Kolkata: Star Sports, the official television broadcaster of the IPL 2023, had a fine start to the highly anticipated 'Rivalry Week', from May 6 to 13.
The rivalry week promises to deliver some of the most intense and exciting matches with the greatest rivals in the history of IPL.
Fans will also get to witness the rivalry between teams from the North and South as some of the biggest teams from the two regions will be up against one another to pick up two crucial points. All teams are still within reach of the playoffs spot, making this edition one of the most closely fought contests.
The rivalry week kick-started on Saturday with one of the 'Greatest Rivalries' of IPL as MS Dhoni's CSK hosted Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians at the Chepauk Stadium.
Mumbai Indians had a forgettable outing against Chennai and the biggest setback for them is the current form of their skipper Rohit Sharma, who was dismissed within the powerplay for the eighth time in IPL 2023.
Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes the confidence of Rohit Sharma has been badly hurt and suggested the India captain should take a break and focus on WTC Final preparations instead.
Speaking on Star Sports Studio, Gavaskar said, "I would say that Rohit should maybe take a break for the time being, and keep himself fit for the World Test Championship Final. He can come back again for the last few matches, but right now, [he should] take a little bit of a breather himself."
The first game of Rivalry Week saw Chennai Super Kings taking on old foes Mumbai Indians in a day game at Chepauk. CSK's campaign returned to the winning track at home after they stumbled upon two consecutive losses and the washout in Lucknow. The Yellow Army registered their first win over MI at home for the first time in 13 years and did that in some style with a win of 6 wickets.
Devon Conway once again played a sublime knock for CSK in the below-par run chase. The left-handed batter from New Zealand - who is the leading run-scorer for the side this season - did well with the bat.
Praising the New Zealand star batter for his impactful batting performance, former Australia cricketer Aaron Finch claimed it is always tough for the teams to make strategies against Conway.
Finch said, "We spent a lot of time in our dressing room during Australia-NZ matches discussing game plans for Devon Conway. He's someone who plays those cuts, pulls, and sweeps at equal ease. He's good against spin as well as pace."
The second day of Rivalry Week will see brothers taking on each other as Gujarat Titans host Lucknow Super Giants in the first match on Super Sunday. Gujarat are being led by Hardik Pandya while his elder brother Krunal will now be leading LSG as regular captain KL Rahul has been ruled out of the competition.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan - who has witnessed the rise of these two from close quarters in the domestic circuit - is super excited ahead of the mouth-watering contest between the IPL newbies and the first instance in IPL when brothers will be locking horns as the captain of their teams.
Pathan said, "It will be a brother vs brother contest as captain in IPL. The cricket fraternity is happy with the way the Pandyas have progressed but when GT is playing at home, it will be hungry to win. Then brother will not remain brother. Then, they will be a member of an opposing team." (UNI)
