Week five of the 2023 Indian Premier League saw quite the range of action as the league stage hurtled towards finalisation. Lucknow Super Giants smoked the second-highest team total in IPL history while there was also the first washout of the season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow again competed in an incredible match, while Delhi Capitals triumphed against defending champions Gujarat Titans in similar circumstances. The 1000th IPL match was also played, with Yashasvi Jaiswal striking a century worthy of such an occasion.
IPL 2023 match-by-match mini reviews
Match 38 - Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings
LSG captain KL Rahul was dropped first ball at point before Kyle Mayers helped to take 17 off the second over bowled by Arshdeep Singh. Kagiso Rabada got Rahul caught for 12 off nine with a catch by Shahrukh Khan at short third man. The LSG train rolled on as the fifty up after 4.2 with Mayers dominating the scoring and he brought up a 20-ball half-century with an incredible six off Rabada down the ground. He tried to repeat the trick but could only find Shikhar Dhawan at mid-on for 54 off 24.
The powerplay ended with Lucknow 74-2 and the hundred was soon up in 7.4 overs as 24 came off the eighth. LSG were storming at 128-2 at halfway, before Liam Livingstone seemingly ended the partnership on 73 off 41; Marcus Stoinis sent one to long-off but the England international stood on the boundary cushion as he took the catch and Stoinis collected six instead. Ayush Badoni struck a slog sweep over deep square leg but Livingstone struck as he tried a repeat and perished for 43 off 24.
However, 19 still came off the over as Nicholas Pooran got straight into his work. Stoinis' fifty came up in 31 balls before LSG reached 200 with four overs to go. Stoinis eventually departed after getting a leading edge off Sam Curran for 72 from 40 as Jitesh Sharma settled under the catch. Pooran then fell just short of another quick fifty for 45 off 19 as Arshdeep got him lbw with two balls left. LSG ended on a mammoth 257-5, which in turn brought up the second highest total in IPL history.
Super Giants struck early as Shikhar clipped one straight out to deep cover for just one. Prabhsimran Singh then picked out deep square leg for nine off 13. Punjab got to 55-2 after the powerplay thanks largely to Atharva Taide, who shortly after reached his maiden IPL fifty in 26 balls. The hundred came up after 10.5 as the Kings struggled to maintain the huge required run rate.
Sikandar Raza fell for 36 from 22 after failing to clear Krunal Pandya at deep point. Atharva then skied one off Ravi Bishnoi who took the caught and bowled as the left-hander departed for 66 from 36. Bishnoi then got Livingstone lbw for 23 off 14 with 106 needed off 28. Naveen ul-Haq got his second as Curran chipped a slower ball right up to Badoni to go for 21 from 11.
Jitesh provided another cameo before departing for 24 off ten after failing to clear Rahul at mid-off. Yash Thakur (3.5-0-37-4) got his fourth as the wicket of Shahrukh ended the Kings' innings at 201 all out with Lucknow completing a comprehensive win by 56 runs.
Match 39 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans
Mohammad Shami got Narayan Jagadeesan lbw for 19 off 15 in the third over, before a promoted Shardul Thakur failed to match Rahmanullah Gurbaz's scoring output and was dismissed for a four-ball duck via a great catch from Mohit Sharma. Thanks to Gurbaz, though, KKR got to 61-2 after the powerplay, before the Afghanistan man brought up a 27-ball fifty. Knight Riders suffered a slight halt in momentum as they moved to 84-2 at halfway, with 16 balls passing since the last boundary. Next ball, Josh Little pinned Venkatesh Iyer lbw for 11 off 14.
Little (4-0-25-2) then got his second of the over as Nitish Rana slashed one to point for four. 17 then came off the 15th bowled by an unusually expensive Rashid Khan, who was making his 100th IPL appearance. His compatriot Gurbaz finally perished for 81 off 39 as his Afghanistan teammates combine as Rashid took the catch off Noor Ahmed's (4-0-21-2) bowling. Little then took a smart catch at long-off to dismiss Rinku Singh for 19 from 20, before Andre Russell was out for 34 from 19 off the last ball of the innings as KKR ended 179-7.
A quick start from the Titans was halted after Russell removed Wriddhiman Saha for a run-a-ball ten as he skied one to midwicket. Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya got the Titans rolling and they reached 89-1 at halfway. Shortly after, Harshit Rana got his first as he trapped Hardik lbw for 26 off 20. Gill then fell short of a fifty after he skied Sunil Narine out to deep midwicket where Russell was located, departing for 49 off 35. 18 came off the 15th to get the equation down to 51 off 30.
