IPL 2023: Key player match ups to look forward to this week

IPL 2023: Key player match ups to look forward to this week. David Warner has a T20 strike rate of 145.6 against Mohammed Shami. More exciting match ups for this week.

Warner has a strike rate of over 145+ in T20s against Shami (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

The first round of games for all the ten franchises from the sixteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 have given a picture of how exciting this tournament is going to be in the upcoming weeks.

The defending champions - Gujarat Titans (GT) and the runners up from the last season- Rajasthan Royals (RR) have begun on a winning note while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) too have opened their account. The upcoming games in this week will display some fierce battles.

Let’s take a look a look at the interesting match-ups from games in the April 3-7 week

Warner has 5937 runs under his belt in IPL (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

DC vs GT: Warner has a T20 strike rate of 145.6 against Mohammed Shami

One of the reasons for Gujarat Titans to start their campaign on a winning note was their new ball bowler Mohammed Shami who picked up crucial wickets in the powerplay. He will be up against DC skipper David Warner this week, who has been the most consistent foreign batter for a long time in the IPL with 5937 runs in 163 games at a strike rate of 140.42.

Warner has smashed Shami for 99 T20 runs in 68 balls at a strike rate of 145.6 with the help of 13 boundaries and couple of sixes besides being dismissed for just couple of times.

On the other side, Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya has played safely against Kuldeep Yadav scoring just 14 T20 runs at a strike rate of 100 with just one boundary against him. But their opener Shubman Gill who cracked a beautiful 63-run knock in 36 balls in the opening game of the 2023 IPL against CSK, has smashed Kuldeep Yadav for 29 T20 runs in 18 balls at a strike rate of 161.1 with the help of couple of boundaries and one six.

Delhi Capitals (DC) will take on Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Read More: Will David Warner create magic for DC like he did when he captained SRH in IPL 2016?

RR vs PBKS: Ravichandran Ashwin has dismissed Dhawan four times in T20s

Both Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings have started their campaign on a winning note and they will love to carry the same momentum going forward.

Punjab captain Shikhar Dhawan has a poor record against left-arm pacer Trent Boult who has dismissed Dhawan once besides going for 68 T20 runs in 61 balls at a strike rate of 111.5 with the help of 10 boundaries and one six.

Ravichandran Ashwin has a great record against Dhawan dismissing him four times in T20s, besides going for just 85 runs in 97 balls at a strike rate of 87.6.

On the flip of the coin, Jos Buttler has played Sam Curran safely for just 37 T20 runs in 30 balls without getting dismissed but has a strike rate of just 123.3. But Curran has a fabulous record against the Royals captain Sanju Samson dismissing him twice besides going for just 20 runs in 15 T20 balls at a strike rate of 133.3.

Both these teams will meet each other on April 5 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Read More: IPL 2023, SRH v RR: Rajasthan Royals seal emphatic win against Sunrisers Hyderabad

KKR vs RCB: Maxwell has a T20 strike rate of 168.8 against

Maxwell has strike rate of 168.8 against Chakravarthy in T20s (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

After a defeat to begin their campaign in IPL 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to comeback strongly when they will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 6 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

They will be up against the opening combination of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis who have already showed aggressive sign with a 148-run opening partnership against the Mumbai Indians to win their opening game.

Kolkata’s new ball bowler Tim Southee has got a decent record against Virat Kohli who has scored 52 T20 runs in 42 balls against Southee at a strike rate of 123.8 with the help of five boundaries and couple of sixes besides being dismissed once. Du Plessis on the other has four T20 runs against Southee in three balls at a strike rate of 133.3 besides being dismissed once.

In the middle phase of the game, Varun Chakravarty will come against Glenn Maxwell who has smacked the mystery spinner for 27 T20 runs in 16 balls at a strike rate of 168.8 with the help of one boundary and couple of sixes besides being dismissed for one single time.

Read More: IPL 2023, RCB v MI: Dynamic duo of Kohli and du Plessis dominate as RCB beat Mumbai

Mayank Agarwal has strike rate of 155.6 against Avesh in T20s (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

LSG vs SRH: Mayank Agarwal has smashed Avesh Khan at a T20 strike rate of 155.6

Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t start their campaign on a good note losing their first game to Rajasthan Royals by a huge margin of 72 runs. They will try to bounce back hard in their second game.

Their experienced new ball bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will come against Lucknow’s captain KL Rahul who has scored 93 T20 runs in 79 balls against Bhuvi at a strike rate of 117.7 with the help of 10 boundaries and 1 six. Rahul has a poor record against left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan who has given away just 11 T20 runs in 17 balls against Rahul at a strike rate of 64.7 besides dismissing him for one single time.

On the other hand, Sunrisers’ opening batter Mayank Agarwal has a superb record against Avesh Khan with 42 T20 runs in 27 balls at a strike rate of 155.6 with the help of five boundaries and 6 sixes.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will meet each other on April 7 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

Read More: IPL 2023, CSK v LSG: CSK secure victory with all-round effort in Chennai