The 13th edition of the Indian T20 League will take place in UAE and is slated to begin on September 19 and end on November 10. The Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will be the three venues for the tournament.
This won’t be the first time that the Indian T20 League has been played in UAE, though. In 2014, as many as 20 Indian T20 League matches were played in the UAE with Abu Dhabi and Dubai hosting seven matches each, while six matches were played at Sharjah. Here, we take a look at a few of the stats from the last time the Indian T20 League was played in the UAE.
0 – Defending champions Mumbai have the unwanted record of winning none of their matches during the last edition of the Indian T20 League in UAE. They lost all five of their games last time around and you can rest assured that Rohit Sharma and co. will be eager to set the record straight in the new season.
3 – Punjab have never been beaten in Indian T20 League matches in UAE and Glenn Maxwell was their key performer in 2014. He won three Player of the Match trophies in matches in UAE – more than any other player. Maxwell’s three half centuries that season was more than any other player. A total of 29 half-centuries were scored over the course of the 20 matches.
5 – Punjab won all five of their matches in the UAE in 2014. They have never lost an Indian T20 League game in the UAE and will be looking to extend this record of theirs for as long as possible in the upcoming edition of T20 cricket’s biggest extravaganza.
6 – Rajasthan’s Steve Smith was at his brilliant best on the field the last time the Indian T20 League took place in UAE. He took six catches – the most by any player during the 20 matches in the UAE that year.
7 – Parthiv Patel with Bangalore in 2014 managed seven dismissals – the most by a wicket-keeper in Indian T20 League matches in UAE. His three dismissals against KXIP is also the most by a wicket-keeper in a single Indian T20 League innings in the UAE.
9 – Kolkata’s Sunil Narine has the honour of being the bowler with the most wickets in Indian T20 League matches in UAE, having claimed nine scalps.
17 – Maxwell cleared the boundary ropes with some lusty blows 17 times in the UAE. It was the highest number of sixes hit by a batsman in UAE and Maxwell will be hoping for more of the same in the 13th edition of the tournament.
70 – Bangalore have the unwanted honour of having the lowest Indian T20 League score in UAE. Bangalore were dismissed for 70 by Rajasthan, who went on to win that game by six wickets.
72 – Rajasthan’s Ajinkya Rahane’s knock of 72 is the highest individual score by an Indian. His 182 runs from five matches in UAE is also the most by an Indian.
95 – The highest individual score by a batsman in Indian T20 League matches in the UAE, however, belongs to Maxwell. The powerful Australian scored a brisk 43-ball 95 against Chennai in what turned out to be a match-winning effort.
206 – Punjab’s match against Chennai saw them post the highest team total in Indian T20 League matches in UAE. Chasing 205 against Chennai, Punjab won the match with six wickets and seven balls to spare.
300 – No player scored more than Maxwell’s 300 runs by the end of the UAE leg six years back. The only other player to cross the 200-run mark was Dwayne Smith, who made 240.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Sajjad Hussain
