IPL 2021: A complete recap of the first phase
What's the story
The Indian Premier League 2021 season resumes from Sunday after it was suspended earlier in May because of COVID-19 that impacted the players. All eight teams will look to start strongly in what is a new start with half the season to go. Fans are braced for an action-packed month ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup. Here's the recap of the first phase.
Runs
Dhawan, Rahul and Faf lead the scoring tally
Delhi Capitals batsman Shikhar Dhawan piled up the most runs in the first phase. The southpaw scored 380 runs from eight matches at 54.28. He smashed three fifties with the best score of 92. Dhawan is followed by Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul, who amassed 331 runs from seven matches at 66.20. He hit four fifties. CSK's Faf du Plessis (320 runs) sits third.
Wickets
Harshal, Morris and Avesh have clinched the most scalps
Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Harshal Patel claimed 17 wickets from seven matches at a terrific average of 15.11. His best spell was 5/27. He was followed by Rajasthan Royals' Chris Morris. The Proteas fast bowler took 14 scalps at 16.00 with the best performance of 4/23. Delhi Capitals pacer Avesh Khan also claimed 14 scalps from eight matches at 16.50.
Batting
Notable numbers in terms of batting
Dhawan slammed the most fours (43) and is followed by Prithvi Shaw (37) and Faf du Plessis (29). Rahul has hit the most sixes in IPL so far (16). Three players have hit one century each in IPL 2021 (Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, and Devdutt Padikkal). Mumbai Indians' Kieron Pollard smashed the fastest fifty (17 balls) against CSK, besides hitting the biggest six (105m).
Bowling
Notable numbers in terms of bowling
DC's Ishant Sharma registered the most maiden overs bowled (2). Punjab Kings pacer Mohammed Shami went on to account for the most dot balls (76). RCB's Shahbaz Ahmed clocked the best bowling average (8.00). CSK's Imran Tahir takes the credit for best economy rate (4.00). Lungi Ngidi (0/62) conceded the most runs in a match. Kagiso Rabada (148.73 km/h) recorded the fastest ball.
Top four
Complete analysis of the points table (top four teams)
Delhi Capitals: Matches 8 Won 6 Loss 2 NRR +0.457 Points 12 Chennai Super Kings: Matches 7 Won 5 Loss 2 NRR +1.263 Points 10 Royal Challengers Bangalore: Matches 10 Won 5 Loss 2 NRR -0.171 Points 10 Mumbai Indians: Matches 7 Won 4 Loss 3 NRR +0.062 Points 8
Bottom four
Analysis of the teams placed between 5th to 8th
Rajasthan Royals: Matches 7 Won 3 Loss 4 NRR -0.190 Points 6 Punjab Kings: Matches 8 Won 3 Loss 5 NRR -0.368 Points 6 Kolkata Knight Riders: Matches 8 Won 2 Loss 5 NRR -0.494 Points 4 Sunrisers Hyderabad: Matches 8 Won 1 Loss 6 NRR -0.623 Points 2
Information
When and where to watch the IPL 2021 remainder?
The IPL 2021 season will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network. Fans can stream the matches live on the Hotstat app (paid subscription).