The 13th edition of Indian Premier League will be hosted by UAE between September 19 and November 10. Although this will be the first time that UAE will be hosting the full version IPL, the country earlier had hosted 20 IPL matches in 2014. The matches back then had to be shifted to UAE due to general election.
April 18, 2014- KXIP v CSK (Abu Dhabi)
On April 18, 2014 a match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings the latter chasing down a mammoth total successfully in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Chennai Super Kings scored posted 205/4 based on brilliant knocks by Dwayne Smith (66 off 43) and Brendon McCullum (67 off 45). After losing two wickets during the chase Kings XI Punjab were struggling with 38/2 on board. Glenn Maxwell smashed a stunning 95 off mere 43 balls to win the match for KXIP. His innings included 15 fours and two maximums. KXIP (206/4) won the match with seven balls remaining.
April 20, 2014- KXIP v RR (Sharjah)
The next high-scoring match was staged between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah. Rajasthan Royals set a target of 192 runs for George Bailey’s team. Three overs into the game and KXIP were 10/2. Cheteshwar Pujara was standing tall while Virender Sehwag and Wriddhiman Saha left the scene quite early. Glenn Maxwell joined Pujara and what happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Maxwell batted with 197.77 strike rate and scored 89 runs off 45 balls. He set the tone and almost won the match for KXIP before getting dismissed in the 14th over. David Miller (51*) eventually completed the task as KXIP ended with 193/3.
April 22, 2014- KXIP v SRH (Sharjah)
It was a hattrick moment for Glenn Maxwell when he repeated his performance to seal another huge win for his side at the same venue. This time Punjab batted first and set a score of 193 runs for the loss of six wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad. After a decent start, they lost Virender Sehwag within the 7th over of the innings when Maxwell walked in. He went on to accumulate another 43-ball 93 run with five fours and nine massive sixes. The Hyderabad team was all-out for 121 runs and handed over a 72-run win to KXIP, all thanks to Maxwell.
April 25, 2014- SRH v DD (Dubai)
The 12th match of the season saw the next high scoring IPL match in the UAE. It was, in fact a close encounter between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils which saw the former winning it by just four runs. Aaron Finch (88* off 53) and David Warner (58* off 45) helped SRH score 184/1 in 20 overs. Finch’s innings was decorated with eight fours and four sixes whereas Warner’s innings had three boundaries and as many as maximums. In response, DD openers Murali Vijay (52) and Quinton de Kock (48) gave their best effort but Bhuvneshwar Kumar ended the game in favour of SRH.
April 21, 2014- CSK v DD (Abu Dhabi)
The fifth highest IPL total came was registered in the UAE in a match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils. On April 21, 2014 Chennai Super Kings posted 177 runs after losing seven wickets in Abu Dhabi. CSK’s innings was supported by a half-century from one of their mainstays Suresh Raina. Raina scored a 41-ball 56 run with five fours and one maximum after providing an important support to Dwayne Bravo who had lost his opening partner Brendon McCullum in the fourth over. Delhi Daredevils in reply were bundled up for 84 runs.