Advertisement

Rishabh Pant’s Team Delhi produced yet another scintillating display in the 2021 Indian T20 League on Sunday, May 2, when they defeated a hapless KL Rahul-less Punjab side by seven wickets to go atop the points table. It was the same old story with Delhi making a fantastic start with the bat - with Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan setting the groove - before a comfortable victory followed.

The two openers have been in scintillating form this season, scoring a total of 688 runs in eight innings between them. While chasing 167 against Punjab on Sunday, both Shaw and Dhawan got off to a brilliant start by accumulating 63 runs in the powerplay overs itself. This was the third-best powerplay score in this year’s Indian T20 League. Out of the top five powerplay scores, four have come from Delhi.

Highest powerplay scores in 2021 Indian T20 League:

  • 67/0 - Delhi vs Kolkata
  • 65/0 - Delhi vs Chennai
  • 65/2 - Bangalore vs Chennai
  • 63/0 - Delhi vs Punjab
  • 62/1 - Delhi vs Punjab

Furthermore, if we compare Delhi’s performance in the opening six overs against the rest of the teams, they are ahead by a significant margin. In eight innings so far this season, the last year’s finalists have scored a total of 426 runs in the powerplay overs and this has come at an average of 53.25. None of the other seven teams has averaged 50 in the powerplay overs this season.

Hyderabad sit second in the list with 344 powerplay runs with an average of 49.14 in seven innings, while Team Punjab acquire the last spot after having scored 333 runs at just 41.63.

Average score of every Indian T20 League team in powerplay overs
Team Innings Overs Runs Wickets Average
Delhi 8 48 426 7 53.25
Hyderabad 7 42 344 5 49.14
Bangalore 7 42 334 10 47.71
Mumbai 7 42 319 4 45.57
Chennai 7 42 315 6 45.00
Kolkata 7 42 309 12 44.14
Rajasthan 7 42 301 13 43.00
Punjab 8 48 333 9 41.63

The left-right combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw has been a difficult coalition to break this season. The two have combined for six half-centuries this season, scoring three each. Dhawan, in particular, has been the most dangerous of the duo. He might have hit runs at a slower strike rate in the past few games, but that’s mainly because the two openers have developed a great relationship.

As observed by many, Shaw has shouldered the responsibility of going big, while Dhawan, at least in the initial stages, rotates strike and take on easy targets. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Shaw’s strike rate (166.48) is much higher than Dhawan (134.27).

Featured photo: Twitter / IPL

Advertisement