IPL 2021: Top 5 very unusual things that happened in this year’s IPL- After the unfortunate turn of events amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in India as well as in the bio-secure bubble created for the Indian Premier League, IPL 2021 was suspended by the BCCI. But, as many as 29 matches were played in IPL, before the suspension, in over three weeks and a lot of unusual things took place in these three weeks.
Ravindra Jadeja who is not known for his big-hitting ability smashed 37 runs in an over of Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel. While Harpreet Brar who did not have a wicket in IPL took three wickets biggest possible wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell in a span of two overs.
In this article, we at Inside Sport will take you through five such unusual incidents that took place in IPL 2021.
IPL 2021: Top 5 very unusual things that happened in this year’s IPL
Prithvi Shaw hit Six fours in one over
Cricket fans often talk a lot about sixes and very little about fours. When Yuvraj Singh hit six Sixes in an over in 2007 against England, everyone got excited. That was the first time that six maximum were hit in an over of T20I. And as crazy as it sounds in IPL 2021, Delhi Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw became the first batsman to hit six Fours in the first over of a T20 game. The 21-year-old batsman achieved this unique feat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), fast bowler, Shivam Mavi on Thursday. He went on to score 82 off just 41 deliveries to help DC beat KKR by seven wickets. With the milestone, he became only the second player in IPL after teammate Ajinkya Rahane to achieve the feat.
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s winning streak
It was certainly an unusual year, as Virat Kohli’s side won four back to back games in IPL 2021. RCB is not known to start the season on such a high note. However, in the past RCB had won more than four games on a trot, this was the first time that they won the first four games of an IPL season. Virat Kohli is yet to get his hands on the prestigious trophy of IPL and this year was probably his best chance to end the trophy drought.
Nicholas Pooran’s series of Ducks
You don’t often associate the word duck with West Indies cricketers, they are mostly known for their big hits. However, this year an unusual thing happened with West Indies wicket-keeper batsman Nicholas Pooran, who played for Punjab Kings in IPL 2021.
Pooran was going through one of the worst patches of his cricketing career as he scored as many as four ducks in IPL 2021. Before Pooran only four batsmen have registered 4 Ducks in an IPL Season. Herschelle Gibbs in 2009, Mithun Manhas in 2011, Manish Pandey in 2012 & Shikhar Dhawan in 2020 achieved the embarrassing feat. But all of these 4 batsmen got 4 Zeroes in a complete season of IPL, in comparison Pooran has got 4 Ducks only in 7 matches, making it the most Shameful and embarrassing record ever in IPL History.
Harpreet Brar’s magical spell vs RCB
It was Harpreet Brar’s third season in IPL. The left-arm spinner was yet to take his maiden IPL wicket and then something that not just he but his teammates could not believe happened. He took the big wickets of RCB’s Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB De Villiers at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad in a span of two overs. The 25-year-old began his wicket tally with the crucial wicket of well-settled Virat Kohli for 35 runs after which Glenn Maxwell departed for a first-ball duck. He later dismissed AB De Villiers for just 2 runs after a catch from Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul.
The youngster gave away just 19 runs in his quota of 4 overs at an economy rate of 4.8. It is notable that Brar had also smashed quickfire 25 off just 17 balls with the help of a four and a couple of sixes to guide Punjab Kings to 179 in their allotted 20 overs. Harpreet Brar was roped in by Punjab Kings in 2019 for Rs 20 lakh. He was playing his third consecutive season for the same franchise.
Ravindra Jadeja’s 37 in last year vs RCB
Cricket experts call Ravindra Jadeja a bowling all-rounder who can bat a bit. He is a classic all-rounder when it comes to Test cricket. However, in T20 cricket he is mostly expected to give the captain 3 or 4 quick overs, some quality fielding on the boundaries and if possible some big hits down the batting order. But in IPL 2021 Jadeja decided to do something which no one thought he could do.
Chennai Super Kings all-rounder smashed 37 runs in just one over. He went all guns blazing against RCB’s Harshal Patel in the final over. The southpaw smacked 68 runs off just 28 balls with the help of 4 boundaries and 5 sixes. With this inning, Jadeja joined Chris Gayle and Rahul Tewatia in an elite list who have scored 5 sixes in an over.
IPL 2021: Top 5 very unusual things that happened in this year’s IPL
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