mid-day.com looks at the performances that made headlines in the seventh week of the cash-rich T20 league
RCB’s Virat Kohli celebrates his century against SRH at Hyderabad on Thursday. PIC/PTI
Two centuries in one match
It's rare to see a ton being scored in a T20 match. However, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) match on Thursday night witnessed two centuries scored by players from both sides. Batting first, SRH’s Heinrich Klaasen scored his maiden IPL ton to power his team to 186-5. His innings was laced with eight fours and six sixes. In reply, star batsman Virat Kohli smashed 100 off just 63 balls to equal Chris Gayle’s record for most centuries (6) in IPL as RCB won the must-win tie with eight wickets in hand. The week overall witnessed five centuries with Punjab Kings's Prabhsimran Singh (103), Mumbai Indians's (MI) Suryakumar Yadav (103 not out) and Gujarat Titans's (GT) Shubman Gill (101) bringing up their maiden IPL tons.
Toss is not always the boss
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Winning the toss doesn’t guarantee you a win. The last nine games have witnessed that. The decision proved wrong on seven occasions, while it went right only twice, with RCB getting it right on both occasions. RCB skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and SRH. His decision to bat first and second in both games respectively proved right with the Bangalore side winning both games comfortably.
Also Read: Sixth week of IPL: Rohit's flop show continues; openers Gill, Jaiswal, and Buttler miss tons
Third-lowest IPL score
RR have scored 200-plus four times in 13 matches this season. But to everyone's surprise, the inaugural IPL champions were bundled out for just 59—the third-lowest total in IPL history—against RCB at Jaipur. Batting first, RCB scored 171-5 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, the hosts lost both in-form openers—Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler for a duck. The Sanju Samson-led team couldn't recover thereafter. They lost all 10 wickets in just 10.3 overs!
Five sixes an over yet again
IPL-16 witnessed five sixes in an over for the second time. Lucknow Super Giants’s Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran combined to hit SRH spinner Abhishek Sharma for five maximums in the 16th over, thus conceding 31 runs. The over witnessed a wicket of Stoinis on the third ball after the Australian smashed the left-arm spinner’s first two balls over the fence. Next man in Pooran continued from where Stoinis left off, sending the next three balls over the ropes. The over helped LSG swing the match in their favour as the Krunal Pandya-led side won the high-scoring thriller with four balls to spare.
GT retain the top spot
Defending champions GT lived up to expectations finishing first in the league stage of the cash-rich T20 league. With nine wins in 13 games, the Hardik Pandya-led side sit comfortably on top with 18 points, three more than second-placed and four-time champions Chennai Super Kings. The top spot will also ensure GT get two chances to enter the final for the second consecutive time.
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