Best IPL 2023 moments: From Dhoni's victory lap to Kohli's century, relive our favourite highlights ahead of the big final

The Indian Premiere League (IPL) 2023 has been a roller coaster. As we approach the big final, here's a round-up of the moments that we'll remember this season for—and a hat-tip to the stars that emerged from it.  

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), does a lap of honour around the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to thank the home crowd after the team's match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Chennai on May 14. With buzz about IPL 2023 being Dhoni's last tournament as a player picking up, crowds have turned out in large numbers to watch the former Indian captain, who has retired from international cricket. Dhoni himself has stayed mum on the subject, only mentioning after Qualifier 1 (in which CSK defeated Gujarat Titans to secure a spot in the final), that he still has 8-9 months, till the next auction in December, to take a call      

Stars of IPL 2023

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Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring a half-century during the match between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on May 6. He became the first cricketer to get to 7,000 runs in the IPL, scoring these over 225 innings in the competition. Kohli, who scored two centuries this season and brought his total up to seven, has also surpassed Chris Gayle's record of notching up the most centuries by a player in IPL history 

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Gujarat Titans' (GT) Rashid Khan celebrates his first ever hat-trick in the IPL, as he dismissed Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur during the match against and KKR at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on April 9. With 27 wickets, the Afghan all-rounder is now second on the season's highest wicket-takers' list, behind teammate Md Shami (28)  

Image: Punit PARANJPE / AFP

Suryakumar Yadav celebrates after scoring a century during the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and GT at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on May 12. Yadav, the No. 1 men's T20 batter in the ICC rankings, has had a great run of form in the tournament, scoring over 600 runs that consisted of one century and some of his trademark outrageous shotmaking 

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Ajinkya Rahane plays a shot during the match between CSK and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 12. IPL 2023 has seen an impressive comeback from Rahane, who scored nearly 300 runs with a strike rate of 169.88 over 10 innings. The middle-order batter also earned a call-up to the national side due to play Australia in the WTC final beginning June 7, after having been dropped from the Test team last year

Emerging stars

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RR's Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates after winning the match against KKR at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 11. The 21-year-old’s 625 runs, which comprised one century and five 50s at a strike rate of 163.61, are the most by an uncapped player in an IPL season, bettering Shaun Marsh's 616 runs in 2008 

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Rinku Singh plays a shot during the match between GT and KKR at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on April 9. Singh, who finished the season with 474 runs, hit five consecutive sixes in the last over to win the match for KKR

Image: R. Satish BABU / AFP

MI's Akash Madhwal celebrates with Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav after the dismissal of Lucknow Super Giants' Mohsin Khan (right) during the Eliminator at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 24. The 29-year-old bowler, who took five wickets for just five runs in the match, also became the first bowler to claim a fifer in the playoffs 

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GT's Shubman Gill celebrates after scoring a century and winning the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 21. The 23-year-old opener has had a sensational season, scoring 851 runs a strike rate of 149.17 over 15 innings. Gill, who has scored three centuries, the last coming in the crucial knockout match against MI, holds the Purple Cap for the highest run-scorer in the tournament 

Image: BCCI/IPL and Punit PARANJPE / AFP

Punjab Kings' Arshdeep Singh (right) celebrates after taking a wicket against MI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 22. Singh, who finished the season with 17 wickets and was among the most effective bowlers for his team, broke the stumps twice in a brilliant final over in the game to help Punjab Kings win the match. 

Not without the fans

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Spectators hold cutouts of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar during the match between MI and PK at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 22. The legend cut a cake at the stadium during the match that came two days before his 50th birthday 

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Spectators cheer before the start of the match between LSG and RCB at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on May 1. The yellow short, of course, alludes to the towering popularity of CSK and its captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has seen throughout the tournament, even when the team wasn't playing a match 

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CSK fans make no bones about their sentiments prior to their Qualifier against GT at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 23 

When legends meet

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India's iconic former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar gets a Mahendra Singh Dhoni autograph on his shirt while CSK was out to do a lap of honour around Chepauk after its home match against KKR

Image: Sajjad Hussain/AFP 

Gujarat Titans' Mohit Sharma (L) celebrates after the dismissal of Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav during the IPL 2023 second qualifier cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 26, 2023.