We take a look at the top moments from the action-packed first week of IPL 2020.
The first week of 2020 Indian Premier League saw action-packed cricket action in the United Arab Emirates, the venue for this year's edition. All the three cities (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah) hosted matches in the first week of the tournament and have provided the viewers with a fair idea on what to expect as the tournament proceeds.
In the first week, the IPL 2020 saw a Super Over, an individual century and many records (some of them unwanted!).
Let's take a look at some of the top moments from the first week of the tournament:
MS Dhoni's comeback and DRS bloopers:
19th September marked the return of MS Dhoni to cricket field after more than a year of absence. The former Indian captain was last seen in action in the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup against New Zealand. However, Dhoni, whose near-accurate decision-making behind the stumps led to DRS being nicknamed 'Dhoni Review System', surprisingly failed in few of his calls.
In the opening match of the tournament, Dhoni's got the DRS call wrong for CSK against the Mumbai Indians, while against Delhi Capitals, he failed to take the DRS after picking up a clean catch! After Prithvi Shaw nicked one, Dhoni failed to hear the sound and went about his business as usual.
KL Rahul's record:
KL Rahul, who is leading Kings XI Punjab for the first time, announced his comeback to cricket in style as he slammed an unbeaten 132 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He registered his name in record books with the highest individual score by a captain in the history of the tournament.
He slammed 14 fours and seven sixes enroute his record-breaking innings, as he steered KXIP's score to 206/3, aiding the side to a terrific 97-run victory over Virat Kohli's men.
Super Over:
On the very second day, the IPL 2020 witnessed its first Super Over as the match between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab ended in a tie. Questions were raised on the umpiring decision, however, which made headlines as on-field umpire Nitin Menon called a short run in the 19th over, when batsman Chris Jordan's bat seemingly landed on the crease.
Kagiso Rabada bowled a brilliant Super Over as he conceded only 2 runs - a record for least runs conceded in a Super Over in IPL history. Delhi won the match.
Final over troubles:
Chris Jordan (KXIP) and Lungi Ngidi (CSK) bowled the joint-most expensive final overs in the tournament's history. Both conceded 30 runs in their final overs against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
While Marcus Stoinis slammed Jordan in the game which ended in a Super Over, it was Jofra Archer who hit four successive sixes off Ngidi -- slamming 26 runs in total, as the South African pacer made the unwanted record.
