IPL 2023: Best playing 11 of Week 7 ft. Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli

A manic 70-match long league phase in IPL 2023 has come to a conclusion, with the four playoff teams finally decided.

While defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) will face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Qualifier 1, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator, with both matches to be played in Chennai.

The action will then move to Ahmedabad for Qualifier 2 and the final with everything to play for as far as the four sides are concerned.

Nothing was a given until the final weekend of the league phase, with three playoff spots yet to be decided at the start of it.

In fact, it boiled down to a last-over finish between GT and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to decide the fourth spot.

While every week in IPL 2023 has thrown up a number of brilliant individual performances, the last week was arguably the best of the lot. Centuries were scored for fun while the bowlers also had their say with a cluster of wickets.

With so many standout performers, it was hard to nail down eleven sure starters. But we make our best attempt at picking the best playing XI from the week gone by in IPL 2023:

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Openers - Virat Kohli (c) and Prabhsimran Singh

An experienced pro and an exciting youngster combine to form the opening combination for this playing XI. Virat Kohli's twin tons against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Gujarat Titans (GT) were of the highest order and he walks in as one of the two openers.

Prabhsimran Singh's one-man effort on a difficult pitch in Delhi powered the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a score of 167/7, which proved to be a winning total. He didn't leave much of an impact in the reverse fixture against the Capitals or against Rajasthan Royals (RR) but his 65-ball 103 has easily been one of the innings of IPL 2023.

Kohli will also be the captain of this side.

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Middle order - Shubman Gill, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Heinrich Klaasen (wk) and Rinku Singh

Shubman Gill has often been touted as Kohli's heir in Indian cricket and he proved it quite literally with consecutive hundreds of his own, following his ton against SRH with an outstanding unbeaten 52-ball 104 in a chase against RCB. While he has been opening the innings for GT in IPL 2023, his prowess against spin can allow him to bat at number 3 with ease.

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green showed just why he was paid the big bucks by Mumbai Indians (MI) at the IPL 2023 auction, with a superb unbeaten century in a must-win clash against SRH. He walks into this playing XI on the back of that clutch knock, even as he failed to finish the game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) earlier in the week.

Marcus Stoinis' unbeaten 47-ball 89 against MI on a difficult pitch at the Ekana Cricket Stadium was one of the best knocks of the week as he powered them to a total of 177/3 which their bowlers duly defended. While he bagged a duck against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) post this knock, his 25-ball 40 against SRH last weekend was instrumental in his side chasing down 183.

It was a week for centuries in IPL 2023 and Heinrich Klaasen walks in on the back of a belligerent 51-ball 104 against RCB, having also struck a 44-ball 64 in what was a lone battle against GT in Ahmedabad. He didn't score much against MI but was easily SRH's MVP for the tournament as they ended last in the points table. He will also don the wicket-keeper's gloves in this side.

IPL 2023 will be fondly remembered for Rinku Singh's jailbreak efforts. His mature 43-ball 54 orchestrated a successful 145-run chase against CSK for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before almost pulling off another miracle against LSG with an unbeaten 33-ball 67, rounding off the middle-order in this playing XI as one of its finishers.

While Green bowled just three overs across his two matches, Stoinis didn't bowl at all throughout the week, even as they offer all-round options to this side.

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Bowlers - Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Akash Madhwal

Deepak Chahar's return to form has bolstered CSK with his consistent wickets in the powerplay helping them setting up games. He picked up three wickets in that phase against KKR before bagging two more in the powerplay against Delhi Capitals (DC), following it up with another one against the latter in the middle-overs.

Ravi Bishnoi blew a little cold towards the middle of IPL 2023 but he has rekindled his best form over the last week. While he bowled two expensive overs against SRH, his returns of 2/26 and 2/23, respectively, against MI and KKR were instrumental in setting up the spin-stifle that vaulted his team towards victory.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been consistent throughout the tournament and he snared his second five-wicket haul in the league against GT, returning 5/30 off his four overs to restrict them from mounting up a massive total. On either side of that, he went wicketless against LSG although at a decent economy rate, before getting the ball to move around against MI to return figures of 1/26 off four overs.

Akash Madhwal has been a breath of fresh air for MI in IPL 2023, as he has aided them in the death overs with his incredible assortment of yorkers. His execution has been spot on and it came to the fore against LSG even as he went wicketless, before ending with figures of 4/37 against SRH, with his relentless display of yorkers preventing them from scoring anything more than 200, which was eventually chased down.

Once again, it was hard to leave out a few other outstanding performers from the playing XI. DC skipper David Warner tallied scores of 54 and 46 at good pace against PBKS before putting on a one-man show against CSK with a 58-ball 86. Mohammed Shami was unplayable during his spell of 4/20 that cut the SRH top-order to size, before turning in returns of 1/39 against RCB.

Krunal Pandya bowled two rippers to find himself on a hat-trick against SRH, while his 42-ball 49 was key to putting his side on track against MI as he stitched together a crucial partnership with Stoinis. He also bowled an economical spell in that game before bagging Jason Roy's wicket to derail KKR in their run chase.

Pandya's teammates Yash Thakur and Nicholas Pooran also left a massive impact throughout the week. While Thakur picked up five wickets across three matches and holding his nerve at the death, Pooran tore into Abhishek Sharma and the rest of the SRH attack with an unbeaten 13-ball 44 before following it up with a pivotal 30-ball 58 that rescued LSG against KKR and eventually taking them through to the playoffs of IPL 2023.

Each of these players make it as the impact substitutes.

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Best playing XI from Week 7 of IPL 2023: Virat Kohli (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Shubman Gill, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Rinku Singh, Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Akash Madhwal.

Impact substitutes: David Warner, Mohammed Shami, Krunal Pandya, Yash Thakur and Nicholas Pooran.

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Who would you have in your best playing XI from the week gone by in IPL 2023? Have your say in the comments section below!

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