IPL 2023: Best playing 11 of Week 5 ft. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav

With the reverse fixtures in full swing in IPL 2023, the race for the playoffs has heated up even further. A number of teams that were earlier in the lower half of the points table have started to pick up steam while some in the upper echelons - barring the Gujarat Titans (GT) - are looking over their shoulder rather nervously.

One thing that hasn't changed at all though is the increasing number of tense finishes. The various possibilities of the highly volatile T20 format have come to the fore brilliantly, with the highest of totals being gunned down and the lowest of those being defended successfully in Week 5 of IPL 2023.

As has been the case, a good part of it has come down to players putting their hands up and delivering for their team. From eye-catching spells to ridiculous brilliance with the bat, the week gone by had it all.

On that note, we pick the best playing XI from Week 5 of IPL 2023:

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Openers - Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devon Conway

After arguably the best innings of IPL 2023 thus far, it is hard to fathom this playing XI in the absence of Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose blistering 124 against Mumbai Indians (MI) is now the highest score by an uncapped player in the league's history.

Devon Conway walked away with the Player of the Match honors against Punjab Kings (PBKS) despite Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ending on the losing side. Such was the quality of his unbeaten 92 and he will partner Jaiswal at the top, even as he didn't get to bat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the latter himself was run out for just 14 against GT.

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Middle order - Suryakumar Yadav (c), Mitchell Marsh, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), and Ayush Badoni

Suryakumar Yadav is back to his absolute best after a slow start to his IPL 2023 campaign. The MI vice-captain was one of the chief architects of his side's successful chases against RR and PBKS, scoring 55 off 29 and 66 off 31, respectively. He will also lead this playing XI.

Mitchell Marsh turned in one of the best all-round performances in IPL history, backing his 4/27 with a 39-ball 63 against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), even as it came in a losing cause. He missed the next game against GT with illness but his exploits against SRH were monumental enough to earn him a spot in this team.

The PBKS duo of Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma were unstoppable against CSK and MI. While Livingstone turned the first game on its head with his 24-ball 40, Jitesh's 10-ball 21 was instrumental in taking his side closer to the target. The pair then clobbered an unbeaten 119-run partnership against MI and finished on 82 and 49, respectively. Jitesh will don the wicketkeeper's gloves in this side.

Ayush Badoni's bat might have been silent against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but he turned in one of the best innings of the tournament on a difficult pitch against CSK in Lucknow. His unbeaten 33-ball 59 rescued his team from the abyss and took them close to a competitive total on that track before the rain had the final say.

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Bowlers - Piyush Chawla, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, and T Natarajan

Piyush Chawla has now gone five games in a row where he has picked up at least two wickets. His consistency and control throughout IPL 2023 have been nothing short of incredible and despite his colleagues traveling around the park, returned four wickets across the outings against RR and PBKS, at an economy rate of just under eight.

Noor Ahmad has partnered with Rashid Khan to form a near-unplayable spin combination through the middle overs for GT. After picking up 2/21 against KKR, he followed it up with an economical spell against DC before snaring two more wickets against RR.

Mohammed Shami proudly wears the Purple Cap on his head and he was easily the best bowler on display in the week gone by. With eight wickets in three matches at an economy rate of a shade under six, he had the ball on a string and delivered every time GT needed him to.

Rounding off this attack is T Natarajan, who seems to have finally come into his own in IPL 2023. He nailed his yorkers at will to deny the Capitals before executing the same against KKR, picking up three wickets across the two matches at an overall economy rate of 8.00.

As has been the case throughout IPL 2023, there were plenty of other candidates who were unfortunate to miss out on selection in this playing XI. Heinrich Klaasen's half-century was crucial in helping SRH bounce back against DC before his 20-ball 36 against KKR put them in front. His teammate Mayank Markande picked up three wickets across those two matches to continue his stellar run of form.

GT skipper Hardik Pandya might have struggled to a half-century against the Capitals but made his presence felt with useful batting cameos on either side of it. Ishant Sharma had a game to remember against the Titans, defending 12 runs off the final over to deny Rahul Tewatia.

Oh, and Vijay Shankar continued his redemption arc with a superb half-century that made light work of a tricky chase against KKR.

These five players walk into this squad as impact substitute options.

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Best XI from Week 5 of IPL 2023: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devon Conway, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Mitchell Marsh, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ayush Badoni, Piyush Chawla, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, T Natarajan.

Impact substitutes: Heinrich Klaasen, Mayank Markande, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar.

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Who do you think was unfortunate to miss out from the best Playing XI from Week 5 of IPL 2023? Have your say in the comments section below!

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