David Miller then skied the next delivery, but the ball went straight through the hands of Suyash Sharma. Vijay Shankar then helped to take 24 from the 17th as the Titans got the equation down to just 14 needed from 18. Shankar brought up a brilliant fifty in just 24 balls with another six. The fourth-wicket partnership of 87 off 41 got Gujarat home as Miller ended on 32 off 18 alongside Shankar as the Titans got home comfortably in the end with seven wickets and 13 balls to spare.
Match 40 - Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Ishant Sharma bounced out Mayank Agarwal after the opener gloved one behind to Phil Salt for five Rahul Tripathi then miscued one to Manish Pandey at extra cover for ten. Abhishek Sharma took 16 off the last over of the powerplay as SRH ended 62-2 with Abhishek scorching along on 43. Anrich Nortje put down Sunrisers skipper Aiden Markram on two at long-off, before Abhishek brought up a great fifty in just 25 balls with a slog sweep for six off Kuldeep Yadav.
Markram couldn't get going and he holed out to deep midwicket for eight off 13. Harry Brook then came in at five but he was out second ball as Mitchell Marsh got his second in the over as the England international mistimed a pull to Axar Patel (4-0-29-1) in at midwicket. SRH got to 83-4 at halfway, but Abhishek's incredible innings ended shortly after on 67 from 36 after he picked out David Warner at long-on.
Heinrich Klaasen ruined Axar's figures with back-to-back sixes off the last two balls of the left-armer's spell. The fifty partnership for the sixth wicket was up in 32 balls, before Marsh (4-0-27-4) picked up his fourth as Abdul Samad got a nick behind to Salt for 28 off 21. Klaasen continued his clean hitting display to finish unbeaten on 53 off 27 as Sunrisers reached 197-6, a score that looked a long way off at one point.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar got Warner to chop on second ball as the Delhi chase got off to a poor start. They did recover to get to 57-1 after the powerplay with Salt on 36. 22 then came off the seventh from Umran Malik. Salt got to his maiden IPL fifty in 29 balls as the hundred partnership also came up in 54 balls. Marsh then reached his own half-century in 28 deliveries, before Mayank Markande removed Salt for 59 off 35 with a brilliant return catch low to his right.
Abhishek then had Pandey stumped for one with 83 needed from 46. Marsh was next to go as he departed for 63 from 39 the ball after striking Akeal Hosein for six, skying the West Indian to Markram at cover. Priyam Garg departed next over via an inside edge onto his stumps off Markande for 12 as Delhi lost their momentum. T Natarajan then took Sarfaraz Khan's off stump for nine with Delhi needing 50 from 19. Axar finished 29 off 14 but it was ultimately too little too late as Sunrisers won by nine runs.
Match 41 - Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings
Another strong CSK opening partnership got the innings off to a strong chance before it ended on 86 as Raza had Ruturaj Gaikwad stumped for 37 off 31. The hundred came up off the first ball of the 11th, before Devon Conway got to another IPL half-century in 30 balls. Shivam Dube holed out to long-on off Arshdeep for 28 off 17. 16 then came off Livingstone's sole over as CSK reached 146-2 after 15 overs.
Moeen Ali was then stumped as Rahul Chahar drew him down the track as he departed for ten off six. The runs then dried up as just 16 came off the 18th and 19th overs combined from Arshdeep and Rabada respectively. Ravindra Jadeja then holed out first ball of the 20th for 12 off ten, before MS Dhoni incredibly struck the last two balls for six to get Chennai to 200-4; Conway ended 92 not out off 52.
The fifty was up in 4.1 overs for Punjab but next ball Shikhar chopped one to short third man for 28 from 15. Prabhsimran then got stumped off Jadeja for a well-played 42 from 24, before a struggling Atharva clothed one straight back to the CSK all-rounder for 13 off 17 with 107 needed off 58. It looked like tough going for the Kings with 72 needed off five, despite having England players Livingstone and Curran at the crease.
However, Livingstone hit the first two balls of the 16th for six and then the third ball deflected away off his shoulder for four as the fifty partnership all of a sudden came up in 32 balls. The fourth ball of the over then disappeared over the ropes once more as Livingstone began to make serious inroads towards what was a steep target. He did, though, sky the next delivery as he went for 40 off 24 as Gaikwad ran in from deep midwicket to take a solid catch.
With 31 needed from three, Matheesha Pathirana produced a brilliant yorker to dismiss Curran for 29 off 20. Then, with 15 needed off nine, Jitesh struck one out to wide long-on where Shaik Rasheed took the catch. He slipped and was millimetres away from touching the cushion and thus Jitesh was given out for 21 from ten. Nine was then required off the last over and Pathirana kept it down to seven off three and then five off two as Raza scrambled two.
