After 3-weeks of exciting cricket, the ongoing TATA IPL 2022 is slowly moving into an important phase. Teams expect to put together winning streaks to enhance their prospects of making the playoffs.
After none of the squad breached the 200+ mark in Week second, fans saw multiple high-scoring games in the following 7-day period. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) placed the highest week score when they secured a massive 216 runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Together, in a total of 9-fixtures in Week three, up to 3,146 runs (475 runs more than in Week second) have been secured by the 10 IPL franchises.
With that being said, let’s look at the 3-best batting performances from Week three of TATA IPL 2022.
Note: Only the game from Match 17 (CSK vs SRH) to Match 25 (SRH vs KKR) in IPL 2022 has been reflected.
#1. Shivam Dube’s 95 off 46 vs RCB
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Adding a new chapter to the CSK-RCB competition, Shivam Dube returned to haunt his former side and put up a fantastic show in Mumbai. Along with cricketer Robin Uthappa (88 off 50), Dube was a stimulus for CSK’s first success in the rivalry.
After being put to bat primary, CSK were 36-2 when Dube connected Uthappa at the crease. After bidding their time till the 10th over, the CSK duo uneasy the RCB bowlers with a 6-hitting spree. While Uthappa smashed 9-sixes in his innings, Dube clobbered 8-maximums and took the Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners.
Each move from the left-hander was clean as a whistle. With his long reach, strong base, quick hands, and dazzling bat swing, Dube, like Yuvraj Singh, made 6-hitting look unbelievably effortless. Along with Uthappa, he attacked the earlier-depleted RCB bowling unit, who were without their champion bowler Harshal Patel.
The 156-run stand between Dube and Uthappa for the 3rd wicket propelled CSK to the maximum score of this competition – 216.
In reaction, RCB were constantly on the trail of their target, losing 50 for 4. A 60-run partnership between Shahbaz Ahmed and Suyash Prabhudessai and a cameo from Dinesh Karthik (34 off 14) did permit RCB to come close.
Although, the Faf Du Plessis-led side fell 23 runs short and handed CSK their first impalpable points of the season.
#2. Hardik Pandya’s 87 off 52 vs RR
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Leading a TATA IPL team for the first time in its history, Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya led his troops to the top of the table after his awesome all-around display against the in-form Rajasthan Royals(RR) in Mumbai.
Pandya aced all 3-roles, beginning with his flamboyant batting. After being put to bat primary, he came when the GT faced too early setbacks in Matthew Wade (12) and Vijay Shankar (2).
The GT skipper regenerated the side’s innings and severed them to a powerful finish as the side ended at 192/4 in 20 overs.
The 28-year seamed an essential counter-attacking partnership of 86 runs with youngster Abhinav Manohar (43 off 28). Pandya slammed 8-fours and a quartet of sixes en route to his knock as he hit his 2nd-win half-century in the competition.
During the 2nd innings, the GT captain got the better of his RR counterpart when he ran Sanju Samson out with a target throw from mid-off. The Rajasthan cricketers kept losing their wickets during the regular period after an early blitz from Jos Buttler (54 off 24).
Adding his ending touches to the match, Pandya even took the wicket of Jimmy Neeshan in the 18th over. Gujarat Titans won the match by a margin of 37 runs.
#3. Rahul Tripathi’s 71 off 37 vs KKR
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The main speaking point of this season’s TATA IPL has been performers’ performances against their old franchises. One such instance happened on Friday evening when Rahul Tripathi stood tall to demolish his ex-franchise in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
After choosing to bowl primary, the left-arm duo of Marco Jansen (1/26) and T Natarajan (3/37) gave SRH a wonderful beginning by reducing KKR to 31-3. A well-made half-century from Nitish Rana (54 from 36) Russell’s Russell’s 49 off 25 meant KKR positioned usual runs of 175-8.
Meanwhile chasing, the Orange Army lost both their openers inside the powerplay didn’t though; it didn’t bother Tripathi as he maintained to play his free-flowing strokes. He was serious against Varun Chakravarthy, never permitting the mystery spinner to settle into didn’t. Tripath a Cummins”t spare Pat Cummins’ fast deliveries, employing the short boundaries to positive effect.
In his fantastic innings of 71 off 37, the 31-year-old clobbered 4-boundaries and as many as 6-maximums. Tripathi found an able ally in Aiden Markram (68* off 36), who employed the finishing touches to the innings. The 7-wicket victory once again proved that Sunrisers mean business this time around”d.