The fourth week of the 2023 Indian Premier League saw the midway point of the league stage reached with the standings beginning to take shape.
Jason Roy picked up two blistering back-to-back half-centuries as he showed a welcome return to form at the top of the order for Kolkata Knight Riders. Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his form at the top of Rajasthan's batting lineup as the Royals went top of the league standings to build on their 2022 form.
IPL 2023 match-by-match mini reviews
Match 29 - Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings
After a few mix-ups in the middle failed to result in dismissals, Harry Brook slashed at one from Akash Singh and was gone for 18 off 13 with Ruturaj Gaikwad taking a solid catch at backward point. Sunrisers got to 45-1 after the powerplay, before the slow building ended when Abhishek Sharma failed to clear Ajinkya Rahane at long-on for 34 off 26. SRH were 76-2 at halfway, before Rahul Tripathi top edged a sweep off Ravindra Jadeja to short fine-leg and departed for run-a-ball 21.
Next over, skipper Aiden Markram got a nick behind off Maheesh Theekshana to go for 12. Three balls later, Heinrich Klaasen got in the way of Jadeja (4-0-22-3) taking a return catch to dismiss Mayank Agarwal; he then got Agarwal stumped shortly after for two. Klaasen struck one to cover where Gaikwad took another good catch to go for 17 as SRH ultimately ended 134-7.
It was a quiet powerplay for CSK until Devon Conway helped to take 23 off the final over to see CSK to 60-0 after six. A third consecutive fifty for Conway was brought up in 33 balls with Chennai 86-0 after ten. Gaikwad was then dismissed for 35 off 30 in unfortunate fashion after Conway hammered a drive back at Umran Malik who deflected the ball onto the stumps with Gaikwad short of his ground. Conway continued on his merry way, with Rahane supporting well.
That was until the latter got a leading edge to Markram at slip who took the catch at the second attempt. Mayank Markande then removed Ambati Rayudu for nine with a beauty to slightly provide nerves to those in yellow, with 13 needed off 18. There was no stress needed, though, as Chennai took the win by seven wickets with eight balls to spare as Conway finished unbeaten on a brilliant 77 off 57.
Match 30 - Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants
Shubman Gill went second ball after chipping one to long-off via the bowling of Krunal Pandya. Gujarat got to 40-1 after the powerplay with Wriddhiman Saha dominating the scoring on 34. Hardik Pandya began to provide support to Saha as the Titans reached 71-1 at halfway. Three balls later, there was another soft dismissal that ended the second-wicket partnership at 68 as Saha chipped Krunal (4-0-16-2) to long-on for 47 off 37.
Abhinav Manohar was the next to go for three as he struck Amit Mishra out to deep cover where Naveen ul-Haq took a great catch. Naveen (4-0-19-1) then cleaned up Vijay Shankar for ten with the Titans 92-4 after 15. Hardik finally reached fifty in 44 balls after striking Ravi Bishnoi for four then six in the 18th. Hardik started the final over with a six but fell next ball trying to repeat the trick, picking out long-on for 66 from 50. David Miller was out last ball for just six off 12 as GT rather limped to 135-6.
There was a maiden over to start for Mohammad Shami but LSG still got to 53-0 after the powerplay. Three balls later, Rashid got the wicket of Kyle Mayers bowled for 24 off 19. Manohar then dropped Krunal on six with 67 needed off 70, which looked like being the turning point as Super Giants got into a seemingly commanding position at 80-1 at halfway. KL Rahul got to fifty in 38 balls, before Noor Ahmad (4-0-18-2) picked up Krunal for a run-a-ball 23 via a stumping.
He then got another in his next over after Nicholas Pooran skied one straight up as Hardik took a good catch to dismiss the dangerous Pooran for just one off seven with 26 still needed from 19. Some more tight bowling saw the equation reach 12 needed off the last over with Rahul on strike. The LSG captain got two off the first ball but then could only pick out deep square leg as he departed for 68 off 61.
Marcus Stoinis biffed the next ball from Mohit Sharma (3-0-17-2) down the ground but Miller took the catch as Titans began to close in on what was an unlikely victory. Two more wickets then fell in the next two with Ayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda run out respectively. In the end, the Titans incredibly managed to defend 135 and won by seven runs.
Match 31 - Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings
There was an early breakthrough for Mumbai as Matthew Short pulled Cam Green straight to midwicket for 11 off ten, but Punjab recovered well to reach 58-1 after the powerplay. Four balls later, Arjun Tendulkar had Prabhsimran Singh dismissed lbw for 26 off 17 with a great full ball. Liam Livingstone hit an enormous six off Jofra Archer but next over Piyush Chawla had him stumped for ten from 12 courtesy of a wide down the leg-side.
Three balls later, Atharva Taide was out in unfortunate fashion as an attempted sweep deflected off his pad and onto his arm and then onto his stumps as he went for 29 off 17 with Punjab 83-4 at halfway. The Kings got to 118-4 with five to go, with the fifty partnership for the fifth wicket up in 38 balls as Sam Curran and Harpreet Bhatia combined to take 31 off the 16th bowled by Tendulkar. The partnership of 92 ended with a yorker from Green that produced an inside edge from Bhatia onto the stumps for 41 off 28.
25 then came off the 18th as Jitesh Sharma walked in and struck his first two balls for six. Curran brought up his fifty in 26 balls before Archer removed him shortly after with a sharp short ball that Curran could only jab back at him to end a great innings of 55 off 29. After hitting two sixes in the first three balls of the last over, Jitesh departed for 25 from just seven balls after Jason Behrendorff bowled him with a slower ball. Punjab ended on an imposing 214-8.
Arshdeep Singh got Ishan Kishan early for one as he had a slash at an outswinging delivery, with Short taking a good catch running round from deep backward square leg. Rohit Sharma and Green helped get Mumbai to 54-1 after the powerplay, before Livingstone got the breakthrough after Rohit got a leading edge and chipped one straight back to him for 44 off 27. Green got to fifty in 38 balls with a six over long-on to get the equation down to 71 off 32.
The Australian then hit Nathan Ellis for six then four in the 16th before miscuing a slower ball next ball to Curran running back from cover to go for 67 off 43. Suryakumar Yadav brought up his fifty with an audacious lap shot before ending the 17th with a six to bring the equation down to 40 needed off 18. A good yorker from Arshdeep meant Suryakumar was only able to clip one to Atharva at midwicket who took a great catch to dismiss him for 57 off 26.
Arshdeep was given the final over with 16 needed and with the third ball he mutilated Tilak Varma's middle stump having conceded just a run in the previous two deliveries. He then did the exact same next ball to remove Nehal Wadhera first ball. An incredible final over from Arshdeep (4-0-29-4) sealed the win for Punjab by 13 runs.
Match 32 - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals
In customary Trent Boult fashion, the New Zealander produced a moment of first over magic as he removed Virat Kohli first ball with an inswinge. He then got his second as Shahbaz Ahmed could only pull one straight to Jaiswal at midwicket for two. The fifty partnership between Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell was brought up in just 23 balls as RCB ended the powerplay 62-2. Maxwell brought up his third fifty of the season in 27 balls with a big six down the ground as Bangalore reached 101-2 at halfway.
The hundred partnership was then up in 55 balls, before du Plessis gotto another half-century in 31 balls. A brilliant bit of fielding from Jaiswal got the breakthrough as his direct hit from on his knees had du Plessis short of his ground for 62 off 39. Maxwell then went after picking out Jason Holder at point with a switch hit for 77 off 44 to leave RCB 156-4 after 15. Another wicket fell next over as Mahipal Lomror skied one to Devdutt Padikkal sprinting in from long-off for eight off six.