He managed a repeat to see the equation down to three needed off the last ball. Raza managed to swing the final ball away for the winning runs as Punjab completed a narrow four-wicket win; incredibly, it was only the third time where a 200+ score had been chased down in the IPL without the help of a 50+ score.
Match 42 - Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals
The 1000th scheduled match in the IPL saw an enticing matchup between the four-time champions and the inaugural title winners. The Royals fifty arrived in 4.4 overs and they ended the powerplay 65-0 with Jaiswal going well on 41. Jos Buttler went for 18 off 19 after picking out long-on off the bowling of Piyush Chawla. Sanju Samson then clipped one straight out to deep midwicket for 14 from ten, before Jaiswal got to his fifty in 32 balls as Rajasthan reached 97-2 at halfway.
Chawla produced a beauty to go straight through Devdutt Padikkal for two, before Jason Holder floated one to long-off for 11 as Jofra Archer picked up his first. Shimron Hetmyer went six then out as he picked out Suryakumar Yadav at deep midwicket for eight off nine. Dhruv Jurel was then next to go for two as Tilak Varma took a great low catch at deep midwicket, with the Royals innings in danger of petering out.
Jaiswal ensured that that would not be the case as he brought up a sensational hundred in 53 balls. His brilliant innings ended on 124 off 62 in slightly unfortunate fashion after he miscued a high full toss that was very close to being called a no-ball straight up to Arshad Khan to complete the caught and bowled. Following Jaiswal's magic and despite a lack of support for him, Royals got to 212-7.
Sandeep Sharma accounted for Rohit Sharma for just two with a slower ball that went straight through the struggling Mumbai captain. The fifty partnership between Ishan Kishan and Cam Green arrived in 34 balls with the latter dominating the scoring. Kishan holed out to deep cover for 28 off 23, before Green followed him back to the dugout for 44 from 25 as he picked out deep midwicket with 112 needed from 56.
Suryakumar brought up a typically masterful fifty in just 24 balls, before Trent Boult ousted him for 55 from 29 as Sandeep took a brilliant catch running back from short fine leg. That wicket left Mumbai needing 61 from 26, with Tilak and Tim David at the crease. With two overs left, 32 was required and the pair managed to get the equation down to 17 needed off the last over which was handed to Holder.
David, though, incredibly hit the first three balls for six as Holder completely missed his length to see Mumbai win by three wickets with three balls to spare; they became the first team to successfully chase over 200 at the Wankhede Stadium, with David finishing on 45 off just 14 and Tilak 29 off 21.
Match 43 - Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
It was another solid if unspectacular powerplay for RCB as they reached 42-0. Bishnoi had Virat Kohli stumped for 31 off 30 with the last ball of the ninth, with Bangalore making it to 65-1 at halfway. The pressure told on Anuj Rawat as he holed out to Mayers at deep midwicket for nine off 11. Glenn Maxwell then missed a switch hit off Bishnoi (4-0-21-2) and was adjudged lbw for four.
A great catch from Krishnappa Gowtham at long-off accounted for Suyash Prabhudessai for six as RCB were unable to build any sort of momentum, reaching 92-4 after 15. The hundred came up on the first ball of the 17th, before another good catch saw Faf du Plessis on his way for 44 off 40 as Krunal completed the catch running across from cover. Naveen pinned Mahipal Lomror lbw for three before brilliant work from Yash off his own bowling saw Dinesh Karthik run out for 16 off 11.
Another wicket then fell as Karn Sharma could only guide a slower ball from Naveen (4-0-30-3) to short third man for two. Next ball. Mohammed Siraj departed after a successful review for caught behind as RCB ended on just 126-9.
Mayers went second ball after miscuing a pull off Siraj to mid-off where Rawat took the catch. Just one run came off the bat through the first two overs, before Krunal chipped one straight to Kohli running back from mid-off for 14 off 11. Badoni was then snaffled at cover by Kohli for just four off 11 and Hooda's miserable tournament continued as he was stumped for just one.
Lucknow had collapsed to 38-4 after the powerplay and there was still no sign of captain Rahul who had picked up an injury while fielding. Pooran went next for nine off seven looking for a big shot out to deep square leg at the end of the following over. LSG reached 63-5 at halfway, but next over Stoinis holed out to long-off for 13 off 19. Things got worse on the first ball of the the 12th as Gowtham was run out for 23 off 13 coming back for a second, seemingly failing to fully extend his bat to make his ground.
