Despite the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) was halted midway due to the effect of Coronavirus inside bio-bubbles, there were enough performances from the players to show why the IPL is considered to be the best and most popular T20 league in the world.
While AB de Villiers' blistering knock against Kolkata Knight Riders will always be etched in the minds of Royal Challengers Bangalore fans, Chennai Super Kings' Ravindra Jadeja's all-round show against RCB will also be talked about for years to come.
This has led to former India cricketer Aakash Chopra choosing some of the best bowling performances from the first half of the IPL 2021.
“At No.1 is my favorite bowling performance of the season so far, I have picked Harshal Patel. It came in the first match against Mumbai (5/27). You have a four-over spell and there if you take five wickets, that too while coming at the end. He bowled very good slower ones and perfect yorkers," Chopra said in the latest video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
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"Second on my list is Harpreet Brar. He took three wickets while giving 19 runs, but who were those three wickets. He conceded 10 runs in his first over and then a boundary off the first ball of his second over. And then you dismiss Kohli, Maxwell, and AB de Villiers, which was the icing on the cake," stated Chopra.
“At No.3, I have picked Deepak Chahar's 4/13 vs Punjab. First, he dismissed Mayank Agarwal, it was an outstanding ball. After that, he dismissed Chris Gayle and Hooda in his four wickets. It was game, set and match," observed Chopra.
"At No.4, I have kept Chris Morris' four-wicket spell against KKR while conceding just 23 runs. Kolkata is a dangerous team and Rajasthan did not have Jofra. So you keep looking towards Morris but will he bowl at the start, middle, and then at the end. He did all of that," said Chopra.
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"At No.5 I have kept Andre Russell who took 5/15 against the Mumbai Indians, that too in two overs. He went round the stumps and kept bowling wide with the angle and dismissed everyone one by one," added Chopra.
"At No.6, is the performance of Deepak's brother. It was in the same KKR vs MI match. KKR was not chasing a huge score and there Rahul Chahar took four wickets which included Eoin Morgan and Nitish Rana. Everyone was trying to play shots and getting stuck in his web," concluded Chopra.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
