IPL 2021: 3 best spells in the first half of the tournament
IPL 2021 saw some unusual names staking their claim for the Purple Cap 2021. The likes of Harshal Patel (17 wickets), Chris Morris (14), and Rahul Chahar (11) were all in the fray to bag the cap and will be keen to keep that momentum going when the tournament restarts on September 19 in the UAE.
There were quite a few breathtaking spells in the first half of the tournament, be it Deepak Chahar's 4/13 with 18 dot balls against the Punjab Kings or Patel's maiden fifer against the Mumbai Indians.
We take a look at the three best bowling performances from the first part of IPL 2021.
#1 Harshal Patel's 5/27 against MI in the first match of IPL 2021
Harshal Patel made a mark in the first IPL match of the 2021 season. He was back in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fold after being traded by the Delhi Capitals and announced his entry into the side with a maiden fifer to help RCB sneak a two-wicket win.
The Haryana pacer tore through Mumbai's middle-order, dismissing Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Marco Jansen to halt them for 159 for 9 in their 20 overs.
In reply, Bangalore saw knocks by Virat Kohli (33), AB de Villiers (48), and Glenn Maxwell (39) help them start their season with a win.
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#2 Deepak Chahar's 4/13 against PBKS
It was a bowling masterclass by Deepak Chahar in IPL 2021 as he picked up four wickets in his four overs and bowled 18 dot balls while at it.
He dismissed Mayank Agarwal (0), Chris Gayle (10), Deepak Hooda (10), and Nicholas Pooran (0) to wreak havoc on the Kings.
In the end, it was an easy chase for Chennai as they overhauled Punjab's 107-run target with six wickets to spare.
#3 Rahul Chahar's 4/27 against KKR
It was Rahul Chahar’s best performance to date in the IPL and it came against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
KKR were chasing a target of 153 when they ran into Chahar, whose repeated strokes dented their chase.
The 22-year-old prised out the wickets of Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi and Eoin Morgan. He gave away just 27 runs to stop Kolkata for 142.
Earlier, MI was buoyed by knocks from Suryakumar Yadav (56) and Rohit Sharma (43). Andre Russell's fifer saw Mumbai being pegged on the backfoot. However, Chahar gave them a stellar performance with the ball to register a 10-run win.