Week six of the 2023 Indian Premier League saw two Rajasthan Royals break two prestigious IPL records in the same game. Yuzvendra Chahal took his IPL wicket tally to 184 to surpass the legendary Dwayne Bravo, now bowling coach at Chennai Super Kings.
Chahal's brilliant four-for set up what was to be a very simple chase for the Royals. It was made easy in large part thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal's record-breaking half-century which he crunched in just 13 balls, beating KL Rahul and Pat Cummins' previous record of 14.
The sixth week of the league stage saw more teams continue to vie for the coveted top four qualification spots.
IPL 2023 match-by-match mini reviews
Match 48 - Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans
After consecutive boundaries, Jos Buttler played one off Hardik Pandya to short third man for eight, before a mix-up saw in-form Jaiswal run out for 14 off 11. Rajasthan got to 50-2 after the powerplay, but Royals skipper Sanju Samson then got a huge leading edge off Josh Little (4-0-24-1) that popped up to Hardik as he departed for 30 off 20.
Rashid Khan then went straight through Ravichandran Ashwin for two, before Impact player Riyan Parag was pinned lbw by the Afghan star for just four. Rashid's compatriot Noor Ahmed then produced a beauty to take Devdutt Padikkal's off stump for a run-a-ball 12 as the Royals slipped to 77-6 midway through the 12th.
Noor got another as Dhruv Jurel was out lbw for nine, before yet another Royals batter fell victim lbw as Shimron Hetmyer went for seven off 13 with Rashid (4-0-14-3) collecting his third. Mohamamd Shami cleaned up Trent Boult for 15 off 11 and then a brilliant direct hit from Abhinav Manohar signalled the end of the Royals innings with 13 balls still remaining as they were bundled out for just 118.
Titans reached 49-0 after the powerplay, before the first wicket fell as Chahal outfoxed Shubman Gill and had him stumped for 36 off 35. Having been 72-1 at halfway, Gujarat stepped on the gas as Hardik helped to take 24 off the 11th from Adam Zampa to dramatically reduce the equation.
Hardik ultimately finished 39 not out off just 15 with Wriddhiman Saha 41 off 34 as the Titans won a one-sided game by nine wickets with a massive 37 balls to spare.
Match 49 - Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians
Tushar Deshpande went straight through Cam Green, opening ahead of skipper Rohit Sharma, in the second over of the match as the Australian missed a full delivery to depart for six. Ishan Kishan was next to go as he skied Deepak Chahar (3-0-18-2) to mid-on for seven off nine.
Rohit again went cheaply as he deflected an attempted lap shot to backward square leg for a three-ball duck as Mumbai limped to 34-3 after the powerplay. Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav began to build a good partnership, with Mumbai 64-3 at the halfway stage.
Three balls later, Suryakumar was beaten by a quicker delivery from Ravindra Jadeja as he went for 26 from 22. With 106 on the board after 16, Wadhera brought up his maiden IPL half-century in 46 balls with the first delivery of the 17th with 16 coming off the over in total.
Matheesha Pathirana removed him next over with a searing yorker as the left-hander was bowled for 64 off 51. Tim David then mistimed one from Deshpande (4-0-26-2) and was caught at long-off for two with the score 127-6 with nine deliveries remaining.
Pathirana (4-0-15-3) got his second with the first ball of the final over as Arshad Khan sliced one out to deep point, before Tristan Stubbs skied one to Jadeja who took a solid running catch to dismiss the South African for 20 off 21. Mumbai eventually finished on 139-8.
Ruturaj Gaikwad took 20 off the third over from Arshad as he helped get the chase off to a flying start. His quickfire innings was soon over, though, as he sliced a delivery from Piyush Chawla to Kishan behind the stumps to depart for 30 from 16.
With the requirement comfortably under a run-a-ball, Chawla (4-0-25-2) struck again to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane lbw for 21 off 17 with the last ball of the ninth. Having slowed slightly, Ambati Rayudu strikes Stubbs for a six before slicing the next delivery to point for 12 from 11.
