It was another action-packed weekend of IPL 2023, as we witnessed four thrilling encounters in just a couple of days. All of them were nail-biting matches that kept us right at the edge of our seats. Here, we shall look at how those matches went and will also try to predict the match's outcome on April 24.
Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans
This was a low-scoring affair on a slow pitch, but the game wasn't short of tense moments. Hardik Pandya's 66 and Wriddhiman Saha's 47 helped Gujarat to post a total of 135/6 in their 20 overs. Lucknow, in response, enjoyed a perfect start, scoring 53/0 in the first six overs. But everything just fell apart for them after that. Skipper KL Rahul and the other batters probably took it too easily.
They needed 30 to win with six overs remaining, but Rahul took the match to the last over, which saw some brilliant bowling by Mohit Sharma to restrict them seven runs short of the target. A total of four wickets fell in that over, while only four runs were scored. The Titans won the match by seven runs in the end, and Mohit Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling figures of 3-0-17-2.
Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians
While the day game was a low-scoring thriller, the evening one was a high-scoring one. Skipper Sam Curran scored a fifty, while Harpreet Bhatia and Jitesh Sharma played brilliant cameos of 41 and 25, respectively, to post a total of 214/8 on a beautiful batting track at the Wankhede. Mumbai, in response, started well, with captain Rohit Sharma smashing 44 off 27 balls. Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav also kept them going with knocks of 67 and 57, respectively.
However, Suryakumar's dismissal in the 18th over turned the tide in Punjab's favour. With 16 needed to win off the last over, Arshdeep Singh bowled a brilliant spell, conceding just two runs and claiming as many wickets as possible. Mumbai ultimately fell short by 13 runs. Curran was adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round show.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals
The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru produced another high-octane clash between RCB and RR. The hosts didn't get off to the best of starts as Trent Boult got Virat Kohli out for a Golden Duck in the first delivery of the innings. Shahbaz Ahmed, who walked in to bat at No.3, also returned to the dugout in the third over. Boult was the man who dismissed him again. However, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell launched a brilliant counter-attack after that. Du Plessis scored 62 from just 39 deliveries, whereas Maxwell smashed 77 off 44 balls to propel RCB to 189/9.
The Royals encountered a similar start as RCB as they lost Jos Buttler for a duck in the first over of their innings. But youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal put on a brilliant stand of 98 runs after that to get them back in the game. The partnership got broken when Padikkal got dismissed for 52. Jaiswal followed soon for a well-made 47. Skipper Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel tried their best after that, with contributions of 22 and 34, respectively, but they still fell seven runs short of the target. RCB went on to win the match, and Harshal Patel was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-32-3.
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings
This was another high-scoring encounter, but the Chennai Super Kings completely outclassed KKR. CSK posted a massive total of 235/4 on the board, riding in fifties from Shivam Dube and Devon Conway. But Ajinkya Rahane stole the show with a brilliant knock of 71 off just 29 deliveries. The KKR bowlers looked helpless and clueless in the face of the attack.
Chasing the target, KKR lost both openers early as they were reduced to ½ within the second over itself. Venkatesh Iyer (20) and Nitish Rana (27) tried but couldn't accelerate much. Jason Roy restored hope for the KKR fans with his 26-ball 61 in the middle overs. Rinku Singh also stayed unbeaten on 53 off 33, but none of the efforts was enough to chase down CSK's massive total. KKR reached 186/8 in the end, losing the match by 49 runs.
Prediction
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals
This will be a battle between the bottom-placed teams in the IPL table. The Sunrisers are sitting in ninth place, having won just two of their six matches so far, whereas the Capitals are sitting in 10th place with one win from six games. However, the momentum is with the Capitals now, who won their last match against KKR. SRH, on the other hand, are coming into this game on the back of a crushing defeat against CSK.
But SRH are the stronger team on paper, and they are also playing at home. Their batting and bowling units are much better than the Capitals, giving them a massive edge going into this contest. SRH will be the favourites to win this encounter, and they might do so by a big margin.