At the end of the last league match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians became the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs. This was a big finish to the league stage of IPL 2023.
The level of competition in the Toughest T20 can be seen by the fact that GT beat RCB in the last league game of the event to become the fourth and final team to make the playoffs.
GT and Chennai Super Kings came in first and second place, giving them one more chance to win the prized trophy. In the Qualifier 1 on May 23 at MA Chidambaram, they will play each other. While MI and Lucknow Super Giants will face off in the Eliminator the next day at the same place.
The loser of Qualifier 1 will then play the winner of Eliminator in Qualifier 2 on May 26 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. This will set up a championship match between the winner of Qualifier 1 and the winner of Eliminator on May 28 in Ahmedabad.
In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, MI beat Sunrisers Hyderabad at home in a big run chase by showing off their best batsmen. Cameron Green’s first IPL century came with the winning shot for MI. In his first season, he lived up to the hype and sent a message to LSG before the knockout game.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan said that Green’s hitting against SRH was amazing and that the young Australia all-rounder should bat at number three in the next games.
Irfan Pathan said on the Star Sports show Cricket Live, “MI put a lot of money into Cameron Green at the IPL Auction, and the big hitter didn’t let them down. He could be the difference in a game for MI. In the next games, he should bat third for MI because the pitches in Chennai and Ahmedabad will not be as easy to hit on as Wankhede. Green can hit third, and SKY can hit fourth when the pitcher throws slow balls.
In the evening game on Super Sunday, both Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill hit centuries. Kohli is the present of Indian cricket, and Gill is the future. Both of them scored hundreds in back-to-back games to prove they were the best, but the younger player’s knock was better than the older player’s. There has never been a day in IPL history when three centuries have been hit in two games on the same day.
Sanjay Manjrekar, a former India cricketer, said that Virat Kohli’s innings against GT at M Chinnaswamy was the best of his two centuries this season. Manjrekar praised Kohli for his batting lesson at M Chinnaswamy.
Sanjay Manjrekar said, “This century by Kohli is more impressive than the last one because Gujarat Titans’ bowling attack was much better than Sunrisers Hyderabad’s.” Kohli also batted almost by himself in a tough game and helped his team get a good score.
Harbhajan Singh, who used to play cricket for India, praised Kohli for his innings, which didn’t have many risky shots. This makes him a dangerous batter in all forms.
Harbhajan Singh said, “You never see Virat Kohli play dangerous shots. He always tries to play in the “V.” He really knows how to play cricket, which is why he is such a good bowler. Kohli is a great batter who can play any type of cricket, from Tests to T20s to T10s, because he has the best style.
Harbhajan Singh also praised Shubman Gill, whom he called “the future of Indian cricket.” Many people think that Shubman Gill will take over from Virat Kohli. The former India player went on to talk about how different Kohli and Gill are from each other.
Harbhajan Singh said, “Shubman Gill does a great job of building his game. He has his own style and attitude, which is different from Virat Kohli, who is very serious. He can play all kinds of shots easily, just like Kohli, but his body language won’t make him look as aggressive as Kohli. He is not like the other people. He has so much potential for India.”