Best playing 11 from Week 3 of IPL 2024 ft. Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya

Week 3 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 started with a clash between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and concluded with an encounter between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

The week witnessed CSK suffering their second defeat before they bounced back to win their third-straight home game of the season. RCB’s misery continued as they failed to clinch a win in the two games that they played.

MI, after losing three games in a row, registered back-to-back victories to get their campaign started. Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) unbeaten run in the tournament came to an end when Gujarat Titans (GT) defeated them in a thrilling encounter.

While the week witnessed some nail-biting clashes, several players came to the forefront and put up noteworthy performances, thereby making an impact in the games. That said, we look at the best XI of players, including the Impact Substitute, from Week 3 of the IPL 2024.

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Top order: Ishan Kishan, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (wk)

Ishan Kishan was phenomenal in the two wins that MI registered this week. He provided his side with the desired start while opening alongside Rohit Sharma, and his consistency is what makes him a strong contender in this XI.

Jos Buttler was at his best during RR’s chase against RCB earlier this week. While Virat Kohli notched up an unbeaten 113 in the first innings to help his side post 183/3, it was one of the slowest tons in the tournament and as a result, Buttler, for his 100* (58), found a place in this XI.

Sanju Samson notched up back-to-back half-centuries this week while leading his side against RCB and GT. Though RR faced a close defeat against GT, Samson played the anchor role while batting at No.3. He stitched together crucial partnerships to keep RR on track for a win.

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Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik

Suryakumar Yadav’s comeback to IPL wasn’t ideal, as he walked back scoring a two-ball duck against Delhi Capitals. But the World No. 1 T20I batter breathed fire when he took the field against RCB. Batting in the top order, Suryakumar Yadav scored a blistering 19-ball 52, thereby playing a key role in MI’s win.

Dinesh Karthik grabbed everyone’s attention in RCB’s recent game. His death-over blitzkrieg and finishing masterclass helped RCB overcome a collapse and post a decent total against MI. The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten, scoring 53 runs off 23 deliveries and proved why he can not be written off.

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All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rashid Khan

Amid all criticism, Hardik Pandya proved his worth not just as a captain, but also as a batter. Though he couldn’t make an impact with the ball, he contributed brilliantly to MI’s middle-order. Leading his side to a victory, Pandya scored 39 (33) against DC before showcasing his finishing skills by scoring 21* (6) against RCB.

Ravindra Jadeja has been in good form across departments. Though CSK suffered a loss against SRH, the all-rounder has been putting in efforts in every way possible. In the most recent home game against Kolkata Knight Riders, Jadeja bagged the Player of the Match award for his brilliance with the ball, registering figures of 3/18 in four overs.

Rashid Khan proved his worth as an all-rounder in GT’s recent game against RR earlier this week. He has been among wickets, striking at crucial junctures in the game. Rashid played a game-changing knock of an 11-ball 24* to take his side to a win on the final delivery of the game while also sharing an important partnership with Rahul Tewatia.

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Bowlers: Pat Cummins (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

Though Pat Cummins only has six wickets to his name from five matches, he is probably one of the finest captains in the league this season.

His teammates have put up dominant performances in the three victories that they’ve claimed so far and Cummins has been phenomenal leading the side. He can also be a handy batter down the order as everyone’s aware of the heroics that he has pulled off while representing KKR.

Jasprit Bumrah is currently one of the finest T20 bowlers and he provided several reasons for one to believe that claim in MI’s recent outing against RCB. The pacer wreaked havoc with the ball, becoming the first bowler in the history of IPL to scalp a five-wicket haul against RCB and finishing with figures of 5/21.

Arshdeep Singh’s initial struggles to get going came to an end when he took charge with the ball against SRH. The Punjab Kings pacer ran through the opposition’s top and middle-order to record a brilliant 4/29 in his four-over spell.

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Impact Substitutes: Mustafizur Rahman, Tristan Stubbs, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh

Speak of creating an impact and IPL will provide you with players in abundance. Both the Indian and the overseas players put in some noteworthy performances this week which made it difficult for this writer to stick with just one name.

Hence, like the teams give a list of five impact players, we’ve prepared a similar list that includes players who couldn’t find a place in this XI but gave a tough fight to those who are a part of it.

CSK’s Mustafizur Rahman missed out on one game but returned strongly to pick up two wickets against KKR. DC’s Tristan Stubbs notched up an unbeaten 25-ball 71 against MI but his efforts went in vain. Shivam Dube has been striking consistently in almost all of CSK’s outings, strengthening his case even further.

RR’s Yuzvendra Chahal showcased his prowess with the ball and jumped to the top position in the list of leading wicket-takers in the tournament before Bumrah equaled the numbers. With his knocks down the order, PBKS batter Shashank Singh proved not just once, but twice, that he isn’t an imposter in the team.