Our Thoughts on Week 1 of IPL 2023

The first week of the new IPL season did not fail to disappoint for exhilarating drama. In the opening match, the Chennai Super Kings took on the reigning champions the Gujarat Titans.

Out of the gate, the Titans made a solid start to their title defense, taking a five-wicket victory, and they followed that up with a six-wicket success in their second match of the season against the Delhi Capitals.

The Lucknow Super Giants became the first team to put three match victories on the board, scoring successes against Delhi, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, the Delhi Capitals had a nightmare first week, losing each of their first four matches.

Punjab Kings batsman Shikhar Dhawan (225 from three matches) and Delhi Capitals batsman David Warner (209 from four matches) were the first two batters to crack the 200 mark for the season.

Rashid Khan was the first player this season to produce a hat-trick, the Gujarat Titans stand-in captain getting the marker against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Rinku Singh Brings the Heat

Rinku Singh delivered one of the big highlights of the first week as his Kolkata Knight Riders required 29 runs from their final over in a match against Gujarat.

After a single off the first ball, Singh faced up to left-arm pace bowler Yash Dayal and cut loose. He dispatched three consecutive full tosses over the boundary before smashing the final two balls, both good-length deliveries for sixes, to win the match for his team.

Missed Mankad

At the end of the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Lucknow Super Giants match, the Challengers’ Harshal Patel was handed the ball to defend just five runs in the final over. Five balls in and he had leaked just four runs. On the final ball, Patel tried to stop and sweep the bails off in a Mankad against batter Ravi Bishnoi who had crept down the wicket. Patel couldn’t control his momentum though and missed. As Bishnoi dived back to his crease, Patel shied at the stumps and hit, but the Super Giants clinched the match thanks to a bye.

Dhawan Almost Cracks a Century

Shikhar Dhawan put on a strong display with the bat for the Punjab Kings in their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Kings were put into bat first and were immediately under pressure, losing three wickets in the power play. Shikhar Dhawan, in a nice partnership with Sam Curran, the league’s most expensive player, started to wrestle back some control. Dhawan stuck in there until the end, putting 99 on the scoreboard, but it proved to be in vain as Hyderabad won by eight wickets.

Looking Ahead to Week 2 of the IPL

In Week 2, the Lucknow Super Giants should have Mark Wood back in their bowling attack as they look to keep their form going against the Punjab Kings on Saturday, the same day that Royal Challengers Bangalore meet the Delhi Capitals.

Sunday’s action sees the Mumbai Indians take on the Kolkata Knight Riders. One of the Mumbai Indians’ star batters Suryakumar Yadav, who has been struggling for runs and who also messed up two catches against the Delhi Capitals in his last match, will look for some redemption.

After a scintillating half-century last time out from Axar Patel, the Mumbai Indians square up to the Kolkata Knight Riders in a mouth-watering clash on Sunday.

Another big match to look forward to is the Gujarat Titans meeting with Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals. The latter will be hoping that the in-form Jos Buttler keeps his consistency going after averaging more than 50 in his first three matches. His influence and a potential move up the batting order for Shimron Hetmyer could be a big feature.

Share this post!

Write a Reply or Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *