IPL 2021, Qualifier 1: DC vs CSK, Stats Preview: Player records and approaching milestones

With a place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 final at stakes, Delhi Capitals will take on Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1. The high-voltage encounter takes place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (October 10). Going by the points table, DC and CSK are pretty much neck to neck. However, the momentum is definitely in Delhi’s favour.

After all, the MS Dhoni-led side suffered defeats in their last three league-stage games. Many loopholes in their ship were also exposed and it would be interesting to see how they’ll bounce back in the crucial game. On the other hand, DC also lost their last league-stage game against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

However, they have been pretty consistent this season with all the bases looking covered. Moreover, the Rishabh Pant-led side defeated the Men in Yellow twice in the league stage. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that Delhi will take the field as favourites. It has to be noted that the loser of this game will still have an opportunity to get in the final.

The losing team will meet the winner of Eliminator, which will be played between RCB and KKR, in Qualifier 2 to determine the other finalist. However, none of the two teams would prefer to take that way.

Meanwhile, let’s look at important stats and numbers ahead of Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League 2021:

Head-to-head record: CSK are ahead of DC Delhi in terms of head-to-head record in IPL. In 25 clashes, CSK have won 15 games while DC emerged winners 10 times.

59 – Rishabh Pant is 59 runs shy of completing 2,500 runs in the Indian Premier League.

1 – Dwayne Bravo needs just one wicket to become the first bowler to scalp 550 wickets in T20 cricket.

2 –Bravo also needs 2 more wickets to overtake Amit Mishra and become the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. While Bravo has 165 scalps, Mishra has 166 wickets. Lasith Malinga (170) tops this list.

1 – Ambati Rayudu is just one big hit away from completing 200 sixes in T20 cricket.

1 – One strike over the fence will also see Rayudu completing 150 sixes in the Indian Premier League.

85 –Rayudu needs 85 runs to become the 9th Indian and 12th overall to slam 4000 runs in IPL.

5 – Axar Patel is five scalps away from completing 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League.

61 – Axar can also complete 1000 runs in the tournament. He’s 61 runs away from the landmark.

2 – Patel is the only spinner in the last 10 IPL seasons to win two consecutive Player-of-the-match awards.

15 – Steve Smith is 15 runs shy of completing 2,500 runs in the Indian Premier League.

59 – Ajinkya Rahane, who hasn’t played a single game in the UAE leg, has accumulated 3941 runs in 141 innings he has played in IPL. He requires 59 runs to complete 4000 runs and become the eighth Indian to achieve the milestone.

104 – Marcus Stoinis needs 104 runs to complete 1000 runs in IPL.

100 – Amit Mishra will become the first player to play 100 matches for Delhi in IPL if he is included in the playing XI for this game.