IPL 2023 Playoffs: Top 3 batting performances in the Eliminators of the tournament

Third-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are all set to lock horns with fourth-placed Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator of the ongoing IPL 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday (May 24).

The winner of the Eliminator will face Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023. GT lost Qualifier 1 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 15 runs yesterday (Tuesday).

Both LSG and MI will come into the Eliminator on the back of wins in their last league fixtures. While LSG defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a nail-biting contest, Cameron Green's century guided MI to a resounding win against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) unit.

Ahead of the all-important tie between LSG and MI, we roll back the clock and relive the top three batting performances in the IPL's Eliminators.

#3 AB de Villiers - 66 off 38 against RR in IPL 2015

Ab de Villiers scored a brilliant half-century against RR in the 2015 Eliminator [P.C: IPLT20]

One of the all-time IPL greats, AB de Villiers has been a legendary player for the Bangalore-based franchise.

The IPL veteran showcased his immaculate talent when RCB met Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator of IPL 2015 in Pune.

After opting to bat first in the crunch tie, RCB lost their two pillars in Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli inside the powerplay. However, courtesy of a brilliant showing from de Villiers, they were bailed out by the Protea batter.

AB de Villiers combined with Mandeep Singh (54* off 34) for a game-changing partnership and stitched together 113 runs for the third wicket. He smoked four boundaries and as many sixes in his 38-ball stay, scoring 66 runs at a strike rate of 174.

Thanks to some clean hitting by the two right-handers, Bangalore recovered from a sluggish start to post a challenging 180/4.

Rajasthan never looked convincing in their chase as they kept losing wickets and eventually folded for just 109 in 19 overs. De Villiers was named Player of the Game for taking his side to Qualifier 2.

#2 M.S. Dhoni - 51* off 20 against MI in IPL 2012

MS Dhoni was at his best vs MI in IPL 2012 Eliminator [IPLT20]

CSK vs MI has always been a headline-making contest. MS Dhoni added another chapter to their rivalry when the two IPL teams met in the IPL 2012 Eliminator.

Mumbai elected to field after winning the toss and had CSK reeling at 1/2 just eight balls into the game. Michael Hussey and Subramanian Badrinath then steadied the ship for CSK with a 72-ball 94-run partnership. Both batters missed out on half-centuries when they were dismissed inside the 14th and 15th overs.

This led skipper MS Dhoni to the crease. The champion finisher remained unbeaten until the end and ensured a good finish for CSK. He scored 51* runs at a strike rate of 255, with six fours and two maximums.

The Ranchi-born batter hit a boundary off every MI bowler he faced, including a hat-trick of fours against Dhawal Kulkarni.

From a stage where even 160 seemed a herculean task, Dhoni took CSK to a match-winning total of 187-5 in the first innings.

A well-rounded bowling effort by the CSK bowlers meant MI lost the game by a healthy margin of 38 runs. The CSK skipper was also adjudged Player of the Match for his blistering knock at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

#1 Rajat Patidar - 112* off 54 against LSG in IPL 2022

Rajat Patidar was the star of the show vs RCB [IPLT20]

Rajat Patidar holds the record of scoring the best individual score in IPL Eliminators when he scored a wondrous 54-ball 112* against Lucknow at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata last year.

He brought his A-game to arguably the biggest match of his career and single-handedly guided RCB to a remarkable win against a potent LSG bowling attack.

LSG got off to a fantastic start, picking up the big prized wickets of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell. But they had no answer for the absolute carnage that was inflicted on them by Patidar.

With RCB 123-4 after 15 overs, LSG would have loved to chase down any target between 170 and 175. Yet, due to some monstrous hitting by Patidar and Dinesh Karthik (37* off 23), RCB smashed as many as 84 runs in their last five overs.

Smoking 12 boundaries and five lusty maximums, Patidar remained unbeaten at 112* and guided RCB to a fantastic first-innings score of 207/4.

In response, LSG fell short by 14 runs. While skipper KL Rahul did make 79, he took 58 balls to reach there. Barring Rahul and Deepak Hooda (45 off 26), no other LSG batter did much as they could only make 193/6.

Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers for RCB, claiming three wickets for 43 runs in his four overs. An adept player of both spin and pace, Patidar was hugely missed by RCB this year.