The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated the Gujarat Titans (GT) in a thrilling last-ball match on Monday, May 29 in Ahmedabad, bringing the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 to a thrilling conclusion.
The CSK batters maintained their composure and paced their way to an outstanding victory to write another chapter in their illustrious history as they chased 171 runs in 15 overs for victory.
With the victory, Chennai also matched Mumbai Indians’ record of five IPL championships won. Many uncapped Indian athletes, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, and Akash Madhwal, among others, put on memorable performances during this IPL.
A few IPL stars, including Piyush Chawla and Mohit Sharma, made a comeback during the season. But amid all the intense competition, there were also some funnier moments on the field that brought fans together and brought them joy.
On that note, let’s examine the five funniest on-field incidents from the IPL 2023
1 David Warner imitates Ravindra Jadeja’s sword dance
The match between Chennai and the Delhi Capitals (DC) on the final weekend of the league stages provided the season’s funniest moment.
David Warner, the captain of DC, and Ravindra Jadeja, an all-around player for CSK, were both involved in the incident. Warner tried to score during the second inning despite the fielder ducking at the stumps. When he saw the ball heading toward Ajinkya Rahane, he made his ground initially but stepped out once more to steal a run.
Rahane had to pitch at the stumps because the Delhi captain was not in the crease. When Jadeja received the ball on the other side, he pretended to run Warner out.
Following a brief period of staring at Jadeja, Warner willowed his bat by imitating the latter’s signature sword-waving celebration, which caused the players and a few spectators on the field to chuckle.
Unfortunately, it was one of the few times the Capitals had fun while playing on the field as they lost another devastating game by 77 runs.
2. Before Trent Boult completes the catch, 3 RR players collide
One of the funniest and most dramatic dismissals occurred during the first match between the IPL 2022 finalists, Gujarat, and the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
In the third ball of the innings, Trent Boult’s bowling, GT wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha was early on his flick, producing a leading edge that went straight up in the air.
The wicketkeeper joined the fielders from point and mid-wicket in an effort to catch the ball.
Sanju Samson, the wicketkeeper, was unable to make the catch because of the lack of calls which caused a collision between the two fielders. But in a stroke of luck for the Royals, Boult, who was keeping an eye on the ball, caught it after it popped up to him.
With their fourth victory in five games, Rajasthan eventually prevailed in the game in the extra over to take the lead in the points standings.
The team, though, lost its steam after that contest and unexpectedly left the tournament without making the playoffs.
3 During a DRS review, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell play a game of scissors and paper
In their match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), the stars of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli, were seen playing stone-paper-scissor.
When wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma was given out LBW by Harshal Patel during the PBKS run chase, a DRS review revealed the hilarious incident.
The DRS decision was reversed in PBKS’ favor, but RCB still won the game easily by 24 runs.
Bangalore narrowly missed making the playoffs with a loss in their final game against the Gujarat Titans, but inconsistent batting and bowling at different points in the season proved costly.
4 The strange gesture by Andre Russell at the non-strikers’ end during a match against DC
When Andre Russell, an all-rounder for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), took guard at the non-striker end facing deep midwicket as Kuldeep Yadav prepared to bowl the hat-trick delivery, it created one of the strangest and funniest moments of IPL 2023.
As KKR was being bowled out in the 15th over, the slow left-arm bowler for Delhi Capitals (DC) took two wickets in quick succession.
At the other end, Russell was pulling this hilarious stunt as Kuldeep prepared to hand Umesh Yadav the hat-trick ball.
Despite the amusing incident, the West Indian all-rounder was KKR’s lone fighter. He scored an unbeaten 38 from 31 balls, bringing the team’s total to 127 and providing some semblance of respectability.
But DC managed to get their first victory of the year by chasing the meagre total down in the final over with four wickets in hand.
5 Hardik Pandya breaks out in laughter when he notices Wriddhiman Saha wearing his pants backward
Wriddhiman Saha, a wicketkeeper for the Gujarat Titans (GT), made a hilarious mistake when he ran onto the field in Ahmedabad to face the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) while wearing his pants backwards.
Saha led GT to a massive score of 227/2 in their 20 overs while batting first, scoring 81 runs off just 43 deliveries.
GT made the decision to replace Saha with KS Bharat due to the afternoon game’s heat. The 38-year-old was forced to rush back onto the field after the umpires forced a brief delay because they did not permit the move.
Saha was seen with his trouser on backward, making it clear that he was not ready to return, which caused pacer Mohammed Shami and captain Hardik Pandya to laugh out loud.
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