chennai in the finals. Mumbai Indians then went onto win two more in the next 4 years and under Rohit Sharma became a very strong unit. However, 2018 was not a year to remember as they failed to qualify for the knockout stage, they emerged stronger in the following year to win their fourth title, a feat achieved never before.