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The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 came down to a nail-biting finish as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Gujarat Titans (GT) battled it out in a pulsating final. The Super Kings emerged victorious thanks to a last-ball boundary in Ahmedabad on Monday, May 29.
The grand finale summed up a scintillating season with plenty of ebbs and flows between 10 teams till the last game of the league stages.
Throughout the season, there was an embarrassment of riches in terms of the talent on display, with numerous incredible performances from different individuals.
Shubman Gill won the Orange cap for his outstanding season with the bat, scoring 890 runs in 17 matches. His Gujarat Titans teammate Mohammed Shami bagged the Purple Cap with 28 wickets.
GT also boasted the top three leading wicket-takers in the season with Shami, Rashid Khan, and Mohit Sharma.
Apart from those three bowlers, several others produced sparkling performances throughout the league stages and playoffs.
With another terrific season done and dusted, let us look at the top five spells of IPL 2023.
#1 Akash Madhwal - 5/5 (MI vs LSG, Eliminator)
The best spell of the season came from Uttarakhand right-arm pacer Akash Madhwal. His bowling figures of 5/5 in 3.3 overs helped the Mumbai Indians (MI) edge past the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Eliminator.
The 29-year-old picked up the first wicket of LSG's batting innings in their reply to MI's 182/8 in 20 overs.
Madhwal then returned to pick up the crucial wickets of Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran in his second over to reduce LSG from 74/3 to 74/5 and effectively derail their run chase.
Akash Madhwal's figures were the best by a bowler in IPL playoff history. It helped MI advance to Qualifier 2 to take on the Gujarat Titans (GT).
He finished the season with 14 wickets at an average of 15.64 and an economy rate of 8.59 runs per over.
#2 Mohit Sharma - 5/10 (GT vs MI, Qualifier 2)
Gujarat Titans' seamer Mohit Sharma took a leaf from Akash Madhwal's book to script his Cinderella story in Qualifier 2 against the Mumbai Indians.
Defending a massive total of 233/3 in their 20 overs, the Gujarat Titans seemed to be wilting under the onslaught by Suryakumar Yadav when Mohit Sharma entered the attack.
With 85 runs needed from 36 balls on a placid Ahmedabad track, the 34-year-old bowled one of the best spells in IPL playoff history. Mohit picked up five wickets in just 14 balls, including the vital scalp of Suryakumar Yadav on 61.
A game after Madhwal produced the best-ever bowling figures in the IPL playoffs, Mohit imprinted his name on the record books with the second-best bowling analysis.
In an incredible comeback season, the GT bowler finished with 27 wickets in 14 games at an average of 13.37 and an economy rate of 8.17 runs per over.
#3 Mark Wood - 5/14 (LSG vs DC, Match no. 3)
English speedster Mark Wood bowled one of the fastest and most devastating spells in IPL 2023. He helped the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) win the first game of their campaign against the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 50 runs.
After scoring a healthy 193/6 in their 20 overs, skipper KL Rahul looked to Wood to intimidate the DC batters and break a blossoming opening partnership.
The 33-year-old did just that as he removed Prithvi Shaw in the fifth over of the innings. It catapulted a collapse as Wood bowled with incredible pace and venom to decimate the DC batting lineup.
Wood finished with 5/14 in his spell, including the key wickets of Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, and Axar Patel.
Although Wood only played four games in the season, he picked up 11 wickets and helped LSG get off to a great start. They eventually made it to the playoffs but lost to Mumbai in the Eliminator.
#4 Arshdeep Singh - 4/29 (PBKS vs MI, Match no. 31)
Punjab Kings (PBKS) left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh bowled one of the most underrated spells of this year's IPL. He picked up 4/29 in his four overs to help PBKS secure a thrilling 13-run victory over the Mumbai Indians (MI).
The Kings batted first and scored 214/8 in arguably the best batting deck in the tournament at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
In response, MI appeared to be on course for a sensational win at 175/3 in 17 overs, with Suryakumar Yadav batting on 57 off 25 balls. However, Arshdeep had other ideas, as he dismissed Suryakumar on the fourth ball of the 18th over while conceding only nine runs.
MI still entered the final over of the run-chase, needing a manageable 16 runs, but the 24-year-old delivered one of the best overs of the season under pressure.
Arshdeep conceded just two runs and picked up the crucial wickets Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera to lead PBKS to a critical 13-run win.
#5 Varun Chakaravarthy - 4/15 (KKR vs RCB, Match no. 9)
While quite a few spinners played substantial roles in their team's success, the only spinner in our top five spells of IPL 2023 is Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) Varun Chakaravarthy.
The 31-year-old began his comeback season after a disastrous 2022 in the IPL with a fabulous spell of 4/15 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He helped KKR win the first game of their campaign.
After losing their first game against PBKS, KKR posted an impressive 204/7 in their 20 overs.
However, with the pitch assisting strokeplay and RCB possessing a dangerous batting lineup, the result was far from a foregone conclusion.
With RCB getting off to a flying start, KKR skipper Nitish Rana introduced Varun inside the powerplay. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer did not disappoint as he picked up the key wickets of Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell in his opening two overs.
Varun then came back to pick up another couple of wickets to lead KKR to their first win of the season by 81 runs.
Varun Chakaravarthy had an outstanding season in IPL 2023, picking up 20 wickets in 14 games at an economy rate of 8.15 runs per over.
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