Another action-packed week of IPL 2023 is underway, and we have already seen some thrilling matches in the last few days. On Sunday, a double-header, the Royal Challengers Bangalore took down Rajasthan Royals in a contest that went right down to the wire. In contrast, the Chennai Super Kings outclassed the Kolkata Knight Riders in the day’s second game. It turned out to be a low-scoring affair on Monday as Delhi Capitals registered their second win on the trot by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad at their den.
Best Moments from the Games:
RCB vs RR
The best moment from the RCB vs RR match was the 127-run stand between Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis. They took RCB from 12/2 to 139 within just 11 overs. Du Plessis played an excellent hand of 62 off 39 deliveries, whereas Maxwell also smashed 77 from 44 deliveries.
Earlier in the match, Trent Boult produced an exceptional new ball spell as he dismissed Virat Kohli for a Golden Duck and then picked up the wicket of Shahbaz Ahmed in the very next over. Rajasthan’s Devdutt Padikkal returned to form with a well-made 52 from 34 deliveries, and youngster Dhruv Jurel impressed with a 16-ball cameo of 34.
CSK vs KKR
This match had many memorable moments, but the most memorable of them all was Ajinkya Rahane’s 29-ball knock of 71. The veteran batter smashed the KKR bowlers around the ground, hitting six fours and five huge sixes. He also shared an 85-run stand with Shivam Dube, who smashed a fifty off 21 balls. Devon Conway also carried his rich vein of form forward with an excellent knock of 56.
Jason Roy impressed for KKR with an excellent hand of 61 off 26 deliveries. Rinku Singh tried his best with an unbeaten 53, but they didn’t find support from the other batters as KKR fell short of the target by 49 runs.
SRH vs DC
This was a low-scoring affair but it had some excellent moments. A 69-run stand between Manish Pandey and Axar Patel revived Delhi after they were struggling at 62/5. Both batters scored 34 runs each. Patel then returned to bowl an excellent spell of 4-0-21-2, which included the wicket of a well-set Mayank Agarwal for 49.
SRH lost their way in the middle, but Heinrich Klaasen tried to bring them back with an excellent 19-ball cameo of 31. Mukesh Kumar also bowled an incredible final over, where he nailed yorkers to perfection to defend Delhi’s total.
Predictions
We will witness two more exciting matches over the next couple of days, on April 25 and 26. Here, we will predict the outcomes of these matches and how the players’ performances might pan out.
Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians
After beating Lucknow Super Giants in an away fixture, the Gujarat Titans gear up to take on the Mumbai Indians at home. The Titans have been in pretty good form, having won four out of their six matches. On the other hand, Mumbai lost an important game to Punjab at home in their last game. They have three wins from six games and are sitting three places behind Gujarat in seventh place.
As far as this contest goes, the Titans have the upper hand owing to their superior bowling attack. Home advantage will play a significant role for them as well. Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan, and Mohit Sharma add a lot of experience to their bowling attack. Youngsters like Alzarri Joseph and Noor Ahmad have also made their presence felt. Mumbai has a couple of experienced overseas pacers in Jofra Archer and Jason Behrendorff, but Archer’s form and fitness are still concerned. Spinner Piyush Chawla is also experienced, but the rest of the bowling attack isn’t as reliable.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders
This game is going to be an excellent contest. The two teams have met once this season already, with KKR emerging victorious at their den. That was a big win as KKR won by 81 runs. RCB will be looking to avoid a result like that this time around, and they have also been in much better form of late than KKR.
RCB are coming into this encounter on the back of consecutive wins, whereas KKR are entering this contest having faced defeats in their last four matches. RCB have been firing in both batting and bowling departments, while KKR’s bowling woes don’t seem to end. With home advantage in their favour as well, RCB also looks like the utmost favourites to win this clash.
