IPL 2021 SUSPEND

 

IPL 2021 Suspended: Top 10 Batsmen to Have Hit Most Sixes this Season 

  IPL 2021 Suspended: Top 10 Batsmen to Have Hit Most Sixes this Season T20 cricket is all about batsmen trying to clear the ropes and bowlers trying to contain them. Flat surfaces and short boundaries have seen batsmen take their batting up several notches. This year, IPL 2021 has been postponed mid-season due to the rising cases of COVID-19 even inside bio-secure bubbles. ALSO READ – Rescheduling IPL 2021: Available Windows, Potential Venues And Challenges Explained As half of the season has been played, here we will take a look at the top 10 six hitters of IPL 2021. KL Rahul: 16 sixes PBKS skipper KL Rahul was once again the man in firm as he led the charts with 331 runs at a strike rate of 136.21 that included four fifties from 16 sixes. Jonny Bairstow: 15 sixes The England and Sunrisers Hyderabad opener was in superb hitting form as he smacked 248 runs at a strike rate of 141.71 that included 15 sixes. Ambati Rayudu: 13 sixes Chennai Super Kings’ Ambati Rayudu brought out his A-game against Mumbai Indians as he smashed 7 sixes to enter the Top 3 with 13 sixes in total. Jos Buttler: 13 sixes Jos Buttler found form against the Sunrisers Hyderabad where he scored 124 runs and in the process also entered the top 5 batsmen to have hit the most number of sixes. He hit 13 sixes in seven games. Andre Russell: 13 Sixes KKR struggled to find momentum this season, but their main man Andre Russell did find his range as he smashed 13 sixes in 7 matches this year. Faf du Plessis: 13 sixes Chennai Super Kings opener Faf du Plessis was in excellent form. The South African has smacked as many as 13 sixes in IPL 2021 in seven games with a strike rate of 141.50. Kieron Pollard: 13 sixes Mumbai Indians’ Kieron Pollard brought out his range and power against the Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi as he hit 8 sixes to steer his side to 4-wicket win. In the process, he also notched up 13 sixes which sees him in the top 10 spots. Moeen Ali: 12 Sixes Chennai Super Kings’ newest recruit Moeen Ali fitted in perfectly with their scheme of things and added great balance to the side. Coming in at number 3, Moeen smashed 12 sixes in 6 matches in the competition. ALSO READ – India vs England: IPL Stars in Fray as Selectors Set to Pick 30-Man Squad Prithvi Shaw: 12 sixes The young right-hander was in roaring form in the Vijay Hazare trophy and continued this in the IPL. He was the star at the top of the order where he smashed 12 sixes to give Delhi the perfect start. Rohit Sharma: 11 sixes The Mumbai Indians skipper was in great form for this side this year and he hit 11 sixes in IPL 2021 and scored 250 runs before the league was called off. Get all the IPL news and Cricket Score here Got responsibility during IPL, utilised it well: Avesh Khan NEW DELHI: Pace bowler Avesh Khan, who has been included as stand-by in the India squad for the Test tour of England and will travel with the team, says his performance in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) has provided him a lot of confidence."I played all the matches [for Delhi Capitals] this time, so I was definitely feeling very confident. I bowled very well. The team also won matches. We were at the top of the table so I was feeling very confident," Khan, who picked 14 wickets in eight matches, told IANS.Khan was second, along with Chris Morris, in the race for Purple Cap, awarded to the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. The IPL was, however, postponed at the halfway stage after the IPL bio-bubble burst and four teams were impacted by Coronavirus."I got responsibility and I utilised it very well. I bowled at every stage ? with the new ball, middle-overs and death overs. The team's coaches and captain gave me a lot of confidence so whatever situation I got I did really well every time," said Avesh.The 24-year-old right-arm pacer played in all eight of DC's matches this season. Across the last four editions, from 2017 to 2020, he played in only nine matches.The Indore-based Khan, who represents Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket, has been doing well in first-class cricket. He has 100 wickets in 26 first-class games. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s this season, he picked 14 wickets in five matches to be third in the list of wicket-takers.Khan picked 28 wickets in five Ranji Trophy matches in the 2019-20 season; this season the tournament was cancelled due to Covid-19. Prior to that, in 2018-19, he picked 35 wickets in seven matches.Khan was the highest wicket-taker for MP in both the seasons. While there were other bowlers from other states who took more wickets, Avesh's rich haul came in a limited number of matches. The 2020-21 season did not happen."I have been doing well in domestic cricket over the past two seasons, but IPL has got me into limelight. In Mushtaq Ali too this year, I have 14 wickets in five matches," said the tall pace bowler who was picked as a net bowler for the Test series against England.Asked if switching from T20 mode to Test mode will be tough and what changes he expects to make to his bowling, Avesh said, "Consistency on good length area is important there. The more I do that, the better it will be. Test match is about patience. The more you bowl with patience in the good length area the better it will be."Khan feels the confidence gained in IPL helps players. "Confidence in IPL helps. If you do well there, your confidence goes up. Focus improves and importantly, you learn to do well under pressure. We get the belief that we can do well at the international level, in Test matches too," he said."DC coach Ricky Ponting asked me to bowl with focus and give 100%. It helped with Rishabh as captain of DC, have played with him before. Whatever mistakes there were in the match, we [Rishabh and Khan] used to discuss after the match," said the bowler.Khan hired a dietician recently, before England's tour of India, during which he was called up as a net bowler."I have hired a dietician for fitness, and I have lost weight. I have controlled my eating habit a bit. Every day Sooraj [the dietician] gives me a different diet. The day I rest, the diet is different from the day I practice. Then, the match-day diet is different. That has helped me," he says. When and where can IPL 2021 be rescheduled to? On Thursday, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly suggested that the 2021 IPL could be completed in a window just prior to the men's T20 World Cup. That was the first public hint of the windows the BCCI is looking at for the rescheduling. At the moment India remains the host for the global event, scheduled to run from mid-October to November 14. But in the wake of the IPL's postponement and uncertainty over how the pandemic progresses in India, the ICC could be forced to consider the UAE as the venue for its event. 2 Related There are still 31 matches left in the IPL. Three weeks with multiple double-headers across a few venues are likely to be enough. That leaves two realistic options in 2021 in which the BCCI could complete the tournament, either side of the T20 World Cup. ESPNcricinfo examines the pros and cons of each. Late September window Where India, UAE or even England could play hosts at this time of the year. Given the course of the pandemic, the UAE remains a favorite, having conducted a largely incident-free IPL in 2020. And if the T20 World Cup is also played in the UAE, it eases the logistical challenges of players moving between bubbles. England could be an option given that India will already be there till mid-September for their five-Test series. Also, there could be a number of overseas players participating in England's various domestic competitions, including The Hundred. Challenge The biggest challenge will be to squeeze the tournament in the limited time between the end of India's England tour and the T20 World Cup. The fifth Test in Manchester is scheduled to end on September 14. Although the ICC is yet to announce the itinerary for the T20 World Cup, it is expected to start around October 16. Accounting for quarantine periods and warm-up games wherever the tournament is held, teams will be expected to start arriving around the end of September. After a long tour, the Indian players will likely want at least a week-long break. That would then leave just about under two weeks of free time before the teams head to the World Cup, although England's players - a significant presence in the IPL - are scheduled to be part of tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan in October. Workload will also be a factor for India's players as they face the prospect of a long Test series, then the IPL, and then the T20 World Cup one after the other. The party begins for the Mumbai Indians BCCI Late November window Where India or the UAE will be the two primary contenders at this time, and for the tournament to be played right after the T20 World Cup ends. Although if it is in the UAE, Abu Dhabi will not be available as it is scheduled to host the fifth edition of the T10 league from November 14. Challenge Franchises will be concerned about the unavailability of overseas players especially from Australia and England, who will be involved in the Ashes from late November. Virtually all the countries, including India, are scheduled to play bilateral cricket immediately following the T20 World Cup. India themselves are scheduled to host New Zealand for two Tests and three T20Is between November-December. Bangladesh, meanwhile, will host Pakistan for a series comprising two Tests and three T20s. Afghanistan will be in Zimbabwe from late November for a one-off Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is. South Africa and West Indies, though, will be free during that time. If India can defer the New Zealand series and manage to find replacements for absent Australian and England players, the November window might look a better fit for the BCCI.