IPL 2021: Best playing XI of the season
IPL 2021 is finally done and dusted. The tournament began back in April, and after an interruption in May because of a COVID-19 outbreak, the competition resumed on September 19 in the UAE. The final match of the 2021 Indian Premier League season took place last night at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The Chennai Super Kings clinched their fourth IPL trophy by beating the Kolkata Knight Riders in the summit clash by 27 runs. The Delhi Capitals finished third in the IPL 2021 playoffs, while the Royal Challengers Bangalore attained fourth place.
Two-time defending champions Mumbai Indians failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2021, while Sunrisers Hyderabad finished last.
There have been some exceptional performances from players of all franchises in IPL 2021. On that note, we will take a look at the best playing XI of the tournament.
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Openers - Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis were the primary reasons behind the Chennai Super Kings' fourth IPL championship victory. The Indo-South African pair gave a fantastic start to the Chennai-based franchise with the bat.
Gaikwad won the IPL 2021 Orange Cap by aggregating 635 runs in 16 innings, while du Plessis scored 633 runs in the same number of innings. Both batters had an average of more than 45 in IPL 2021.
Middle Order - Sanju Samson (WK), Rahul Tripathi and Glenn Maxwell
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson will bat at number three and keep the wickets for the team. The right-handed batter led his team from the front in IPL 2021, scoring 484 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 136.72.
Rahul Tripathi played an integral role in the Kolkata Knight Riders' journey to the final. The uncapped player amassed 397 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of more than 140. Supporting him in the middle-order will be Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.
The Aussie all-rounder was one of five batters to score more than 500 runs in IPL 2021. Maxwell aggregated 513 runs and picked up three wickets in 15 matches for the RCB this season.
All Rounders - Ravindra Jadeja, Sunil Narine and Jason Holder
Ravindra Jadeja played a vital role in the Chennai Super Kings' fourth title win, scoring 227 runs and scalping 13 wickets. The southpaw finished second on the IPL 2021 Most Valuable Player leaderboard.
Sunil Narine did not perform well in the first leg of IPL 2021, but his game-changing performances in the second leg took the Kolkata Knight Riders to the summit clash. Narine ended the season with 16 wickets and 62 runs in 14 games.
Jason Holder was the top performer for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021. The Caribbean all-rounder represented the Orange Army in only eight matches but scored 85 runs and took 16 wickets.
Bowlers - Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan and Varun Chakravarthy
Uncapped Indian pacers Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan ended IPL 2021 as two of the most successful bowlers of the tournament. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Patel bagged 32 wickets in 15 matches and set a new record for the most wickets by an Indian in one IPL season.
Meanwhile, Khan scalped 24 wickets in 16 games to help the Delhi Capitals top the IPL 2021 standings.
Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy completes the lineup. The KKR star was the most successful spin bowler in IPL 2021, with 18 wickets to his name from 17 matches.