Last season’s finalists Rajasthan Royals (RR) ended a three-match losing streak in style, hammering Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by nine wickets in an IPL 2023 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday to rise to third spot on the IPL 2023 Points Table. RR won the match with more than six overs to spare to big a massive boost to their net run-rate which had taken a dent after four losses in their last five matches.

RR now has 12 points in 12 matches – same as Mumbai Indians (MI) – but their NRR is 0.633 as compared to -0.255 of Rohit Sharma’s side. MI can move back into the third spot if they can beat table-toppers Gujarat Titans in Match No. 57 of the IPL 2023 on Friday night.

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GT is leading the table with 16 points from 11 matches while MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings are in second position with 15 points from 12 matches. KKR, meanwhile, has slipped to the 7th position and has 10 points from 12 matches. The Playoffs qualification chances of Nitish Rana’s side have significantly diminished as they can only reach a maximum of 14 points from their remaining matches which might not prove to be enough.

Yashasvi Jaiswal almost takes Orange Cap

RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed the fastest fifty in the history of the IPL, reaching the landmark in only 13 balls against KKR on Thursday night. Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 98 off 47 balls with 5 sixes and 12 fours and almost took away the IPL 2023 Orange Cap from leader and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis.

While Du Plessis has 576 runs in 11 matches so far, Jaiswal now has 575 runs from 12 matches with 1 century and 4 fifties to his name. GT opener Shubman Gill is in the third spot with 469 runs in 11 matches and can add to his tally as he faces MI on Friday night.

Yuzvendra Chahal takes Purple Cap

RR leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal created history on Thursday night by becoming the highest wicket-taker in the history of the Indian Premier League. Chahal surpassed the record of former Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and went on to claim 4/25 against KKR at the Eden Gardens.

Chahal’s brilliant show helped him zoom to the top in the Purple Cap race. The leggie now has 21 wickets in 12 matches in IPL 2023 ahead of GT pacer Mohammad Shami, who has 19 wickets in 11 matches.

GT leg-spinner Rashid Khan and CSK pacer Tushar Deshpande also have 19 wickets from 11 and 12 matches respectively. Shami and Rashid can add to their wickets tally as they take on MI on Friday night.