IPL MVP 2021: Harshal Patel (RCB)
Harshal Patel became the first Indian bowler to bag more than 30 wickets in a single IPL season to bag the MVP award in IPL 2009.
Harshal Patel enjoyed a record-breaking season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. He became the first Indian to pick up more than 30 wickets in a single season of the IPL to bag the Purple Cap in IPL 2021. Harshal finished with an impressive 32 wickets in 15 matches for RCB to equal Dwayne Bravo's record for most wickets in a single season of the IPL by any bowler.
Harshal was traded from Delhi Capitals to RCB ahead of the IPL 2021 and went on to enjoy a breakthrough season for the franchise. The Indian pacer turned out to be the best bowler of the season by a distance with his 32 wickets. Harshal used his slower yorkers, dippers and other variations while mixing his pace effectively to bag wickets for fun throughout the season.
He also became the first bowler in IPL history to take a five-wicket haul against Mumbai Indians. Harshal's fifer helped RCB restrict Mumbai Indians to 159/9 in the opening game of the season and beat them by 2 wickets to get off to a winning start. He opened his account by dismissing Hardik Pandya cheaply on 13 before picking up the important wickets of Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya and Marco Jansen to finish with excellent figures of 5/27 off his 4 overs.
Harshal's bowling heroics played a key role in helping RCB qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2021. The Virat Kohli-led team finished 3rd on the points table with 18 points from 14 matches. However, they lost against Kolkata Knight Riders by 4 wickets in the Eliminator in Dubai to fail to reach the final and bow out of the tournament.
Harshal Patel stats in IPL 2021
| Wickets | 32 |
|---|---|
| Matches | 15 |
| Average | 14.34 |
| Economy | 8.14 |
| 5w | 1 |
| 4w | 1 |
| Best figures | 5/27 vs Mumbai Indians |
CSK beat KKR in final to win IPL 2021
MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the IPL 2021 title after beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a blockbuster final in Dubai. CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis, who fired all cylinders during IPL 2021, continued their fine form in the final. Du Plessis and Gaikwad combined to get CSK off to a good start after they were asked to bat first in the final.
The duo added 61 runs for the first wicket before Gaikwad was dismissed on 32 off 27 balls. Du Plessis went on to smash a brilliant 86 off 59 balls to propel CSK to a strong total of 192/3 in the final. He was well supported by Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali, who played cameos of 31 and 37 runs, respectively.
Kolkata Knight Riders too got off to a good start in the run-chase courtesy of fifties from openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer. However, they fell short in the run chase after suffering a terrible middle-order collapse. Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood starred with the ball for CSK, with 5 wickets between them to stop KKR from scaling down the 193-run target.