The third week of the IPL 2023 saw some high-scoring matches at the start of the match and then some slow second half. None of the IPL match this season is less than a thriller game. Many of the games hold on viewers attention till the last over as they were either won in the last over or on the last ball.
The 3rd week saw players hold onto themselves to come out of critical situations. Throughout the third week of IPL 2023, we saw some brilliant individual player performances. Some of them are as follows:
1. Devon Conway (CSK) 83 runs off 45 balls vs RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) in Bengaluru
Adding a new page to the famous Chennai-Bangalore rivalry, Devon Conway smashed his second successive 50 against Royal Challengers. Along with this Shivam Dube at 52 runs off 27 balls, the opener acted as a medium for CSK’s win in their away ground.
After being asked to bat first, Conway lost Ruturaj Gaikwad his opening partner. He then joined Ajinkya Rahane and Dube, with them Conway added 154 runs. With the help of six 4’s and sixes, Devon set the Chinnaswamy Stadium on fire. This led his team CSK to their third-best ever total of 226/6 in IPL.
Despite Glenn Maxwell’s marvelous performance, CSK managed to restrict RCB to 218 runs. Chennai won the match by eight runs. For his quality play, Devon Conway was given the Player of the Match.
2. Axar Patel (DC) 2/13 & 19*(22) vs KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) in IPL 2023
Axar Patel once again saved Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023. His all-rounder performance in a rain-delayed match gave Delhi its first win after five successive defeats of the current season. Axar trapped Mandeep Singh playing a ramp shot, and this spoke volumes about his abilities and skills. In his third over, his efficiency forced Rinku Singh, KKR star batter to try a new shot and it led to his dismissal.
When Warner was going strong with the bat, Axar hardly knew that he would have to bat and support his team. This situation arose when Warner got dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy. Axar came to nullify Varun’s threat. He kept the game going but the situation got critical when he lost Capital players Manish Pandey and Aman Khan in a gap of three balls.
He stood tall on the pitch that was assisting spinners in the whole match. His performance helped Delhi Capitals win the game.
3. Venkatesh Iyer (KKR) scoring 104 runs off 53 balls vs MI in Mumbai in IPL 2023
The highest individual score of IPL 2023 also came in the third week as Venkatesh Iyer ended Kolkata’s 15-year drought for a century. Iyer smashed 104 runs off just 51 balls during the match against Mumbai lndians.
After being asked to bat first, Iyer fought a battle with the bat against Mumbai based franchise on all alone. This was because he was the only Kolkata’s batter to keep his wicket intact for most of the innings.
4. Shimron Hetmyer (Rajasthan Royals) 56* off 26 balls vs Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad
Batting at a great average of 92.5 with a strike rate of about 177 – these are some big numbers that Shimron Hetmyer has gathered up so far in the current IPL.
He has already played a couple of knocks for his team Rajasthan Royals (RR). But his excellent performance came in the game between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Gujarat Titans (GT). Sanju Samson, the captain of RR won the toss for the Royals and opted to bowl first. They also did a nice job of restricting the Titans to a sum of 177/7 at the end of their 20 over inning.
The run-chase although, did not start very well with RR as they lost both their openers by the third over with just four runs on the table. Devdutt Padikkal came towards his 25 ball 26 runs, whereas Sanju Samson took the initiative to get his team back in the IPL tournament.
5. Cameron Green (MI) 64*(40) and 1/29 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Cameron Green’s all-rounder performance puts him in the week’s one of the best all-round performances list. This Australian has impressed with both ball and bat. His game made Mumbai Indians have three wins in a sequence after two defeats. Rohit placed him at the third number against Sunrisers. Green made a good start and once he got all set, he started scoring quickly.
Initially, he was going slow, but then he smashed consecutive boundaries against Washington Sundar and Marco Jansen. In the 18th over of the match, he smashed Natrajan for three consecutive boundaries to bring achieve his maiden IPL fifty. He then ended the over with a six over long off. He ended the match with 64* off 40 balls as his personal score. It wasn’t an easy to bat on such a pitch as the ball was gripping there a bit.
Cameron carried forward his confidence into the bowling too. He picked up an important wicket of the SRH skipper and also broke the support system of SRH’s batting. He also bowled a fine over to help Arjun Tendulkar defend 20 in the very last over of the match. Green’s impressive bowling performance helped Mumbai Indians to fetch two important points. He really came into the groove, which was most importantly a positive sign for the Mumbai based franchise.
ALSO READ: https://trendingsportsnews.com/ipl-2023-fines-imposed/
Pingback: IPL'S 4TH WEEK: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS -