The English players have already left the IPL to join their team in their home for world cup campaign. The Australian players will be leaving on May 1st. The South Africans, Kiwis, Afghans, and Shakib from Bangladesh all have agreed to stay till the end along with West Indians. So the teams which will be most affected by the departure of Australians and English players will be Rajasthan, Sunrisers. and Bangalore.
The Royal Challengers from Bangalore are putting up a show with AB de Villiers turning back the clock, after their 6 consecutive losses and they are well and truly in contention for the playoffs if they win all their remaining matches and if some results go their way. If they had played the way like they are playing at the moment these IF’s and but’s would not have mattered to them. The addition of Dale Steyn has helped them big time and RCB were happy with his contribution but that happiness was cut short as he has been ruled out for the remainder of IPL due to sore Shoulder. This means again the onus will be on the ever impressive young gun, Navdeep Saini. With Moeen Ali already left and Marcus Stoinis about to leave, they definitely will have a tough time for the remainder of IPL.
Rajasthan Royals already played 3 games without their heavyweight opener Buttler and they managed to win 2 among them. The change of captaincy has helped both Smith and Rahane as both are playing some aggressive cricket, Rahane in particular who notched up a classy century against a good DC bowling attack. Smith is very proactive in his captaincy and used his g0 to bowler Jofra Archer effectively in crunch moments. Riyan Parag has been outstanding with the bat and his fearless approach has impressed one and all. Like RCB they still have chance to qualify for the playoffs if they win their remaining games and if some results go their way. With Archer and Stokes already left, it will be interesting to see whom they will replace Archer. Once Steve Smith leaves on May 1st, RR would have finished their 13 games by then and it will interesting to see whom they will give the captaincy for that match.
Sun Risers have their fate in their own hands and they can even crack a top 2 finish if they win all their remaining games. But with Bairstow already left and David Warner leaving on May 1st it will be difficult for someone even with Guptill’ caliber to replace them. They found a new hero in their last game in Manish Pandey who smashed a 49 ball 83. He came out all guns blazing to prove a point and played some cracking shots. This should come as some sort of a relief for SRH management as Manish’ form should somewhat match the loss of Bairstow and Warner. They still have a gun bowling attack and though Rashid Khan was taken apart by Watson in their last game they should see that as a one-off and move on from that loss. If they play to their potential, there is no reason why they cannot make the playoffs and even make a top two finish.
Chennai Super Kings have raised some serious issues for them towards the end of the tournament. Though they have already qualified for the playoffs, they badly want to finish in the top 2 to get a home qualifier where the pitch suits them the best. Their miseries continue against Mumbai Indians who have now defeated CSK for the 2nd time this IPL. To add to that, the form of their middle order batsmen with the likes of Rayudu, Raina, and Kedar has been awful. Their captain has been leading from the front each and every game and if Dhoni has a bad game both as a captain and as a batsman then it would be curtains for CSK that game. There is no individual in the team who is taking responsibility apart from Dhoni. Last year CSK defeated SRH 4 matches in a row including qualifier 1 and final. This year with Mumbai already defeating CSK 2 times in league stage, and CSK and Mumbai more likely to finish in the top two, one can expect a repeat of what CSK did to SRH last year by Mumbai to Chennai.
Delhi Capitals are truly turning the tables on this year with some magnificent bowling and batting. Initially, after their first four games, they still had a little bit of Daredevils in them but once they started to win games at a stretch which is new to them, they liked the taste of that and turned into a completely a new team. Kagiso Rabada is the leading wicket-taker this season and he is leading the table by a large margin. He already has 23 wickets to his name and with another 3 more games to go, he might achieve new height for the highest number of wickets for a season. Shikhar Dhawan has found form just at the right moment and has been giving brisk starts at the top of the order and the ever impressive Shreyas Iyer has been leading well from the front. Prithvi Shaw has transformed himself from a hit and miss player to a proper opener who can stay all the way till the end of the innings which shows the importance of Sourav and Ricky in the back end. Rishabh Pant played a match-winning knock in the game against RR and there is always the experience of Colin Ingram in the middle. On their bowling front, they have all bases covered and they just have the right combination to go all the way through.
Kings XI have lost their momentum just at the wrong time just like the last season. Though their captain Ashwin is leading well from the front, their execution is going nowhere when it comes to game time. They still have the chance to qualify for the playoffs big time and they have their fate in their own hands. They just need to win their remaining games and the rest will take care of itself. They are heavily dependent on their openers and they expect both KL Rahul and Gayle to come good every game which is not happening. Gayle though has been in his destructive form, he is finding ways to get out and KL Rahul has been disappointing for the last few games. Their death bowling is terrible with Viljoen, Tye, and Shami has been taken to cleaners by the opposition batsmen with ease, they seriously need to make some bold moves to stand a chance to qualify. They are not using Mujeeb and that needs to be seen in the remaining games since they have 2 of their last 3 matches in their home where the pitch will be low and slow.
Mumbai Indians are certainly living up to their expectations and they just seem to have answers for every question that is been thrown towards them. With their Captain Rohit finding form, they are in a happy space and looking like the team which could take the title without even sweating it out from others for the 4th time.
Kolkata Knight Riders will be the most disappointed team this season, with the kind of team and reputation they had they were touted to be the dark horse to lift the trophy but it isn’t anymore. Though they have an outside chance just like RR and RCB to make the playoffs, it is very unlikely to happen since they have 2 of their remaining 3 games against the mighty Mumbai Indians. KKR had a major blow coming into this season with both Mavi and Nagerkotti being ruled out, and as there is no reputed overseas fast bowler, it has hurt them big time. Dinesh Karthik’ captaincy has been put under the scanner, making some terrible moves paving ways for defeats time and again. They need to address their issues big time and they should leave this season behind and come back strong next season starting from good auction. They badly need a reputed overseas fast bowler like Cummins or Starc who can be a captain’ go to bowler during crunch moments of the game.
My top 4 for this season in no particular order
- Mumbai Indians
- Chennai Super Kings
- Delhi Capitals
- SunRisers Hyderabad
All in All there is one last set of exciting group matches waiting for us.
Bala'Blog 