The run rate continued to climb before another run out saw Bishnoi on his way back for five off ten as the requirement grew to 50 off 32. Naveen nicked one behind for 13 as Rahul finally arrived at number 11. Amit Mishra's effort ended on 19 from 30 as LSG were all out for 108 as RCB sealed an unlikely 18-run win.
Match 44 - Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans
Salt went first ball after he crunched a full ball from Shami straight to Miller at short cover. Warner was then run out by Rashid next over for two after a mix-up with Garg. Shami (4-0-11-4) produced a beauty in his next over to remove Rilee Rossouw for eight after inducing an outside edge to Saha behind the stumps. The Titans dangerman then incredibly provided a repeat with Pandey the latest victim for just one as Saha took a stunner.
There was still time for one more as Garg nicked behind for ten off the last ball of the fifth with Shami's figures standing at 3-0-7-4. Delhi ended the powerplay in bother at 28-5. Axar and Aman Khan set about rebuilding the innings to gain some respectability and their fifty partnership arrived in 54 balls. It ended two balls later after Axar holed out to long-off for a battling 27 off 30. The hundred finally came up midway through the 17th, before Aman brought up his fifty in 41 balls.
The second successive fifty partnership also came up in just 26 balls with Ripal Patel striking Rashid for six. Two balls later, Rashid claimed his first of the night after Aman could only clip one out to deep midwicket as he departed for 51 off 44. Ripal's innings then came to an end on 23 off 13 as he sliced Mohit to Hardik at point to claim his 100th IPL wicket. Delhi ultimately managed to scramble to 130-8 thanks in large part to the two half-century partnerships, the first being the foundation and the second providing the impetus.
There was a wicket maiden first up for Khaleel Ahmed (4-0-24-2) as Saha nicked an outswinger behind for Salt to complete the catch. Titans took until the 11th ball of the innings to get off the mark before Nortje got a wicket with his first ball as Gill drove him straight to cover where Yash Dhull took a good low catch to dismiss him for six. Ishant then went through Shankar for the same score with a beautiful slower ball.
Miller was bowled third ball without scoring after trying to play a lap shot off Kuldeep (4-0-15-1) as Titans were unable to play themselves into a comfortable position; they were behind the rate as they got to 49-4 at halfway. Hardik reached a measured fifty off 44 deliveries as he and Abhinav Manohar looked to settle the innings and get the target within sight. Abhinav clothed one to long-on as his solid innings ended on 26 from 33 with the Titans still needing 37 from 17.
With 30 needed off nine balls, Rahul Tewatia incredibly struck Nortje for three consecutive sixes to leave Gujarat with a considerably more favourable requirement with 12 needed off the last. Tewatia, though, couldn't produce the same heroics again as he mistimed Ishant to cover for 20 from just seven as Rashid entered with Gujarat needing nine from two. Ishant (4-0-23-2) ultimately managed to defend and Delhi completed a thrilling yet surprising low-scoring five-run win.
Match 45 - Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings
The first full washout of IPL 2023 occurred as Lucknow and Chennai shared the points to remain well in the hunt for the playoffs. There was some play, though, and it was CSK skipper Dhoni who won the toss and put a Lucknow side, who were missing their captain Rahul who had been ruled out of the rest of the IPL, into bat. It was a slow start for the Super Giants and Mayers was the first to go as he holed out to long-off for 14 from 17 as Moeen had him dismissed for the second time this season.
Both of Rahul's replacement, Manan Vohra, was tasked with building the innings alongside Karan Sharma. Vohra was brought in as Rahul's replacement in the opening batting slot, while Nair was signed by LSG. It was not be for Vohra, though, as he was bowled by Theekshana for ten off 11. It got worse for the Super Giants next ball as stand-in skipper Krunal guided one to slip first ball as Lucknow ended the powerplay 31-3. Jadeja removed Stoinis next over for six after being beaten all ends up. Moeen claimed a sharp return catch to remove Karan for nine off 16.
Pooran and Badoni began to tick along slowly, as LSG reached 83-5 after 16 overs. Pooran's innings ended on 20 off 31 as he picked out Moeen at extra cover off Pathirana with 14 balls to go. Badoni brought up what was a contextually brilliant half-century in 30 balls with a six off the bowling of Deepak Chahar as he took 20 off the penultimate over. Badoni ended unbeaten on 59 off 33 as LSG got to 125-7 in 19.2 overs before the rain arrived and caused the end of the match.
Match 46 - Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians
Prabhsimran went early as he got a nick behind off Arshad for nine, but Punjab rallied to reach 50-1 after the powerplay. The partnership between Shikhar and Matthew Short ended on 49 off 37 as Chawla tempted Shikhar down the track with Kishan completing the stumping as the captain departed for 30 off 20. Kings were somewhat languishing on 78-2 at halfway and things did not get better after Short missed a slog to the leg-side with Chawla taking his off stump for 27 off 26.
