IPL 2022: Top 3 batting performances from Week 3 

After three weeks of exhilarating cricket, the ongoing IPL 2022 is now slowly moving into a crucial phase. Teams are hoping to put together winning streaks in order to improve their prospects of making the playoffs.

After none of the teams breached the 200+ mark in Week 2, fans saw multiple high-scoring games in the following seven-day period. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) posted the highest score of the week when they scored a massive 216 runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Together, in a total of nine fixtures in Week 3, as many as 3,146 runs (475 runs more than in Week 2) have been scored by the 10 IPL franchises.

With that being said, let's take a look at the three best batting performances from Week 3 of IPL 2022.

Note: Only the games from Match 17 (CSK vs SRH) to Match 25 (SRH vs KKR) in IPL 2022 have been taken into consideration.

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#1. Shivam Dube's 95 off 46 vs RCB

Adding a new chapter to the CSK-RCB rivalry, Shivam Dube came back to haunt his former side and put up a sensational show in Mumbai. Along with opener Robin Uthappa (88 off 50), Dube acted as a catalyst for CSK's first win of the competition.

After being put to bat first, CSK were 36-2 when Dube joined Uthappa at the crease. After bidding their time till the tenth over, the CSK duo rattled the RCB bowlers with a six-hitting spree. While Uthappa smashed nine sixes in his innings, Dube clobbered eight maximums and took the Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners.

Every shot from the left-hander was clean as a whistle. With his long reach, powerful base, quick hands, and dazzling bat swing, Dube, like Yuvraj Singh, made six-hitting look incredibly effortless. Along with Uthappa, he attacked the already-depleted RCB bowling unit, who were without their star bowler Harshal Patel.

The 156-run stand between Dube and Uthappa for the third wicket propelled CSK to the highest score of this tournament - 216.

In response, RCB were always 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 allow RCB to come close.

However, the Faf Du Plessis-led side fell 23 runs short and handed CSK their first elusive points of the season.

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#2. Hardik Pandya's 87 off 52 vs RR

Leading an IPL team for the first time ever, Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya led his troops to the top of the table after his fantastic all-round display against the in-form Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai.

Pandya aced all three roles, starting with his flamboyant batting. After being put to bat first, he came at a time when the Titans faced two early setbacks in Matthew Wade (12) and Vijay Shankar (2).

The GT captain not only revived the side's innings but also steered them to a strong finish as the side ended at 192/4 in 20 overs.

The 28-year stitched a crucial counter-attacking partnership of 86 runs with youngster Abhinav Manohar (43 off 28). En route to his knock, Pandya slammed eight fours and a quartet of sixes as he slammed his second-successive half-century in the tournament.

During the second innings, the GT skipper got the better of his RR counterpart when he ran Sanju Samson out with a bulls-eye throw from mid-off. The Rajasthan batters kept losing their wickets at regular intervals after an early blitz from Jos Buttler (54 off 24).

Adding his finishing touches to the game, Pandya even took the wicket of Jimmy Neeshan in the 18th over. GT won the game by a margin of 37 runs.

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#3. Rahul Tripathi's 71 off 37 vs KKR

The main talking point of this season's IPL has been the performances of players against their old franchises. One such instance occurred on Friday night when Rahul Tripathi stood tall to demolish his ex-franchise in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

After choosing to bowl first, the left-arm duo of Marco Jansen (1/26) and T Natarajan (3/37) gave SRH a fantastic start by reducing KKR to 31-3. A well-made half-century from Nitish Rana (54 from 36) and Andre Russell's 49 off 25 meant KKR posted a usual score of 175-8.

While chasing, the Orange Army lost both their openers inside the powerplay. However, it didn't bother Tripathi as he continued to play his free-flowing strokes. He was severe against Varun Chakravarthy, never allowing the mystery spinner to settle into a line. Tripath also didn’t spare Pat Cummins' short deliveries, utilizing the short boundaries to good effect.

In his sensational innings of 71 off 37, the 31-year-old clobbered four boundaries and as many as six maximums. Tripathi found an able ally in Aiden Markram (68* off 36) who applied the finishing touches to the innings. The seven-wicket victory once again proved that Sunrisers mean business this time around.