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The intensity is beginning to rise as we get past the half-way stage of IPL 2023. The action on display so far in the tournament has been riveting and fans couldn't help but ask for more.
At this point, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) are at the top of the points table followed by the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
In the middle, however, there is a rush as the Lucknow Supergiants (LSG), the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) are all tied on eight points. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) are struggling at the moment but a string of wins could quickly change any team's fortunes.
As always, the quality of cricket has been top-notch and the the while the batters and bowlers have taken the limelight, the fielders have made their fair share of contributions.
On that note, here's a look at the top three fielding performances in the first half of IPL 2023.
3 best fielding performances in the first half of IPL 2023
#3 Krunal Pandya vs CSK
LSG won the toss and opted to bowl first against CSK in match 6 of IPL 2023.
In the 11th over of CSK's innings, Devon Conway attempted to pull a short delivery from Mark Wood but didn't time his shot well, skying his effort. The ball seemed set to land in no-man's land, but Krunal Pandya ran in from deep backward square leg and dived at the perfect moment to complete a spectacular catch.
CSK eventually scored 217 runs in their innings, which LSG fell short of by a margin of 12 runs.
#2 Aiden Markram vs MI
In match 25 of IPL 2023, SRH won the toss and opted to bowl first against MI.
During the MI innings, Ishan Kishan advanced to a short-pitched delivery bowled by Marco Jansen but ended up guiding it over extra-cover due to a lack of control. Aiden Markram, who was stationed at mid-off, ran back, moved to his right and then stretched his hands full tilt to complete what was a phenomenal catch. To add to that, he took another stunner in the next over.
MI went on to score 192 runs, which was 14 too many for the Sunrisers as they were bowled out for 178 in their innings.
#3 Venkatesh Iyer vs RCB
In match 36 of IPL 2023 at the M. Chhinaswamy Stadium, RCB under stand-in skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl first against KKR. The Knight Riders responded by scoring 200-5 in their quota of 20 overs, courtesy of valuable contributions from Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and David Wiese.
During the chase, RCB were reduced to 58-3 before Kohli and Mahipal Lomror consolidated the innings. Kohli was batting well and was the key to RCB's chances.
In the 13th over, the former Indian captain tried to pull a short-delivery outside the off stump and the sound off the bat was as sweet as it could get. It seemed like the ball was going to the boundary but Venkatesh Iyer ran to his left and kept his hands low to pull off a stunner.
The ball traveled quickly but Iyer showed immaculate skill to complete the catch, following which RCB's innings crumbled. KKR eventually won the match by 32 runs and Iyer's catch was a game-changing moment.