The momentum switched as soon as Jitesh arrived at the crease and he joined Livingstone as the duo brought up their fifty partnership in just 24 balls. Livingstone hammered one over cover to bring up his fifty in 32 balls. He then pumped his England teammate Archer for three consecutive sixes down the ground to start the 19th, with the third bringing up the hundred partnership in just 46 balls; 27 ended up coming from the penultimate over. Livingstone ended on a superb 82 from 42 and Jitesh 49 off 27 as Punjab racked up 214-3; the 4th wicket partnership was 119 off 56.
Rishi Dhawan removed Rohit third ball as he sliced one for Short to complete the catch running round to deep point. The last ball of the powerplay saw Green pick out Chahar at deep midwicket for 23 off 18 as Mumbai ended the first six overs 54-2. They soon reached 91-2 at halfway with Kishan going well on 43. Kishan got to his fifty in 29 balls, while Suryakumar brought up a 23-ball half-century soon after as 23 came off the 13th.
Some incredible hitting from Suryakumar and Kishan saw the equation whittled down to just 45 needed off 30. Next ball, though, Nathan Ellis got his second as Suryakumar slashed one to short third man where Arshdeep took the catch after a juggle to dismiss the India star for a brilliant 66 from 31. With 37 off 24, Kishan pulled Arshdeep straight to fine-leg as he departed for 75 off 41 to bring Punjab back into contention.
Tilak, though, went onto take 16 from the over to leave Mumbai needing just 21 from three overs. Those runs were soon chipped away and Tilak then hit a huge six down the ground to seal the win for Mumbai. Tilak ended on 26 off ten and David 19 off ten as Mumbai incredibly chased down 215 with six wickets and seven balls to spare.
Match 47 - Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Gurbaz skied Marco Jansen (3-0-24-2) first ball to mid-off, before Venkatesh was bumped for seven by the South African to give Klaasen a simple catch behind the stumps off the last ball of the over. Kartik Tyagi got his first wicket of the season after Jason Roy got a leading edge to short third man for 20 from 19.
A good partnership between Nitish and Rinku Singh ended on 61 from 41 when the former miscued a slog sweep off Markram, with the SRH skipper taking an excellent diving catch off his own bowling to dismiss his opposite number for 42 off 31. Another dismissal via a slicing edge came as Markande removed Russell for 24 off 15 as the West Indian was pouched at point. Narine was out softly and cheaply again after he chipped Bhuvneshwar straight to extra cover for one.
Natarajan picked up Shardul for eight as KKR slipped further, though Rinku was still showing signs that he could get them to a competitive total with just a couple of overs remaining. He was out off the second ball of the final over, though, as Natarajan had him brilliantly caught by Samad at deep midwicket for 46 from 35. Kolkata ultimately ended 171-9 with each of the Sunrisers' six bowlers picking up at least one wicket, as well as a run out.
Harshit gets the breakthrough as Agarwal gloved a sharp short delivery through to Gurbaz for 18 off 11. Abhishek then skied Shardul to Russell, who took a solid catch running in from deep midwicket, for nine. Tripathi incredibly takes Russell for 15 from the West Indian's first two deliveries, with the first being a no-ball, before picking out fine leg with the third legal delivery of the over to depart for 20 off nine.
Sunrisers ended the powerplay 53-3 with Markram and Brook both still seeking their first run having faced eight deliveries between them. Two balls later, Brook met his fate and was dismissed lbw without scoring after a successful KKR review. SRH reached 75-4 at halfway, with Markram playing the anchor alongside his big-hitting South Africa teammate Klaasen. Klaasen duly struck two sixes the following over to get his side back into the chase.
The duo managed to get the equation down to a manageable 48 from 36, but the next ball saw Klaasen hole out to deep midwicket for 36 off 20 as the partnership was broken by Shardul, a man who has become known for picking up wickets at crucial times. Vaibhav Arora then got the crucial wicket of Markram for 41 from 40 as he slapped one out to long-off following a good partnership with Samad, leaving the Sunrisers six down and still requiring 26 from 19.
With 20 then needed off the last two, Vaibhav gets his second after Jansen got an edge through to Gurbaz who took a stunning diving catch low to his left. Varun Chakaravarthy (4-0-20-1) was tasked with bowling the final over and, with seven needed off four, he got the key wicket of Samad for 21 after he tried to launch one over midwicket only to pick out Anukul Roy. Chakaravarthy conceded just one off the last three as KKR sealed a five-run win.
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