With just ten needed from 22 balls, Akash Madhwal had Devon Conway out lbw for 44 off 42 as the anchor of the run chase departed having done his job. Shivam Dube hit three sixes on his way to finihsing 26 not out off 18 as Chennai ease to a six-wicket win with 14 balls to spare.
Match 50 - Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Another unbeaten powerplay saw RCB to 51-0 with Faf du Plessis beginning to find his groove. The opening stand continued as they reached 79-0 at halfway, before Mitchell Marsh got the breakthrough midway through the 11th as du Plessis slashed one out to deep cover for 45 off 32.
Glenn Maxwell then got a nick behind first ball as RCB lost two in two. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli got to another fifty in 43 balls, before the fifty partnership for third wicket was then brought up in 29 balls thanks largely to Mahipal Lomror. Kohli was out shortly after for 55 off 46 after he flicked Mukesh Kumar to short fine leg where Khaleel Ahmed took a juggled catch as Bangalore ended the 16th over 137-3.
Lomror got to a brilliant maiden IPL fifty in 26 balls with a drive through the covers for four as he continued to motor along. Dinesh Karthik then departed off first ball of the final over for as David Warner took a good catch running round from long-off; RCB ended 181-4.
The Delhi fifty was up in 4.2, before Warner skied Josh Hazelwood to du Plessis at mid-off for 22 off 14. That did not stop the Capitals hurtling to 70-1 after the powerplay with Salt unbeaten on 35. The England international brought up his half-century in 28 balls, as well as the team hundred in nine overs.
The fifty partnership between Salt and Marsh arrived in 27 balls as Delhi got to 115-1 at halfway with the required rate at almost a run-a-ball. Three balls later, Marsh chipped a full toss out to deep midwicket to depart for 26 off 17, but that did not slow Delhi down as the 13th over disappeared for 24 as the home side ate into the requirement further.
With 11 needed off 28, Karn Sharma responded after being hit for six to bowl Salt for 87 off 45. Rilee Rossouw finished on 35 from 22 as Delhi won by seven wickets with 20 balls to spare.
Match 51 - Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants
Saha got off to an absolute flyer for the Titans as he took 22 off the fourth over to bring up the Gujarat fifty as he himself moved to 46 from 19. His half-century arrived with the next ball he faced with a six over long-on, with the Titans sitting pretty at 78-0 after the powerplay.
The hundred then came up with the first ball of the ninth over with a six over cover by Gill, who soon brought up his own half-century off 29 balls. Saha departed for a wonderful 81 from 43 after he picked out Prerak Mankad running round from deep square leg. 20 came off the 15th as GT moved to 176-1 with five overs to go.
Gill's first four of the day moved him to 72, before Hardik picked out his brother Krunal Pandya at extra cover as he perished for 25 off 15. The 200 came up after 17.4 overs, though Gill was unable to bring up three figures of his own as finished 94 not out off 51 and Miller 21 off 12 as Titans got to 227-2.
LSG made a strong start and got a bit of fortune when Kyle Mayers was put down on 25 by Rashid at point, with the fifty then up next ball after four overs. Super Giants were well in the game at 72-0 after the powerplay, before Rashid redeemed himself with a stunning catch to remove Mayers for 48 off 32 as he sprinted around from deep square leg to dive and take the catch.
The momentum did slow slightly, with Lucknow reaching 102-1 at halfway. Quinton de Kock, making his first appearance of the tournament, brought up his fifty in 31 balls but Deepak Hooda again fell cheaply for run-a-ball 11 as he struck a full toss out to deep midwicket.
With 98 needed from 32, Marcus Stoinis sliced Mohit Sharma to short third man for just four off nine as the Titans closed in on the win. Things were made easier for the defending champions when de Kock then departed for 70 off 41 after he deflected a sweep shot off Rashid (4-0-34-1) that just about toppled the bail.