Two balls later, Jaiswal helped to affect another run out with a mix-up involving Dinesh Karthik and Suyash Prabhudessai with the latter gone without scoring. Wanindu Hasaranga was run out first ball of the last over, before Karthik picked out Jos Buttler at long-on two balls later for 16 as RCB finished 189-9.
Mohammad Siraj channelled his inner Boult as he clattered into Buttler's middle stump with his third ball as the England star departed for a two-baller, with Royals recovering to 47-1 after the powerplay. Rajasthan then accelerated to reach 92-1 at halfway with a 30-ball fifty brought up for Padikkal. He then fell to David Willey four balls later as the partnership ended on 98. Having slowed down a bit, Jaiswal failed to clear Kohli at long-on and was out for 47 off 37.
With 69 needed off 30 and with Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer at the crease, the match seemed to be in the balance. Two balls later, though, Samson slashed one to short third man for 22 off 15 as Harshal Patel got the crucial wicket. The second crucial wicket then fell with 35 needed off 14 as Prabhudessai nailed the direct hit to remove Hetmyer for just three off nine.
Dhruv Jurel moved to 33 off 15 but did not keep the strike for the last over with 20 needed from six. Ashwin managed to get ten off the first three balls but was caught next ball for 12 off six after being deceived by a slower ball. Rajasthan were unable to get the ten required off the last two balls as RCB won by seven runs.
Match 33 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings
CSK ended the powerplay 59-0 as Conway in particular continued his fine form. Suyash Sharma got the breakthrough with a quality googly to bowl Gaikwad for 35 from 20. A fourth consecutive half-century for Conway was brought up in 34 balls before he was put down by Varun Chakaravarthy off his own bowling with a tough low chance. The New Zealand international was out shortly after, though, after he could only pick out David Wiese at long-off as he departed for 56 off 40.
22 came off the 14th before the 150 was brought up via a big six from Shivam Dube off the first ball of the 15th. Rahane got to fifty in 24 balls before Dube brought up his own in just 20 deliveries before departing next ball after finally failing to connect with one. Rahane continued his scintillating assault before he was joined by Jadeja, who cracked 18 off eight. Rahane finished on 71 off just 29 as Chennai smashed their way to 235-4.
Akash took Sunil Narine's off pole with him as the West Indian was dismissed third ball. Next over, Narayan Jagadeesan sliced one out to deep point as Jadeja took a brilliant catch to dismiss him for one. KKR could only reach 38-2 after the powerplay, before Moeen Ali removed Venkatesh Iyer lbw for run-a-ball 20 with his first ball. Roy hit three consecutive sixes to end the eighth to give KKR some impetus, before Nitish Rana perished for 27 off 20 next over as he could only find Gaikwad at deep midwicket.
Jadeja attempted a cheeky run out of Rinku Singh at the non-striker's end which was ultimately unsuccessful, though replays showed that Rinku was short of his ground but neither of the bails were dislodged despite them lighting up. Having got to 76-4 at halfway, it was more of a matter of getting as close as possible for KKR to negate the impact of net run-rate later on in the competition.
The fifty partnership for the fifth wicket was up in 30 balls off the last ball of the 13th. Next ball, Roy brought up his half-century in just 19 deliveries despite seemingly carrying an injury. He then struck the first two balls of the 15th for four before Theekshana got his revenge by bowling him for 61 off 26. Rinku got to a consolation half-century in 30 balls as KKR ended 186-8, with CSK running out winners by 47 runs.
Match 34 - Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Bhuvneshwar Kumar induced an edge from Phil Salt as he went first ball, before Mitchell Marsh found some early form as he took 19 from the second. T Natarajan then got Marsh lbw for 25 off 15 following a successful review as Delhi got to 49-2 after the powerplay. The big wicket of Delhi skipper David Warner fell after he swept one out to backward square leg for 21 off 20. Two balls later, Washington Sundar (4-0-28-3) got his second with an identical dismissal as Sarfaraz Khan went for ten from nine. He then astonishingly got another with the final ball of his second as Aman Khan sliced one up to cover as Delhi capitulated to 62-5 after eight.
