Last Updated on 9 months ago by Charbel Coorey

3 career-changing performances in IPL 2021 | A look back at 3 great performances that were career-changing in the 2021 Indian Premier League

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) got postponed due to the increasing effects of COVID-19 in India. 29 matches were played in the season so far with each team playing 7 games except the Delhi Capitals and the Punjab Kings who had played 8 games each.

But even with only half of the tournament completed, we still got to witness some exceptional performances from the players. Performances that can even change the careers of the individuals. Here we’ll talk about 3 such performances in the IPL 2021:

3. Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson is extremely talented and a very exciting player to watch. He plays fearlessly and can hit the ball big all around the park. But consistency has been a big issue throughout his career. He has been called out many times for playing too aggressively and throwing his wicket away. He was also dropped from the Indian T20I squad recently.

This season, Sanju was appointed as the skipper of the Rajasthan Royals. In his first game as skipper, Sanju scored a brilliant, stroke-filled 119 off just 63 balls vs Punjab Kings. This season Sanju is the 5th highest run-scorer with 277 runs in 7 innings at an average of 46.17 and strike rate of 145.79. After the first game, Samson again out trying to clear the field on a couple of occasions but after that, he played few sensible innings without dropping his strike rate.

Sanju had been criticized for playing only one or two good innings initially in the IPL and then failing to perform. However, this season he played responsibly and tried to build his innings before attacking the bowling. Even though it was a short period, Sanju showed consistency, which a great sign considering his ball-hitting ability and if he can continue on this then I’m sure Sanju Samson can achieve great things in his career.

2. Moeen Ali

We all knew that Moeen Ali could hit the ball long. Playing for CSK this year Moeen has shown his true potential batting at number 3. He has scored 206 runs in 6 innings at an average of 34.33 and a strike rate of 157.25. Moeen has played fearlessly and selflessly in this IPL. He started attacking from the word go. Even better, he has hit 22 fours and 12 sixes in the 6 innings he has played.

This beast of performance from Moeen Ali can turn the tides in his favor as the T20 world cup will be played in October later this year and with some questions over Dawid Malan’s place at number 3 in the English T20I side, Moeen can be the perfect one for that role.

England has used Moeen in the lower middle-order in t20is where he averages just 17.04 and strikes at 134.71 whereas he has already shown what he can do batting up the order.

His hitting against pace bowling is always under question. However, as you can see in the image he isn’t bad against pace; he is very destructive if bowlers miss their line and length even a little bit. Moeen has played some very good cricket and it surely can change his fortune in the shortest format.

1. Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw has taken his game to the next level this IPL. After the bizarre IPL 2020, Shaw has returned with a bang. He first scored 800+ runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and then has repeated the same form in the Indian Premier League as well. Shaw rectified his technique and has been in beast mode since then. He is the 4th highest run-scorer in IPL 2021 with 308 runs in 8 innings. His strike rate of 166.49 is the highest amongst the top 15 batters in IPL 2021.

Shaw has exploited the field restrictions in the first 6 overs to its fullest and has scored 136 runs – the joint-highest in the powerplay itself. He thrashed Shivam Mavi for 6 fours in the first over of the DC innings against KKR. He scored an 18-ball fifty in that game.

Shaw was dropped from the national side after a string of low scores but the way he came back is remarkable and his performance is a tight slap on to all the people who trolled him during his rough phase with the bat.

These were our picks for the “career-changing performances” in IPL 2021. Have your say!

Thanks for reading. Stay Safe.

Written by Robin Rounder. Follow Robin on Twitter today.