Indian Premier League 2021
IPL 2021: DC vs RCB – AB De Villiers summits the Mount 5K
AB De Villiers becomes only the second overseas player to score 5000 IPL runs
AB De Villiers has now joined 5000 runs club in the IPL [Credits: IPL]
The match between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore pretty much had it all. Some unexpected heroes, a few expected ones, last over drama, and a sandstorm at the Motera!
Riding on De Villiers' fabulous knock of 75 not out from 42 balls, RCB posted a competitive total of 171 runs. Harshal Patel struck twice to take his season's tally to 17 wickets so far.
Delhi Capitals had a tough start to the run-chase after dependable openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan got dismissed easily. Though Rishabh Pant stayed in the middle and took the game deep, fingers were pointed at him for being too cautious in his approach. It took a blitzkrieg from Shimron Hetmyer towards the end to bring DC even close to the target, but eventually, they ended up one run short in the final over.
Let's take a look at some interesting numbers and facts from the game:
AB De Villiers reaches a major milestone
AB De Villiers' knock tonight helped him go past the 5000-run mark in the IPL. He became the second overseas player to do so after David Warner.
He's also the first and only player with over 5000 runs and a strike rate of over 150 at any point in the IPL. The South African is also the fastest to the mark, having done so in 3288 deliveries.
De Villiers' innings of 75 not out tonight is also the highest score at a strike rate of over 150 at a venue outside Mumbai in IPL 2021. He also owns the first position on the list, thanks to his 76 not out against KKR at Chennai that arrived at a strike rate of 224.
AB De Villiers also holds the record for the most Man of the Match awards in the IPL, after winning his 25th award tonight.
The revelation called Harshal Patel
Harshal Patel took two wickets tonight to extend his tally to 17 wickets in IPL this season. He's also the current holder of the Purple Cap and has a comfortable lead at the top. However, what's most ridiculous is the fact that Harshal has picked up more wickets in IPL this season than the last five IPLs combined!
He has picked up at least two wickets in six matches so far!
Miscellaneous numbers
On 27th April 2016, Delhi Capitals lost a match by one run while chasing 173. Exactly five years later, they lost the match against RCB by one run while chasing 172.
In the former match, Chris Morris had scored an unbeaten 82 off 32 deliveries while Hetmyer scored an unbeaten 53 off 25 deliveries – two 50+ knocks at a strike rate of over 200 that went in vain.
