IPL 2021, Match 45: KKR vs PBKS, Stats Review: New records for KL Rahul, Venkatesh Iyer’s feat and other stats

And the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 has gotten all the more interesting. Punjab Kings have defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets to make the points table even more complicated. It was indeed an impressive show from KL Rahul’s men as KKR were on a roll this season. Although PBKS still have some areas to look upon, they earned two more points and kept their playoff hopes alive.

Speaking of how the game unfolded, the coin landed in PBKS’ favour and KL Rahul elected to bowl. KKR got off to a dismal start with opener Shubman Gill getting out for 7. However, youngster Venkatesh Iyer continued his fine run and played another substantial knock. While the southpaw scored a brilliant half-century, Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana assisted him with scores of 34 and 31 respectively.

With the scorecard reading 120/3, KKR looked all set to post a massive total. However, some brilliant death bowling from Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh dented their plans. Subsequently, KKR posted 165/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Chasing the challenging total, Punjab Kings started off brilliantly with Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul coming good.

While Rahul took the backseat initially, Mayank Agarwal attacked bowlers from the outset. As a result, the openers added 70 runs for the first wicket. Although the fall of wickets in the middle overs added some twist in the tale, PBKS eventually crossed the line in 19.3 overs, thanks to some late impetus from Shahrukh Khan.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from the KKR vs PBKS clash in IPL 2021:

3 – KL Rahul became the third batsman after Sanju Samson and Shikhar Dhawan to complete 450 runs in IPL 2021.

489 – KL Rahul becomes the new holder of the orange cap, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan’s tally of 454 runs in IPL 202. The Punjab Kings captain currently has 489 runs under his belt.

1 – KL Rahul became the first player to complete 100 sixes for Punjab Kings in IPL.

2 – Rahul also became the second player after Shaun Marsh to complete 2,400 runs for the Punjab-based side.

5 – Rahul slammed his fifth half-century in IPL 2021, most for any player. Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell are second on this list with four half-centuries apiece.

7 – Mayank Agarwal becomes the seventh batter to complete 50 sixes for the Punjab-based side.

125 – Mohammed Shami has now bowled 125 dot deliveries in IPL 2021, most for any bowler. He went past Trent Boult’s tally of 123 dot deliveries.

2 – Venkatesh Iyer slammed his fifth half-century in IPL. He also recorded his highest score in the tournament (67).

193 – Iyer’s tally of 193 runs is the joint-most for any KKR batter after the first five innings.  Jacques Kallis also had as many runs after the first five games.

10.9 – Eoin Morgan averages 10.9 in IPL 2021, the lowest for any captain in a season (minimum 10 innings).