Manish Pandey and Axar Patel helped to recover the situation to 113-5 after 16, before Bhuvneshwar (4-0-11-2) continued his excellent night with a yorker to bowl Axar for a run-a-ball 34. Pandey was then run out for 34 off 27 after attempting to come back for the second thanks to a brilliant throw from Sundar. Delhi ultimately managed to muster 144-9 after what was largely an indifferent batting display.
Brook struggled to gather momentum before he missed a lap shot off Anrich Nortje and was bowled for just seven off 14. Sunrisers got to 58-1 at halfway, with 26 balls passing since the previous boundary. Agarwal again fell short of a half-century as he failed to clear long-on and departed for 49 off 39. Ishant Sharma got Tripathi nicking behind for 15 off 21 with 70 needed from 45.
Abhishek then presented Kuldeep Yadav (4-0-22-1) with a simple caught and bowled for five off five as the equation moved to 60 needed off six overs. Axar (4-0-21-2) then got Markram to chop on for just three as Sunrisers go five down with the loss of their skipper. 15 came off the 18th to get the equation down to 21 needed off two.
Klaasen was then dismissed for 31 off 19 after hitting one out to deep cover with 19 needed off nine balls, having been dropped by Marsh shortly before. With 13 needed off last over, Sunrisers could only manage to score five as Mukesh Kumar defended successfully to see Delhi winners by seven runs.
Match 35 - Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians
Early on, Saha got a glove behind on a leg-side delivery from Tendulkar for four. 17 came off the sixth as Gujarat ended the powerplay 50-1. Next ball, Chawla had Hardik caught at long-off for 13 off 14, before Gill reached his half-century in 30 balls, before he then picked out long-on shortly after via the bowling of Kumar Kartikeya for 56 off 34.
The hundred came up off the first ball of the 13th, before Shankar provided a repeat of the Gill dismissal for 19 off 16 as Chawla (4-0-34-2) claimed his second. The Titans got to 130-4 after 15, as the fifty partnership between Abhinav and Miller was up in 30 balls. 22 then came off the 18th, but next ball Abhinav's impressive knock ends on 42 off 21 after he was unable to hit a full toss from Riley Meredith over long-off.
19 ultimately came off the penultimate over as the Titans continued their assault on the Mumbai attack. Miller was out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 46 off 22 after he skied Behrendorff out to deep midwicket for Suryakumar to claim his third catch of the innings. Rahul Tewatia ended on 20 off just five balls as Titans ended 207-6.
Two tight overs from Shami and Hardik culminated in Rohit getting a leading edge to chip one straight up for Hardik to take a simple return catch as the Mumbai captain went for just two from eight. Mumbai limped to 29-1 after the powerplay, before Kishan's painful innings ended on 13 off 21 after a hoick that went high to Josh Little at mid-on as Rashid (4-0-27-2) got his first.
It wasn't long until he got his second as Tilak was out lbw for two after a successful review. Mumbai were 58-3 at halfway and two balls later Noor knocked over Green for 33 off 26. Two balls after that, Tim David fell after failing to connect with a full toss as Noor got his second with Abhinav settling under the ball at deep midwicket.
Noor (4-0-37-3) picked up his third off his final ball as Suryakumar punched one back to him for 23 off 12 as he completed a solid catch. Wadhera's lone effort ended on 40 off 21 when he failed to clear short fine leg with a lap shot. Mumbai finished on 152-9 as Titans comprehensively won by 55 runs.
Match 36 - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Roy helped take 25 off the last over of the powerplay with KKR 66-0 after six as Roy dominated the scoring. He reached his fifty in just 22 balls, but Jagadeesan could not get going in the same way and eventually holed out to Willey at deep midwicket for 27 off 29. Vijaykumar Vyshak then got his second as he yorked Roy for 56 off 29 with the last ball of the tenth with KKR 88-2 having slowed considerably.
