IPL in UAE: Mumbai Indians' not so Favourite Destination, Kings XI Punjab 5/5, Chasing Advantage and Glenn Maxwell Magic

The 13th edition of the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to be staged in the UAE, September 19, and November 8, prior to approval from the Indian Government.

Let us go back in history and have a look at some numbers from the 2014 edition when the UAE hosted the first leg of the tournament.

It was only the second time in the tournament’s history that the IPL went outside India. South Africa had played hosts in the 2009 edition. On both occasions, the league clashed with the country’s General Elections.

THE THREE VENUES

Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi (7 IPL matches), Sharjah Cricket Stadium (6 matches), and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (7 matches) were the three venues that hosted the 20 matches held in the UAE in 2014.

Dubai has a capacity of about 25,000 and has hosted 109 international matches. Sharjah, the oldest of the three grounds, was established in 1982 and has witnessed 263 encounters while 103 matches have been held in Abu Dhabi, the capital city.

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CHASING SEEMS PREFERRED OPTION AND MORE PROFITABLE

Teams winning the toss have preferred to chase in 11 of 20 matches. Overall, batting second has been more advantageous – on 11 occasions the team chasing has been victorious (team batting first has won 8 times and there has been one tie). In Sharjah, fielding first has proven to be more successful than the other two venues with 4 wins from 6 encounters.

No extra advantage has been gained from winning the toss. In fact, the team winning the toss has lost 10 of the 19 outright result matches.

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MI HAS NEVER WON IN UAE, KXIP NEVER LOST

This is perhaps the most amazing statistic which emerges from the 20 matches in the UAE.

MI, the four time IPL champions, have not won a single match in UAE yet.

KXIP, which has the second-lowest win percentage (in history) amongst the 8 teams in IPL 2020, has, amazingly won all their 5 matches in UAE.

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HIGHEST SCORES, AVERAGE TOTALS AND POWERPLAY

206 for 4: Highest Team Score (KXIP) vs CSK at Abu Dhabi

SRH’s 184 vs DD is the highest score in Dubai while it was again KXIP who top-scored in Sharjah scoring 193 for 3 against RR and 193 for 6 against SRH

70 All Out: Lowest Team Score (RCB) vs RR at Abu Dhabi

411: Highest Match Aggregate (CSK vs KXIP) at Abu Dhabi

The highest aggregate in Dubai is 364 (SRH vs DD) while in Sharjah it is 384 (RR vs KXIP)

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151: Average Score Batting First in the UAE

206/4: Highest Successful Chase in the UAE (KXIP) vs CSK in Abu Dhabi

41: Average Powerplay Score in the UAE

29: Number of Fifties in the UAE

There have been 12 fifties in Dubai. No one has yet scored a hundred in the IPL in the UAE.

268.42: Highest Strike Rate Innings in the UAE – David Miller (51* off 19 balls, KXIP vs RR at Sharjah)

MAXWELL MAGIC – THE MOST IMPACTFUL BATSMAN IN UAE

Glenn Maxwell produced three scintillating match-winning performances with the bat in the UAE. His 95 off 43 deliveries in Abu Dhabi – the joint-highest score in UAE, which included 15 fours and 2 sixes, helped SRH chase down CSK’s 205/4 by 6 wickets with 7 balls to spare.

He followed this with two smashing innings in Sharjah.

Just a couple of days after (on the 20th of April) his exploits in Abu Dhabi, coming in to bat at 10 for 2, chasing 192 against RR, Maxwell put together a century stand with Cheteshwar Pujara, hammering 89 off 45 deliveries.

Incidentally, he smashed another 95 also off 43 deliveries in Sharjah on the 22nd of April against SRH. This time he preferred clearing the stands and his knock included 9 towering sixes!

Maxwell started the tournament with a bang – three Man of the Match performances taking his team to victory in the first three matches for KXIP of the season!

95: Highest Individual Score in the UAE - Glenn Maxwell (KXIP vs CSK in Abu Dhabi and KXIP vs SRH in Sharjah)

131: Highest Partnership in the UAE – Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey (KKR) vs MI in Abu Dhabi

Aaron Finch and David Warner put together an unbeaten 128-run stand for SRH against DD in Dubai – the highest partnership at the venue.

Interestingly, the highest stand at Sharjah of 116 involves two diametrically opposite batting personalities and the most unlikely of partners. Maxwell contributed 89 off 45 deliveries with Pujara holding up an end with 21 off 22 deliveries.

BALAJI TWIN BLOWS, ASHWIN’S ECONOMY AND MISHRA GOES FOR A FEW

Lakshmipathy Balaji got rid of Finch and Warner in the same over within the powerplay in KXIP’s encounter against SRH at Sharjah. The latter, chasing a mammoth 194, could never recover from these twin blows and were folded for 121. Balaji returned with 4-13 in 4 overs – the best bowling figures in the UAE in the IPL.

R Ashwin conceded just 3 runs in his 2 overs for CSK against DD in Abu Dhabi. These are the most restrictive bowling figures in an innings in the UAE (min. 2 overs).

On the other end of the spectrum is Amit Mishra who went for 56 in his 4 overs for SRH against KXIP in Sharjah – the most expensive spell in the UAE till date.

Incidentally, it was Mishra again who went for 54 in his 4 overs for SRH against MI in Dubai a few days later – the second-most expensive figures in the UAE.

THE ONLY TIE

On the 29th of April, 2014, RR and KKR clashed in what turned out to be the only TIED MATCH in an IPL encounter in UAE. Batting first, RR posted 152 for 5 driven by a Rahane 72.

KKR looked on course and had reached 137 for 4 after 18 overs needing just 16 off the last 12 deliveries. But James Faulkner had other plans! He got rid of Suryakumar Yadav off the first delivery off the 19th and followed that with the wickets of Uthappa and Vinay Kumar off the 4th and 5th deliveries of the over.

The match had turned on its head. However, Shakib Al Hasan held his nerve in the final over and took the match into the Eliminator. RR went on to win.

It is one of the 9 tied matches in IPL history.