Noor then got into the action with the wicket of Nicholas Pooran for three. Mohit ended his spell with two wickets in two balls with Ayush Badoni gone first for 21 off 11 then Krunal first ball as LSG rather limped to 171-7 as Gujarat claimed a comprehensive win by 56 runs.
Match 52 - Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Rajasthan fifty came up in 4.2 overs with Jaiswal going well again on 31. It was soft dismissal for Jaiswal, though, as he gently guided Marco Jansen straight to short third man for 35 off 18. The Royals got to 61-1 after the powerplay and continued the momentum, taking 21 off the ninth.
The fifty partnership then came up in 29 balls as Rajasthan reached 107-1 at halfway. Buttler got to fifty in 32 deliveries as he and Samson threatened a huge score. Bhuvneshwar Kumar eventually removed Buttler for 95 off 59 with a great full ball with nine deliveries still remaining. Samson finished on 66 off 38 as the Royals got to 214-2 which in turn was the highest IPL total at Jaipur.
Following a watchful start, Anmolpreet Singh mistimed a slog sweep off Chahal to deep midwicket and departed for 33 off 25 as Sunrisers got to 51-1 after the powerplay. They continued to accumulate and were 87-1 at halfway, but seemingly far off where they would have wanted to be at that stage. The fifty partnership for the second wicket was up in 38 balls courtesy of a big six from Abhishek Sharma.
Next over, he brought up his fifty in 33 balls with another six, but next ball he sliced Ashwin to short third man. With 58 required from 25, Chahal got the big wicket of Heinrich Klaasen for 26 off 12 after he miscued a slow ball to Buttler at long-off. Rahul Tripathi then went for 47 off 29 as he holed out to deep midwicket, leaving 44 more to get in 16 balls.
Chahal then got his fourth with Aidan Markram gone lbw for six as the momentum swung favourably for Rajasthan. Glenn Phillips, though, had different ideas as he hit the first three balls of the 19th for six to get the equation down to 23 off nine.
He then got an edge down to third man for four more, before skying the next as he departed for a stunning 25 from seven with Hetmyer taking a fine catch running back from cover. With 17 needed, Abdul Samad got two from the first ball of the final over after Obed McCoy put him down running back from short third man.
Joe Root then parried the next ball over the ropes for six after he just about managed to get a hand on it. Sandeep Sharma did well to keep the equation down to five needed off the last delivery and it turned out to be enough as Samad holed out to Buttler.
Incredibly, though, Sandeep was shown to have overstepped, meaning Sunrisers had a free hit to get the four now required from the last delivery. Samad duly hit the final ball down the ground for six as Sunrisers won by four wickets in astonishing fashion with Samad unbeaten on 17 off seven.
Match 53 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings
Harshit Rana got an early breakthrough after he induced an edge from Prabhsimran Singh which flew to Rahmanullah Gurbaz who took the catch at the second attempt with the opener gone for 12 off eight. After three leg byes in a row to start the fourth over, Bhanuka Rajapaksa nicked Harshit behind to Gurbaz without scoring.
19 then came off the fifth, before Liam Livingstone was adjudged lbw for 15 off nine off the bowling of Varun Chakaravarthy as Punjab ended the powerplay 58-3. They reached 82-3 at halfway as Shikhar Dhawan and Jitesh Sharma began to rebuild the innings. Jitesh then got a feather behind off Chakaravarthy for 21 from 18 as Punjab fell to 106-4 midway through the 13th.
Shikhar brought up a 41-ball fifty via a slog sweep for six off Sunil Narine, but he departed shortly after for 57 off 47 with Nitish Rana having him caught at long-on. Chakaravarthy (4-0-26-3) got his third with Rishi Dhawan bowled for 19 off 11. Next over, Sam Curran skied Suyash Sharma (4-0-26-1) for just four off nine.
Having been seven down at that point, Punjab were in danger of failing to compile a competitive total. That changed, though, as Shahrukh Khan (21 off eight) and Harpreet Brar (17 off nine) took 36 off the last two overs to see the Kings to 179-7 with a partnership of 40 off 18.
A slower ball from Nathan Ellis removed Gurbaz lbw for 15 off 12 as KKR cruised to 52-1 after the powerplay. The big wicket then came as Jason Roy completely miscued a sweep out to deep midwicket for 38 off 24.
The Knight Riders' momentum had slowed slightly as they reached 76-2 at halfway, though the fifty partnership between Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish was brought up in 37 balls. Venkatesh then skied one off Rahul Chahar to long-off for 11 from 13 to leave 65 needed from 38.
Nitish got to fifty in 37 balls but holed out next ball after mistiming a switch hit that Livingstone took well running round from long-off. Three sixes from Andre Russell in the 19th got the equation down to just seven off seven as Kolkata saw the win in sight.
With two needed from two, Russell missed a great full ball from Arshdeep, with Jitesh and Arshdeep combining to run the main man out for 42 off 23 to leave the door open for a Punjab win. A poor leg-side full toss from Arshdeep, though, was swatted away for four by Rinku Singh, who finished 21 off ten, to see KKR home by four wickets.
Match 54 - Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Du Plessis was dropped by Wadhera at midwicket first ball, before Kohli charged Jason Behrendorff next ball and got a nick behind for one. Anuj Rawat then tried a lap shot but ended up getting a big leading edge to short third man where Green took the catch running back from slip.
Du Plessis and Maxwell helped RCB recover to 56-2 after the powerplay, with another brilliant fifty partnership coming up in just 25 balls shortly after with another Maxwell six over midwicket. Maxwell himself then brought up a half-century in the same amount of deliveries, before du Plessis reached his own fifty in 30 balls.
The hundred partnership soon followed, being brought up in 53 just balls with a scandalous stroke from Maxwell which was some sort of reverse lap shot that incredibly went for six over third man. The Australian then holed out to deep midwicket off Behrendorff (4-0-36-3) for 68 from 33 midway through the 13th to leave RCB 136-3.
Kumar Kartikeya then had Lomror chopping on for one as Mumbai sought to claw some momentum back. The first ball of the next over saw du Plessis depart for 65 off 41 after he miscued a lap shot to short fine leg where Vishnu Vinod just about held on to a juggled catch.
Karthik was then surprisingly put down on 14 by Green who was coming in from long-on. He did, though, depart first ball of the 18th after he holed out to deep midwicket off Chris Jordan for 30 off 18. Madhwal conceded just six in the last over to limit RCB to 199-6 after the penultimate over from Jordan went for just eight.
The fifty came up midway through the fifth with Kishan blazing away on 42 off 20, but Wanindu Hasaranga had him caught behind next ball. The Sri Lankan then got a second as Rohit was out lbw for seven off eight, with Mumbai getting to 62-2 after the powerplay.
Mumbai kept the run-rate going as they reached 99-2 at halfway, before Suryakumar brought up a typically inventive and productive fifty in just 26 balls. He then brought up 3000 IPL runs with a brilliant slog sweep for six off Hasaranga to bring the equation below a run-a-ball. Suryakumar's sensational innings ended on 83 off 35 with just eight needed in 26 balls after he holed out to deep midwicket.
David perished next ball as he chipped one straight to Maxwell running in from long-off, before Wadhera secured the win with a stunning six over extra cover, bringing up his own fifty in 34 balls. Mumbai took another strong win by six wickets with 21 balls to spare.
Match 55 - Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals
Having led somewhat of a charmed life in his innings, Conway's luck finally ran out after he was out lbw sweeping Axar Patel for ten off 13. The Super Kings reached 49-1 after the powerplay, but next ball Gaikwad lofted Axar (4-0-27-2) down to long-off where Aman Khan ran in to take the catch, with the second CSK opener gone for 24 from 18.
