mid-day.com looks at the performances that made headlines in the fourth week of the cash-rich T20 league
MI’s Nehal Wadhera is clean bowled by Punjab’s Arshdeep Singh at Wankhede recently. PIC/PTI
Arshdeep breaks middle-stump twice
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PUNJAB Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh rattled Mumbai Indians's (MI) innings as he broke the middle-stump twice off successive deliveries in the final over at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Reportedly, a full set of LED stumps cost approximately Rs 25-30 lakh. Defending 16 off the last over in MI's 215-run chase, the left-arm-pacer clean bowled Tilak Varma on the third ball of the 20th over. He broke the middle stump of Impact Player Nehal Wadhera off the next ball. Arshdeep conceded just two runs in the final over to hand Punjab a sensational 13-run win.
Arjun smashed for 31 runs in one over
MI's Arjun Tendulkar had a forgettable match against Punjab after making a long-awaited IPL debut just a few days ago. The left-arm pacer got hit for 31 runs in his third and team's 16th over to finish with match figures of 1-48 off three overs. He was hit for four fours and two maximums by stand-in skipper Sam Curran and Harpreet Singh as Punjab scored 214-8. In reply, MI fell short by 13 runs. Arjun's over is also the second most expensive over for MI after Daniel Sams (35 runs) in 2022.
Also Read: Third week of IPL: Arjun Tendulkar makes a long-awaited debut
KL Rahul trolled massively for loss
KL Rahul (68 off 61 balls) was massively trolled for taking the game too deep after Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) went down against defending champions Gujarat Giants. The hosts controlled almost 90 per cent of the game, but the skipper didn’t show any fight in the death overs as he failed to take his team over the line. Chasing 136, LSG were comfortably placed at 105-1 after 14 overs. They were soon reduced to 113-3 in 17 overs, yet 23 off 18 balls with seven wickets in hand was easily achievable. However, things didn’t go their way and with 12 required off six balls, the Rahul-led side lost four wickets in the final over to hand GT a shocking victory.
RR take top spot
NOT many rated Rajasthan Royals (RR) favourites to finish in the Top-4 before the start of the tournament, but to everyone’s surprise, the Sanju Samson-led team have shown that they have the ability to do so this season. After eight matches, the inaugural edition champions sit on top of the points table (10) with five wins and three defeats. Out of their five victories, two have come against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). RR fans will hope the team continue its good form and end the 15-year title drought.
Rahane makes Test comeback
THE manner in which CSK batsman Ajinkya Rahane has batted so far (strike-rate of 189.83) he has been the talk of the season. The top-order batter, whose highest IPL strike-rate was 138.89 for RR in the 2019 edition, has smashed 224 runs in six matches with an impressive average of 44.80 and an unbelievable strike-rate of 189.83. His imposing form has tempted selectors to recall him in the World Test Championship final squad. The former India Test vice-captain last played a Test match against South Africa in January 2022.
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