Week seven of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is behind us. After 70 matches, the T20 league got its four playoff teams. Defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) finished at the points table after the league stage. They ended with 20 points, winning 10 and losing only four games. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) finished second with 17 points. They won eight and lost five, while one match was abandoned. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) also ended with the same number of points but were third because of their net run rate. Mumbai Indians (MI) claimed the fourth spot, finishing with 16 points. Now, let’s look at IPL 2023’s team of week 7.
Openers: Prabhsimran Singh, Shubman Gill
Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) Prabhsimran Singh and GT’s Shubman Gill will be the dynamic young opening duo for IPL 2023 week seven. After a few false starts, Prabhsimran slammed 103 off 65 balls against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Delhi, hitting 10 fours and four sixes. The knock lifted PBKS to 167/7, and they went on to win the game by 31 runs.
GT opener Shubman Gill cracked two stunning hundreds to light up the last week of the league stage. He smacked 101 off 58 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, his maiden IPL ton. Gill hit 13 fours and a six as Gujarat won by 34 runs. He hammered an unbeaten 104 off 52 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The sublime innings knocked RCB out of IPL 2023.
Middle-order & all-rounders: Virat Kohli (c), Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Rinku Singh
It was a record-breaking week for IPL as Virat Kohli first equalled Chris Gayle’s tournament record of six tons and then broke it. The star RCB batter scored exactly 100 off 63 balls in a crushing eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He followed it up with an unbeaten 101 off 61 versus GT, which, unfortunately for RCB, was trumped by Gill.
MI all-rounder Cameron Green makes the cut for smashing his maiden T20 ton. Green smacked an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls as Mumbai chased down 201 against SRH to stay alive in the playoffs race and, eventually, confirm their spot. The terrific knock featured eight fours and as many sixes.
Marcus Stoinis, Heinrich Klaasen and Rinku Singh combine to form a strong middle order. Stoinis contributed 40 off 25 against LSG and followed it up with a game-changing 89 not out off 47 against MI, single-handedly putting them on course for victory.
SRH’s lone warrior, Klaasen, once again showed his class in week seven. He signed off a memorable personal season with 47 against LSG, 67 against GT and an incredible 104 off 51 balls against RCB. Kohli’s hundred, however, overpowered Klaasen’s ton.
KKR’s Rinku Singh is undoubtedly the finisher of the season. He ended IPL 2023 with back-to-back fifties. He was the Player of the Match for his 43-ball 54 against CSK as KKR pulled off an unexpected win. Rinku then gave a massive scare to LSG, clobbering 67 not out off 33. Lucknow survived to register a one-run win.
Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Akash Madhwal
CSK pacer Deepak Chahar found some much-needed rhythm heading into the playoffs. He shone with 3/27 against KKR and followed it up with a brilliant spell of 3/22 as Chennai hammered Delhi Capitals by 77 runs.
Punjab Kings left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar claimed 4/30 against DC in what was one of the finest performances by slow bowlers in week seven. Brar dismissed Phil Salt, Rilee Rossouw, David Warner and Manish Pandey in a sensational spell.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar registered figures of 5/30 in a losing cause against GT. His wonderful spell saw him dismiss Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan. The effort deserved better.
MI pacer Akash Madhwal is the surprise entry on the list. He registered figures of 4/37 against SRH. Madhwal sent back Vivrant Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen and Harry Brook to lead MI’s fightback in the game.