Moeen Ali couldn't get going and eventually sliced one off Kuldeep Yadav to point for seven off 12. Chennai were not going smoothly at 66-3 at halfway and there progress was halted further when Lalit Yadav took a ridiculous return catch to get rid of Rahane for 21 off 20 as he somehow managed to get down to his right to pluck the ball just inches off the ground.
The hundred came up after 13.2 overs following the second huge six in a row from Dube, with 23 eventually coming off it. Dube then holed out to deep midwicket next over for 25 off 12, before Rayudu's innings ended on 23 off 17 when he picked out long-on off the bowling of Khaleel.
21 came off the 19th with MS Dhoni finding the boundary with regularity, before Jadeja perished second ball of the final over for 21 off 16 after failing to clear long-on. Dhoni was then out in similar fashion for 20 off nine as Marsh (3-0-18-3) collected his third as CSK ended 167-8.
Warner goes second ball as he miscues a cut to cover, Salt takes a hit to the ribs then responds with a 100m six before Chahar has the last laugh as Salt skies one to mid-on running back for 17 from 11. A huge mix-up between Marsh and Manish Pandey sees the former stranded and run out for five.
Pandey and Rossouw steadied the ship for the next nine overs, but with 84 needed from 43 Pathirana delivered a stunning 149kph yorker to remove Pandey lbw for 27 from 29.
Delhi's last remaining hope in Rossouw was then dismissed for 35 off 37 as he failed to clear Pathirana at long-on off the bowling of Jadeja (4-0-19-1). The Capitals eventually finished on 140-8, with Pathirana again impressing as he took 3-37 in his four overs as the Super Kings claimed a straightforward 27-run victory.
Match 56 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals
Boult got the breakthrough with Roy gone for ten off eight after he flicked one out to deep square leg where Hetmyer took a great catch, just about clinging on while staying within the boundary. Boult (3-0-15-2) then removed the other KKR opener as Gurbaz struck one to mid-off where Sandeep flew to his right to dismiss him for 18 off 12.
The scoring slowed as KKR got to 37-2 after the powerplay, with boundaries hard to come by in the following overs. 18 came from the tenth, though, as KKR reached 76-2 at halfway. Two balls later, Chahal got his 184th IPL wicket to become highest wicket-taker in the competition's history as Nitish slog swept him to deep square leg for 22 off 17.
Russell then chopped a quick ball from KM Asif to backward point the ball after striking him for six, departing for a run-a-ball ten. Venkatesh eventually got to fifty in 39 balls, having been 11 off 20. He then skied Chahal to cover for 57 off 42, before the record-breaker then had Shardul Thakur out lbw for one.
Rinku was unable to fully get going and he holed out to Root at long-off for 16 from 18 as Chahal (4-0-25-4) claimed his fourth. Root pouched another as Narine hit the last ball of the innings straight to him, with KKR finishing 149-8.
Jaiswal sensationally opened the chase with back-to-back sixes followed by consecutive fours off the first four balls of the innings bowled by Nitish, before finishing the over with another cut for four more as 26 came off the first over.
Buttler was run out without scoring after a direct hit from Russell, but it was an absolutely incredible start from Jaiswal which saw him break the IPL record for fastest half-century, getting there in just 13 balls. Rajasthan as a result were 78-1 after the powerplay, with Jaiswal on 62. Samson was put down on 15 by Narine off his own bowling as the Royals flew to 107-1 at halfway.
Samson then hit three sixes off the next over to throw Jaiswal's hopes of another hundred in to jeopardy. The hundred partnership between the two soon came up in 58 balls, with net run-rate now becoming a strong focus with the outcome of the match essentially a foregone conclusion.
With three needed off 43 and Samson on strike, the captain went out of his way to block the final ball of the 13th to give Jaiswal a chance to hit his hundred, with the opener on 94. Jaiswal could only manage a four off the next ball as he finished on a sensational 98 not out off 47 balls, with Samson 48 from 29 as Rajasthan crushed KKR by nine wickets with a whopping 41 balls to spare.
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