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Yashasvi Jaiswal arguably played the knock of IPL 2023 so far as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) thrashed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by nine wickets at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, May 11.
After being asked to bat first, the home side never really got going. Venkatesh Iyer did score 57 runs but consumed 42 deliveries. Yuzvendra Chahal headlined the show for Rajasthan in the first innings, picking up four wickets and eclipsing Dwayne Bravo to become the highest wicket-taker in IPL history.
KKR could only muster 149/8 in their 20 overs, which looked defendable at the innings break, given the surface at Eden Gardens aids spinners and Kolkata had plenty of them.
But Yashasvi Jaiswal was a different beast altogether. He began by taking KKR skipper Nitish Rana to the cleaners, scoring 26 runs off the first over. Since then, there was no stopping him as he remained unbeaten on 98 off 47 deliveries. RR skipper Sanju Samson (48*) also played a handy knock as the visitors chased down the total in just 13.1 overs.
There were plenty of notable moments that created a buzz among fans on Thursday. On that note, let's take a look at three such instances.
#1 Yashasvi Jaiswal's fastest 50
RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was on fire from the first ball of the run chase. He took every bowler to the cleaners, reaching his half-century in just 13 deliveries. He struck seven boundaries and three sixes to reach the milestone.
With that, he registered the fastest fifty in the history of the competition, leapfrogging KL Rahul and Pat Cummins. Both of them reached the landmark in 14 deliveries.
Jaiswal eventually remained unbeaten on 98 runs and took his season's tally to 575 runs, one short of the tournament's highest run-scorer Faf du Plessis (576).
#2 Sandeep Sharma's diving catch
Senior pacer Sandeep Sharma turned out to be a villain in RR's last game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He bowled a no-ball on the final delivery of the match, which cost his side the game.
However, the RR seam bowler redeemed himself on Thursday, dismissing Sunil Narine in the 20th over. But it was his diving catch to dismiss Rahmanullah Gurbaz that caught the attention of many.
The Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter threatened to take the attack to the opposition with a couple of sixes in the fourth over bowled by Sharma. He drilled one straight past the bowler, Trent Boult, in the next over but couldn't cross the mid-off fielder.
Sharma, who was at the receiving end in the previous over, intercepted the ball with a full-length dive to end Gurbaz's stay in the middle.
#3 RR spinner Yuzvendra Chahal becoming the highest IPL wicket-taker
Senior leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is a certified IPL legend. He came into Thursday's contest with 183 wickets under his belt, the joint-highest in the competition alongside Dwayne Bravo.
Chahal dismissed Nitish Rana on the second ball of his spell to take the pole position. He eventually finished with a four-wicket haul, taking his tally to 187 scalps.
With that, the leg-spinner has also gone past Mohammed Shami in the list of highest wicket-takers in IPL 2023. He now has 21 wickets, compared to Shami's 19.
