IPL 2021: Top Five Wicket Takers In UAE Leg Of The Tournament

The IPL 2021 had an exciting second half in UAE, and the tournament had finally come to an end with the Chennai Super Kings crowing as champions for the fourth time. The UAE phase of IPL 2021 was more of a bowler’s game as the wickets offered a lot of turn, and a lot of low-scoring games had been played. However, the fast bowlers were effective in picking up a hefty number of wickets.

The wickets did not offer much for the pace bowlers, but they were quite good with the areas, which helped in picking up wickets. However, the fast bowlers dominated the wickets column, and it will be interesting to see if the same happens in the T20 World Cup 2021. Here is the list of the top five wicket-takers in the UAE leg of IPL 2021.

Top Five Wicket Takers In UAE Leg Of The Tournament:

Sunil Narine:

With his bowling and batting efforts, Sunil Narine was one of the most effective players in this IPL season for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Narine picked up 16 wickets totally in the season, and out of those, 13 wickets have come in the UAE phase, and that was the amount of impact he had in the UAE phase.

He picked up a four-wicket haul against RCB in the eliminator, which was very important in the circumstances. Narine’s mystery spin was unpredictable, and he kept hitting the right mark, which helped him pick wickets. It indeed proved his worth in the side as a match-winner.

Yuzvendra Chahal:

Yuzvendra Chahal was one of the positives from the IPL 2021 for Royal Challengers Bangalore as well as considering he is an experienced Indian T20 spinner. He has been facing a lot of criticism of late for not being able to deliver, and he picked up just four wickets in the first phase of IPL 2021.

It was a complete change around from him in the second phase of IPL 2021, where he picked up 14 wickets in 8 games and ended as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the UAE phase alone. His form will now be a massive boost for India as well as for the RCB side if they retain him next year.

Harshal Patel:

Harshal Patel was named the player of the tournament in IPL 2021 for picking up 32 wickets in 15 games this season, and he also equalled the record for the most number of wickets in an IPL season by Dwayne Bravo. Harshal’s variations were pretty effective in the UAE pitches too.

Harshal finished eight wickets ahead of the second-placed bowler in the race for the purple cap, and he certainly would have enjoyed his stint with the RCB under the leadership of Virat Kohli. He will be one of the highly sort-after bowlers in the mega auction next year as he picked up 15 wickets in the UAE phase alone.

Jasprit Bumrah:

Jasprit Bumrah has emerged as a wicket-taking force in IPL, which is a big positive for India as he used to be just a defensive bowler in the past. He has picked up a lot of wickets in the last two seasons of IPL and is looking extremely potent in the bowling attack of Mumbai Indians.

Bumrah finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in the IPL 2021 season with 21 wickets in 14 games, and he picked up 15 wickets in the UAE phase alone. He used his pace to his advantage and was pretty much accurate with his lines and lengths as well.

Shardul Thakur:

Shardul Thakur was one of the surprise packages in the UAE phase of IPL 2021 as he finished as the top wicket-taker picking up 16 wickets in 9 games in UAE alone. He finished with 21 wickets in the season and has looked much more improved bowler than the previous seasons.

He has been bowling very cleverly and has been the go-to bowler for his captain whenever he needs a wicket. His excellent form has earned him a  place in the T20 15 member squad, and he will now hold an important place in the Indian squad as an all-rounder.

Also Read – IPL 2021: Flop XI Of The Tournament