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The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is now at the half-way stage and the pressure on teams is mounting as the race for playoff qualification intensifies. The action in the tournament so far has been absorbing.
Rajasthan Royals are at the top of the points table, followed by Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. All three teams have ten points. Lucknow, Bangalore, and Punjab are all on eight points. Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi have struggled so far, but one can never rule a team out in the IPL.
One of the hallmarks of this year's IPL has been the quality of cricket and the batters have contributed significantly in this regard.
On that note, here's a look at the top three batting performances in the first half of the 2023 IPL season:
#3 Tilak Varma- 84* vs RCB
In their IPL season opener against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Mumbai Indians were struggling at 48-4 after 8.5 overs while batting first. Tilak Varma steadied the ship for his team and played a scintillating unbeaten 84-run knock off 46 balls. Scoring at a strike rate of 182.61, he struck four sixes and nine boundaries and almost single-handedly guided his team to a defendable total of 171.
RCB ended up chasing down the target easily, with eight wickets and 22 deliveries to spare. Captain Rohit Sharma praised Varma after the game and lauded the youngster for his courage.
#2 Venkatesh Iyer- 83 vs GT
Venkatesh Iyer's sensational innings against the Gujarat Titans flew under the radar due to Rinku Singh's match-winning heroics. GT scored 204 in the first innings, thanks to a couple of brilliant half-centuries by Sai Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar.
It was never going to be an easy chase, but Iyer, who came in as the impact player, helped set up a good platform for his team. He came to the crease with his side at 20-1 in 2.3 overs and while he took his time to settle, he made up for it in great fashion.
Iyer scored 83 off just 40 deliveries with eight boundaries and five sixes. However, after his dismissal, GT took full charge of the game and KKR required 31 off the last over.
Rinku Singh stunned everyone as he smashed five sixes in the final over to take KKR across the line. While Rinku was the star of the game, Iyer's fine knock took KKR within touching distance of the win.
#3 Shikhar Dhawan- 99* vs SRH
Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss against the Punjab Kings and elected to bowl first. The bowlers were right on the money as they reduced Punjab to 88-9 with Shikhar Dhawan having scored 47 of those. Still, it seemed that PBKS would be bowled out quickly.
However, the experienced Dhawan had other plans as he waged a lone battle, forging a 55 run partnership with the last man, Mohit Rathee, who contributed only one run off two deliveries. Dhawan farmed the strike brilliantly and still found ways to keep scoring, ending with an unbeaten 99. He couldn't complete his century, but saved PBKS from embarrassment and gave them a glimmer of hope.
SRH chased down the total rather easily, but Dhawan was adjudged the player of the match for what was one of the best innings in IPL history.
