MS Dhoni set to become only player in the history of IPL to play 10 IPL finals.
Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, a tournament which begun in the first half of April this year has finally reached its final stage with one finalist decided and one to be decided in the qualifier match on Wednesday. The tournament had to be deferred after 29 matches were held in what was the first stage because of an unprecedented rise in COVID-19 cases and fatalities across India in April-May.
Due to this reason, along with IPL 2021 the T20 World Cup 2021 has also been moved out of India to be held in the middle east in bio secure bubbles. Of course, the crowds have been allowed at the venues but only in limited capacities and subject to adherence of the COVID protocol.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the grand old team of IPL, has qualified for the final on the back of the “Royal Lion” Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s superb finishing act in the first qualifier against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
On the contrary, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans were subject to yet another heartbreak when their team lost in the eliminator against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Sharjah on Monday.
Here’s a look at the major records set in the first qualifier and the eliminator matches of IPL 2021:
First Qualifier: Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings at Dubai
1 - CSK now have the most wins (17) for a team in T20 cricket playoffs, overtaking Sialkot Stallions (16).
9 - CSK booked a slot in IPL 2021 Final after defeating DC in the first qualifier. CSK have reached the final for the ninth time in IPL history which is the most for any IPL team.
1 - MS Dhoni is set to become the first player to feature in 10 IPL finals.
1 - Dhoni became the first player to appear in 25 IPL playoff matches. The closest is 24 by Suresh Raina.
2 - Manish Pandey became only the second SRH player after David Warner to score a half-century on captaincy debut.
4 - Rishabh Pant became the fourth designated wicketkeeper to lead his team in an IPL playoff match. The other three are MS Dhoni (21 times), Adam Gilchrist (4 times), Dinesh Karthik (2 times) who led their teams in IPL playoff games.
6 - Ruturaj Gaikwad won his sixth Man of the Match in UAE in IPL matches which is the vmost for any IPL player. He overtook Glenn Maxwell and KL Rahul who won the award five times in UAE in IPL games.
600 - Gaikwad completed 600 runs in an IPL season for the first time.
3 - Gaikwad became the third CSK player to amass 600 or more runs in an IPL season after Michael Hussey in IPL 2013 and Ambati Rayudu in IPL 2018.
25 - Robin Uthappa struck a match-winning knock of 63 runs in this game which is his 25th fifty in IPL.
1 - Royal Challengers Bangalore became the first team to lose the eliminator in two consecutive IPL seasons.
2 - Harshal Patel equalised the record of most wickets in an IPL season by bagging 32 wickets in this season. This record is jointly held by Dwayne Bravo who scalped the same number of wickets for CSK in IPL 2013.
1 - Sunil Narine is the first-ever player to hit three sixes off his first three balls in an IPL innings.
1 - Sharjah Cricket Stadium hosted an IPL playoff match for the first time on Monday. Sharjah became the 17th venue to host an IPL playoff match.
1 - KKR and RCB faced each other for the first time in an IPL playoff game on Monday.
1 - Eoin Morgan became the first English captain to lead his team in an IPL playoff game.
100 – When Mohammed Siraj took the wicket of Sunil Narine on Monday, it became his 100th wicket in his T20 career.
50 - Siraj also completed his 50 wickets in IPL after dismissing Dinesh Karthik.
3 - Sunil Narine won his third Man of the Match award against RCB on Monday. Only Sandeep Sharma (4) and Rohit Sharma (4) have won more Man of the Match awards against RCB in IPL history.
Read More: IPL 2021 - DC vs CSK, 1st Qualifier - MSD still best finisher in business; CSK storm into Final
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