WEEK 1 #IPL2021 | GIVEAWAY | With Eisha Acton
Hey everyone and welcome to the weekly IPL roundup! Today I’m announcing a giveaway with The Bharat Army — for those of you who don’t know- the Bharat Army is Team India’s №1 Global Supporter Group. KL Rahul’s brand Gully and The Bharat Army have come together to produce an epic IPL range as you can see here. I’ll be sending out an exclusive IPL jersey to the winner! Keep reading to find out how to enter! Let’s get into it.
The first week of the IPL was everything I could have hoped for — we’ve jumped straight back into the action and I’m loving it! Today I’m going to split all the happenings of the first week into five parts. The first is…
My team of the week. This decision isn’t too difficult because they’re the only team that have been unbeaten in the week 1 of IPL 2021. My team of the week is of course RCB. They won 2 out of 2 matches — this is their best start in a while considering they lost their first two matches at the start of their 2019 campaign and then last season they opened with a loss and a win. They’ve started with a bang this season though! The opening game set the tone didn’t it? To beat the defending champions Mumbai Indians, in the manner in which they did. With the combination of Kohli, AB De Villiers and the addition of Glenn Maxwell this season too - could RCB go on to win their maiden IPL title this season? What do you think? Have their fortunes changed this season? Comment below your thoughts.
Next up! The most entertaining game of the week. There were a number of thrilling games this week for sure but there is one game in particular that just blew me away. It was super special and a certain batsman struck the first century of the season! I’m talking about match four which was between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Sanju Samson played a huge part in this thriller — I feel like he made one of the best knocks I have ever seen in IPL history. His 63-ball 119, included 12 fours and seven sixes! Then young Arshdeep Singh was unfazed by the pressure and successfully defended 13 off the final over for Punjab Kings. I think any game that falls to the last ball of the match is thrilling no doubt, but Sanju Samson’s explosive effort made this match all the more memorable (even if his stunning knock went in vain!).
Moving on… for this part I’m going to choose my young gun of the week! Now, last season I feel like I had A LOT to talk about when it came to the emerging stars of the tournament. You can actually re-watch a video dedicated to last season’s young guns here: https://youtu.be/2zH8RZ-UJEw It’s clear already that this season is no different — the IPL is the perfect stage for these young guns to make a name for themselves. This first week already has shown that. There are a few lads who impressed me this week — Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Chahar, Avesh Khan, Chetan Sakariya and of course left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh — who I already mentioned was a standout bowler for Punjab Kings this week. Especially in that final over of the clash with Rajasthan royals. Then I can’t forget Shahrukh Khan and Shahbaz Ahmed too who’ve both impressed this week. If I have to choose one young talent, I guess I’d have to go for Chetan Sakariya. Last season he was with RCB as a net bowler and in the 2021 auction he was then picked up by Rajasthan Royals for 1.2 crores. His debut was definitely one to remember! In match four between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals both teams scored well over 200 and Sakariya ended with figures of 3 for 31 from his four overs. He took out KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Jhye Richardson. Also, I have to mention that wonderful catch he took to get rid of Nicholas Pooran for a golden duck. I think after reading up on Sakariya’s story I truly understood how much this maiden IPL stint must have meant to him and his family. He’s actually a self-taught tennis-ball cricketer, he lifted the 2020 Ranji Trophy he then impressed in the Syed Mustaq Ali T20 tournament just a few months ago picking up 12 wickets in five matches. Tragically, just three weeks before the IPL auction; he lost a younger sibling. Learning about this story of overcoming a personal tragedy in a career defining year it’s inspiring and just two games in — he looks like a top talent! He’s attracting all the right attention and I can’t wait to see more of that charming smile.
Next up: my Batsman of the week. There are OF COURSE a few names that deserve an honourable mention but I simply have to choose the leading run scorer of week 1. That is of course, Kolkata Knight Rider’s Nitish Rana! He scored 137 runs from just 2 innings. In match three between KKR and SRH — he deservedly came away as man of the match by scoring 80 runs off just 56 balls! It lead KKR to their first victory of the season. Then in match five between Mumbai Indians and KKR, Rana top-scored with a 47-ball 57. The defending champions came away with bragging rights after beating KKR by 10 wickets BUT Rana’s second fifty of the tournament showed just how valuable his role in KKR’s batting line-up could be this season! So, he’s my Batsman of the week.
Now let’s talk about the best fielder of the week. I think you know where this one is going — I mean it has to be Ravindra Jadeja! In match eight between Punjab Kings and CSK, Jaddu’s performance was the talk of the town. Firstly, his run-out of KL Rahul was immaculate, the way he grabbed the ball with one hand and then tossed it perfectly onto the stumps… it was just sensational. Later his diving catch to dismiss Chris Gayle was just stunning in true Jaddu style. After the match both Michael Vaughan and Deepak Chahar described Jadeja as the best fielder of India and I have to agree! Chahar even said he wants ’11 Jaddus in the field’ haha imagine that? Spectacular fielding and endless wickets!
Alright, that’s about it for today’s weekly IPL review! Now, let me tell you how to win an IPL jersey!
- LIKE THIS VIDEO AND Subscribe to my channel now
- Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/eisha_acton_ ALSO follow the Bharat Army on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebharatarmy
3. When you’re done comment below your IPL team!
And it’s as simple as that! I’ll be announcing the winner in next weeks IPL episode, good luck everyone! Thank you for reading.