(L-R) Devon Conway, Ravichandran Ashwin and Venkatesh Iyer are all included in the third team of the week for IPL 2023. Every XI can contain a maximum of four overseas players besides having no more than three players from a single franchise. For this year, there is also an impact player to be chosen every week in addition to the starting XI
Photos: TT archives
K.L. Rahul (LSG): The past seven days have been the best batting week for the LSG skipper in a while, with Rahul showing his undoubted class in back-to-back games. First, against PBKS on Saturday, when Rahul stroked his way to a magnificent 74 off 56 balls. Second, against RR on Wednesday, when the opener managed a smooth 39
Devon Conway (CSK): Having watched his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad pile on the runs so far this term, Conway turned on the style from his end against RCB in Bengaluru. In excellent batting conditions, his 83 off 45 balls, with half a dozen fours and the same number of sixes, was immensely watchable
Venkatesh Iyer (KKR): After blowing hot and cold so far this season, Iyer came to the party for KKR against MI last weekend. His 104 off just 51 balls saw some of the cleanest hitting witnessed at the Wankhede Stadium in recent times, including nine sixes, most of which were dispatched with characteristic disdain
Sanju Samson (RR): He may not have had a great outing against LSG, which saw RR slump to a rare defeat, but Samson was in scintillating touch against GT. His outstanding knock of 60 off just 32 balls was the turning point of the game (along with a solid hand from Shimron Hetmyer), as RR chased down more than 120 runs in the last 10 overs at the home of the defending champions
Marcus Stoinis (LSG): Stoinis was off colour against PBKS, but bounced back against LSG later in the week to produce a comprehensive all-round display that saw him named man of the match. After a vital cameo of 21 with the bat, Stoinis picked up both RR openers when it looked like they would run away with the game
Sikandar Raza (PBKS): The hero of a sensational win by PBKS against LSG in Lucknow on Saturday, Raza first dismissed Deepak Hooda with the ball, before anchoring the Punjab chase with controlled aggression. Even though he was running out of partners at the other end, Raza kept his calm and finished with a priceless 57 in the context of the game, which was sealed for PBKS by Shahrukh Khan
Cameron Green (MI): He may not have had a lot to do against KKR, but Green was MI’s main man against SRH. In a yo-yo face-off in Hyderabad that saw momentum constantly switch between the teams, Green proved his all-round worth with a powerful 64 not out and a tight spell of one for 29 in four overs
Ravichandran Ashwin (RR): After going wicketless against GT in a high-scoring encounter in Ahmedabad, the wily Ashwin returned to his old ways with an assured performance against LSG. With the scalps of Hooda and Kyle Mayers at crucial junctures of the game, Ashwin kept RR in the contest, and ended the match with impressive figures of two for 23 in four overs
Avesh Khan (LSG): Following a breakthrough season last year, Avesh had not set the house on fire yet in 2023. That changed against RR, as the tall speedster looked in fine fettle, bagging three wickets for just 25 overs to break the spine of the RR middle order and help squeeze out a tight win for LSG
Mohammed Siraj (RCB): In the kind of game that many an RCB team from the past would have lost, Siraj proved to be the difference, with four wickets for just 21 runs against PBKS. The biggest of the lot was trapping Liam Livingstone on the pads in the fourth over of the innings, a dismissal that gave RCB the early initiative in their defence of 174 runs in Mohali
Impact Player: Shivam Dube (CSK): When you are regularly batting ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni for CSK’s middle order, you need to be able to pack a punch. That is exactly what Dube did against RCB, with an explosive 52, laden with five sixes, that allowed CSK to register 226 runs on the board
