Rajasthan Royals (RR) were leading the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 points after week three. RR had four wins from six games. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) also had four wins after six matches but were below RR on the IPL 2023 points table due to the net run rate. The mid-table scramble continued as Gujarat Titans (GT), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) had six points each. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (KKR) were eighth and ninth, respectively, with four points. Week three also saw Delhi Capitals (DC) getting on the board with their first win. Here is the team of IPL 2023 week three.
Openers: Faf du Plessis (captain) and Devon Conway
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis will lead the team of week three. The veteran batter smashed 62 off 33 balls against CSK as Bangalore went down fighting in a chase of 227. He also contributed a superb 84 off 56 balls as RCB beat Punjab by 24 runs.
CSK opener Devon Conway continued his spectacular form. The Kiwi left-hander was the Player of The Match for his 83 off 45 in the eight-run win over RCB. He followed it up with an unbeaten 77 off 57 as Chennai hammered SRH by seven wickets.
Middle order: Venkatesh Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Shimron Hetmyer
KKR batter Venkatesh Iyer finds a place for his stupendous 104 off 51 balls against MI. The superb knock featured six fours and nine sixes. Although Kolkata lost the game, he deservedly won the Man of the Match. RR skipper Sanju Samson will be the keeper-batter in the side. He slammed 60 off 32 against GT, hammering Rashid Khan for three consecutive sixes.
CSK batter Shivam Dube also finds a place in the dream team for his impressive batting. His 52 against RCB came off only 27 balls and played a big role in Chennai, crossing 220. RR finisher Shimron Hetmyer also makes the team. He was the Player of the Match for his 56 not out off only 26 balls, as Rajasthan pulled off a come-from-behind win over GT.
All-rounders & bowlers: Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
CSK all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the Player of the Match in his team’s win over SRH. He claimed 3/22, dismissing Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi and Mayank Agarwal. PBKS stand-in skipper Sam Curran also impressed with the ball. With his left-arm pace, he claimed 3/31 against LSG. Against RCB, he went for only 27 runs in his four overs.
Delhi Capitals vice-captain Axar Patel played a key role in Delhi’s maiden IPL 2023 triumph. After scoring 21 off 14 against RCB, he claimed 2/13 in the win over KKR, dismissing Mandeep Singh and Rinku Singh. He then guided the team home with the bat, remaining unbeaten on 19 off 22 balls.
DC’s other left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav also makes the list for two very impressive performances with the ball. He claimed 2/23 against RCB and followed it up with 2/15 versus KKR. Bangalore pacer Mohammed Siraj deservedly takes the lead fast bowler’s slot in the dream XI of week three. He followed up spells of 2/30 against DC and 1/30 versus CSK with 4/21 against PBKS. Siraj dismissed Atharva Taide and Liam Livingstone before returning to claim two tail-end wickets.