IPL 2023: Top 5 all-round performances from sixth week of tournament
With Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals clash, week six of the Indian Premier League came to an end. Like other weeks, the sixth week also saw an exciting brand of cricket being played among the franchises. As we're getting close to the knockout stage, franchises are leaving no stones unturned. Except for Delhi Capitals, all other teams are in playoff contention.
With the advent of impact players and franchises regularly using them, the impact of all rounders has gone down slightly. Captains tend to go with specialist batters or bowlers as they have an extra option nowadays. Still we get to see quality all round performances from the players. They intend to create an impact in the match both with bat and ball.
So, we have selected some fine performances of this week's play. To every Indian fan's delight, we have three instances where Indian players have delivered their all round brilliance. The other two spots are taken by Mitchell Marsh and Tristan Stubbs. Interestingly, among them Nitish Rana and Tristan Stubbs are new entrants.
5) Tristan Stubbs 20(21) & 1/14 vs CSK
Young Proteas prodigy Tristan Stubbs played Mumbai Indians' both IPL games against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings this season. In the reverse fixture at Chepauk Stadium, he made his comeback into MI's setup after almost a month. On a tricky surface like Chepauk, he came to bat right after Suryakumar Yadav got out in the eleventh over. Stubbs who loves pace on the bat, struggled to get going.
It wasn't an easy deck for him to get going. So he took his time against spinners to settle in. The situation too didn't permit him to smash hard. He looked comfortable against pacers and found boundaries against Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana. His short cameo helped MI to post a respectable total after the early struggle.
Not very much known for his bowling, Stubbs was handed over to bowl by Rohit Sharma. And surprisingly, he gave Rohit the wicket of Ambati Rayadu. Though it was a soft dismissal and the batter had hit him for a six earlier, it had little impact on the outcome. But the little Stubbs bowled, he looked to be a handy bowler, and if groomed well he can be an asset for MI.
4) Nitish Rana 51(38) & 1/7 vs PBKS
Nitish Rana had shown Kolkata Knight Riders the way by leading from the front. The Delhi cricketer first rose to the occasion in the match against Punjab Kings with the ball. On a slow deck at Eden Gardens, he decided to roll his arm in the fifteenth over.
This time he dismissed his counterpart Shikhar Dhawan who was well set scoring his another IPL fifty. Trying to take on Nitish, Dhawan miscued one high in the air and Vaibhav Arora took the catch. Although Rana bowled one over only, he had an immediate impact with Dhawan's wicket. But power hitting from the lower order took the score close to 180.
While chasing the score, Rana found himself in the middle inside powerplay. The attacking batter restrained himself from playing shots. He took the game deep, and kept on taking singles to keep the runs coming. He smashed Liam Livingstone in the eleventh over for boundaries. But immediately after reaching his fifty, he got out to Rahul Chahar.
3) Axar Patel 2/27 & 21(12) vs CSK
Axar Patel is performing to his full potential. The southpaw cricketer has been the lone warrior in most of the matches for his franchise Delhi Capitals. In this game against Chennai Super Kings, Axar contributed equally both with bat and ball. He struck straightway when he trapped CSK opener Devon Conway leg before the wicket.
Later on the first ball of his next over, he got the other opener Ruturaj Gaikwad caught right after the powerplay. The ball held onto the pitch and came late to Rutu. Ajinkya Rahane hit him for boundaries in that over and later Shivam Dube smashed him for a six, but by then Axar did his part to hold the flow of runs.
Chasing the score, DC delayed his entry point surprisingly and he walked out to bat in the middle. The required run rate was touching the sky; but still, Axar freed his arms. His short cameo of 21 off 12 went in vain, as DC fell short by 27 runs.
2) Mitchell Marsh 26(17) & 2/21 vs RCB
Mitchell Marsh was the star performer for Delhi Capitals in their home match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In a must-win game for both sides, Marsh delivered yet again. Bowling first, right after powerplay, he bowled according to the true nature of the pitch. His slower deliveries worked on this relatively slow deck against batters going hard.
In his second over, the Aussie provided them with two back to back breakthroughs. He dismissed Faf du Plessis, the IPL 2023 Orange Cap and then his own countryman Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck. These two crucial wickets broke the momentum of RCB's run-scoring. Though Mahipal Lomror hit Marsh for a biggie, but that wasn't enough.
While coming to bat at number three, the stage was set for him. He took on from there, hammering Josh Hazelwood on the front foot. He well complemented Phil Salt who was on song. Later, before falling to Harshal Patel off to a low full toss, he smashed him for a boundary as well. Marsh would be very happy that his all round brilliance helped DC to fetch two points.
1) Hardik Pandya 1/2 & 39*(15) vs RR
After a forgetful outing in the last face-off, Hardik Pandya was desperate to win the match against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, and he led the pack from the front. Sharing the new ball, he dismissed Jos Buttler after trapping him according to the field. This was the start of the batting collapse for the home team.
Being captain of the side, he brought on Rashid Khan early in the attack. He knew Rashid would want to go big after Sanju Samson's assault in the last match, and the Afghan all-rounder responded back with a match-winning spell. As a result, Rajasthan Royals got bundled out for 118 runs only.
By the time Hardik came to bat, the situation was well under control. Both the openers gave a blistering start. And Hardik, understanding the need of the hour, came swinging his bat. He took on Adam Zampa for 6,4,6,6 to kill the chase then and there. His stormy innings of 39 off 15 balls helped GT to boost their NRR.
from Cricket Appeal: The Best and Funny Appeals in Cricket History – HOWZAT!!! | CricTracker.com https://ift.tt/c2EoPs0
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