The third week of the 17th edition in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 has taken the atmosphere to a different level. Everything, from a general prospect, seems to be honky dory. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) finds themselves at the top position with four successive wins. Delhi Capitals (DC) drops down to the bottom with a damaged net run rate of -1.370.
Kolkata Knight Riders almost broke the run-fest Hyderabad record with their team score of 272. Mumbai Indians (MI) after three successive defeats finally opened their account.
Mayank Yadav kept on inspiring with brutal pace and aggression. Virat Kohli, even with his eighth IPL century received a decent amount of criticism because of his poor strike rate.
Let’s take a look at the top four moments of the third week in IPL 2024
Picked in a wrong state, Shashank Singh did the right job
When the IPL 2024 auction happened towards the end of the last year, there was a twist. When Punjab Kings realized that the player named ‘Shashank Singh’ has been grabbed by them is not the ‘Shashak Singh’ they were looking after. They even wanted to give the player back, but the rules didn’t allow them.
Quite amazingly, Punjab showed enough trust and confidence on him in this IPL 2024. What was so remarkable in him is the way he stands with trust and self-confidence. Coming at 70/4, Singh showed his skill against both the pacers and spinners equally.
Fresh from his previous eight ball 21-run knock against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Shashank dominated the Gujarat Titans (GT) bowlers consistently. He pulled Umesh Yadav for a six, before finding the gap over mid-wicket against Noor Ahmed. He finished on 61* runs in 29 balls to carry them over the line.
Kolkata almost broke Hyderabad’s record with 272 in this IPL 2024
From the first ball to the end, Kolkata kept on smashing the Delhi bowlers. At Vizag, it felt like the game only belongs to the batters, and the bowlers are nothing but the dancing puppets.
Sunil Narine’s opening position in this season has helped the team so much. He smashed a fantastic 39-ball 85-run knock with seven fours and seven sixes to turn the craze of the ground. Young Angkrish Raghuvanshi notched up a crazy 27-ball 54-run knock to partner the Caribbean player.
The epic Hardik Pandya & Mumbai Indians chronicle: The world divides in two halves
Andre Russell managed a fantastic 19-ball 41-run knock, before being removed with a peach of a yorker from Ishant Sharma. Rinku Singh bashed out 26-runs in eight balls. It was only Shreyas Iyer, who even made 18-runs in 11-balls, who slowed down the rate to finish just 5-runs short of the highest aggregate by the SRH.
Buttler’s century overshadowed Virat’s record eight century
With 1-run required in almost six balls with a batter stood on 94*, the best possible shot would have been a six. Jos Buttler did the same. In a very rare moment, someone overshows a century knock of Virat Kohli.
At Jaipur, when RCB was struggling with their batters not getting enough elevation for the shots, Kohli stood at one end for the whole 20-overs and ended with an unbeaten 113-run knock in 72 balls at a strike rate of 156.94, a bit down in T20 standards especially on a flat track.
Rajasthan chased down the score with six wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Jos Buttler, who was not getting his bat on the ball, took his time at the start of the chase, and get attached with the weak bowling attack of RCB. The RR captain Sanju Samson gave him a good hand in the partnership. Buttler’ s 172.41 strike rate might sound a bit harsh, but when you know the destination with available time, it’s an easy job to know when to stroll, and when to sprint.
Romario Shepard vs Anrich Nortje: 20th over went for 4,6,6,6,4,6
By the time Anrich Nortje came to bowl his last over, Mumbai Indians had already moved past the 200-run mark. Romario Shepherd, traded from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before the auction, took his bat shape against a formidable Nortje, who looked a bit of out rhythm for this tournament for the last few weeks.
Shepherd punched the first ball over the bowler’s head for a beautiful boundary, before honking the first of three back-to-back sixes. The first one went past the long-on region, while the second one was flicked over deep square leg. They took some time to find a replacing delivery.
The third six of the over was muscled with a flat-batted cut over sweeper cover. The penultimate delivery went over long-on for another boundary. The last ball was nothing but another smacking shot over wide long-on. 32 runs came off the over, as Shepherd ended with 10-ball 39*-runs. Nortje from 2/33 in his three overs, finished with 2/65 in four overs.
And the most disappointing part for DC especially was the victory by 29-runs. So, it’s still a bit scratchy on who smiled at the end!
The IPL 2024 now moves towards the fourth week with most anticipation and buzz in the air.
Author: Subhradeep
Someone who loves how Steve Smith from being Australia's future Shane Warne has become present Don Bradman, gets inspired by Anderson's longevity, gets awed with Kohli's drive and Southee's bowling action. Never gets excited with stats and records, and believes in instincts, and always questions spinners bowling with the new ball.