Siraj put down a simple chance at long-off with Nitish on five, before the KKR skipper got another life after Harshal put him down at fine leg. The fifty partnership between Nitish and Venkatesh was brought up in 36 balls and KKR reached 150-2 after 16 overs. Nitish was finally out caught, but not before he got to 48 from just 21 balls as Vyshak took a good low catch at short fine leg.
Venkatesh then departed after he skied Hasaranga (4-0-24-2) to Maxwell running in from long-on for 31 off 26. After Rinku went 6,4,4 off the first three balls, Siraj finished off the penultimate over with a brilliant yorker to take Russell's leg stump. Rinku ended 18 off ten and Wiese 12 off three as KKR got to 200-5.
After the first two overs flew for 30, Suyash removed du Plessis for 17 off seven with his second delivery as the Orange Cap holder holed out to long-on where Rinku took a solid catch. That did not stop the heavy scoring, though, as the fifty came up in 4.2 overs. Two balls later, Suyash (4-0-30-2) got his second as Shahbaz was trapped lbw for two from five, though replays showed that there was an edge.
The big wicket of Maxwell arrived off the penultimate ball of the powerplay as he picked out mid-off for just five as RCB ended the powerplay 58-3. Lomror began to get going as RCB got to 96-3 at halfway, before there was another half-century for Kohli in 33 balls. The fifty partnership between Kohli and Lomror was brought up in 34 balls as the latter smoked another six. Next ball, though, he fell to Chakaravarthy (4-0-27-3) for 34 off 18 after attempting the same shot but could only pick out Russell at deep midwicket.
Venkatesh then took a stunning low catch at deep midwicket to dismiss Kohli for 54 off 37 as the crucial wicket fell with 86 needed from 47. Some great fielding from Anukul Roy saw Prabhudessai run out for ten from nine, before Hasaranga played one straight to deep backward point. Then, next over with 47 needed from 16, Karthik holed out to deep midwicket for 22 off 18 as the RCB hopes faded. They ultimately finished on 179-8 as KKR won by 21 runs.
Match 37 - Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings
The Rajasthan fifty came up in 4.2 overs and they reached 64-0 after the powerplay with Jaiswal the main man on 40. His fifty arrived shortly after in 26 balls, before Jadeja got the breakthrough as Buttler picked out Dube at long-on for 27 off 21. The Royals, though, continued on to 100-1 at halfway, but Samson was unable to get going and holed out to long-on for run-a-ball 17.
Jaiswal's brilliant innings then ended on 77 from 43 after he sliced Tushar Deshpande to point for the second wicket in the over. Their run production had slowed as they got to 146-3 after 16 and next ball Hetmyer chopped on for eight off ten as Theekshana (4-0-24-1) claimed his first. Jurel was run out in the last over by Dhoni for another great contribution of 34 from just 15 as Padikkal ended on 27 from 13 as Royals got to 202-5.
In what was an unusual sight after the last couple of weeks, Conway struggled and was out for just eight off 16 off the final ball of the powerplay with CSK well behind the rate at 42-1. Adam Zampa got his second with Padikkal taking a good catch at long-on to dismiss Gaikwad for 47 off 29. There was another taken at long-on shortly after, with Buttler taking the catch as Rahane departed for 15 from 13.
Rayudu then went first ball after sweeping one out to deep midwicket. The hundred came up off the first ball of the 14th with a big six from Dube but the equation kept climbing as it got to CSK needing 90 off six overs. The fifty partnership between Dube and Moeen was up in just 25 balls, but next ball Moeen got a nick through to Samson for 23 off 12 as Zampa (3-0-22-3) got his third.
Dube reached his half-century in 29 balls but CSK still needed 41 from seven balls. They finished on 170-6 with Dube out for 52 off 33 off the final ball of the innings as Royals took the win by 32 runs to go top of the league standings.
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