Capitals’ consistency
If the Super Kings bounced back spectacularly, DC ensured it maintained its top form. The Capitals were the team to beat this season: they were the only team to have won more than the Super Kings in the group stage, having lost just four out of 14 matches. They fell short in the playoffs, however, losing two close contests. In a game of fine margins, a slight push would have got the side over the line on both occasions — against the Super Kings in Qualifier 1, and against Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2.
Shikhar Dhawan once again topped the batting charts for his side, scoring 587 runs at 39.13. His opening partner Prithvi Shaw may not have been as prolific, but he had more half-centuries to his name (4) and scored at a better strike-rate (159.13). The South African fast-bowling pair of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje continued to sizzle, taking 27 wickets between them, and left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who took 15 wickets, was parsimonious. Rishabh Pant turned out to be a smart captain and maintained consistency with the bat, scoring more than 400 runs.
But the X-factor was Avesh Khan, the fast bowler from Madhya Pradesh. Avesh relies on bowling a tight length (neither too full nor too short) and a tight line (on off-stump) to minimise leverage for batters to hit out, and maintains good speeds (about 140kph).
His yorkers are deadly, and his pace makes his slower deliveries a handy weapon too, as batters are too early into their stroke and mistime them. Avesh has been a revelation this season – 24 wickets at 18.75 and an economy rate of 7.37. So what’s led to his spectacular success? Avesh says his run at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January, 2021, aided his IPL run: in the domestic T20 tournament, he took 14 wickets in five matches for MP.