Top 3 team performances of IPL 2023

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) scripted history when they trounced Gujarat Titans (GT) on the last ball to win the IPL 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, May 29. Ravindra Jadeja was the hero for CSK with a match-winning cameo (19* off eight) in the summit clash, hitting 10 runs off the last over to help his side clinch their fifth IPL title.

The exhilarating match capped off what was one of the most tightly contested IPL seasons ever. While fans didn't get to see a Super Over, they weren't deprived of nail-biting contests throughout the season. Moreover, with the new Impact Substitute rule, all the teams always had an extra option available to them.

Having said that, there were also several instances where a particular team truly outperformed their opposition in all departments and won the match comfortably.

On that note, here are the top three team performances from the recently concluded IPL 2023.

#3 Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets in Jaipur, Match 48

Gujarat beat Rajasthan by nine wickets in Match 48 [IPLT20]

Winning 10 of their 14 league games, Gujarat Titans were the best team in the league stage of the tournament. Their most dominant win, however, came against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) away from home in Jaipur in Match 48 of the tournament.

After putting RR to bat first, Hardik Pandya drew first blood when he dismissed Jos Buttler inside the powerplay. RR skipper Sanju Samson looked dangerous when he hit three boundaries and a six to race to 30 runs but threw his wicket away against Joshua Little.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was also run-out in the sixth over before the two Afghan spinners - Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed - put the RR batters under pressure.

While Rashid bagged three scalps, Noor scalped twice in his three overs. From being 47/1, Rajasthan lost their remaining nine wickets inside just 71 runs and were bowled out for a mere 118.

In reply, GT openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill started steadily and mustered 49 runs in the powerplay. The duo added 71 runs for the opening wicket before Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Gill for 36.

While GT were already on the cusp of victory, Hardik came out to bat with solid intent. He played a magnificent knock of 39* off just 15 balls to help GT seal the deal in 13.5 overs.

This was RR's biggest defeat at home (in terms of balls remaining).

#2 Mumbai Indians defeat Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs in Chennai, Eliminator

Mumbai Indians eliminated Lucknow last week [IPLT20]

Mumbai Indians (MI) were helped by GT in qualifying for the playoffs. However, once they entered the knockouts, the five-time champions were always going to be a threatening opposition.

MI outclassed the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their Eliminator clash. On the slow surface in Chennai, MI posted a challenging target of 183 runs. Although none of the Mumbai batters notched up a fifty, there were crucial cameos right from the start.

Cameron Green scored 41 runs off 23 balls and stitched together a 66-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, who was dismissed for 33 runs.

Although Naveen-Ul-Haq (4/38) and Yash Thakur (3/24) kept chipping away wickets, Nehal Wadhera's 23 runs off 12 balls finished MI's innings on a high.

Mumbai carried their momentum in their bowling as well and completely eclipsed the LSG chase. Mumbai inflicted early blows and sent back both LSG openers, Prerak Mankad and Kyle Mayers inside the first four overs.

Marcus Stoinis (40 off 27) and Krunal Pandya (eight) added 46 for the third wicket to give Lucknow hope. But it all went haywire for the chasing side once the partnership was broken.

LSG lost their remaining eight wickets in the span of just 39 more runs, gifting the all-important match to Mumbai in the process.

Akash Madhwal was instrumental for MI as he took five wickets. He dismissed Mankad, Ayush Bandoni, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, and Mohsin Khan to finish with the best figures (5/5) in an IPL play-off game.

As if things were not bad enough for Lucknow, they gifted their wickets away via three run-outs. LSG were bundled out for a disappointing 101 in 16.3 overs. Mumbai's 81-run victory was the third-biggest win margin in an IPL play-off match.

#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Rajasthan Royals by 112 runs in Jaipur, Match 60

RCB bowlers completely ransacked the RR unit in Match 60 [IPLT20]

The biggest winning margin in this year's competition was recorded by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) when they trounced Rajasthan Royals by a gigantic 112 runs in Match 60 in Jaipur.

Electing to bat first on a track that held up a bit, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli got RCB off to a steady start. However, Kohli wasn't able to kick on and RCB lost their former skipper with the score at 50/1 after seven overs.

Glenn Maxwell then came out with positive intent and added a partnership of 69 runs with his skipper. Both in-form batters notched up their fifties, as Du Plessis scored 55, while Maxwell made a 33-ball 54.

Rajasthan then clawed back into the game by taking four wickets inside just 18 runs. However, Anuj Rawat's cameo of 29* off 11 got RCB to a decent first-innings total of 171/5.

Chasing a challenging target, the Royals collapsed to 31-6 in seven overs. It looked like RR would break RCB's record for the lowest team total in IPL history. However, Shimron Hetmyer's 19-ball 35 ensured that the home side crossed the 50-run mark.

Yet, it was truly a shambolic batting display by the hosts, while RCB bowlers were excellent in inflicting blows regularly.

Wayne Parnell's opening spell of 3/10 sent RR reeling, while Karn Sharma, Michael Bracewell, and Maxwell took five wickets amongst them. Rajasthan recorded the third-lowest IPL score ever of 59/10.