Each IPL team has now played 2 games apiece to start the season and had enough time to adjust to the conditions and figure out their perfect combination. To everyone’s surprise, RCB have come out of the blocks flying and are the only team with a perfect record while the Sunrisers Hyderabad are the only team without a win on the board. We have seen some fantastic knocks, great bowling performances and poor fielding but most importantly, five of the eight matches so far have been nail-biters that have gone down to the very last over. It’s been a fascinating opening week and this is how the eight teams stack up two games into the season.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
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Virat Kohli’s men are the only team with two wins on the board so far and have edged out both the Mumbai Indians and the Sunrisers Hyderabad in last over thrillers. The biggest positive for RCB from both these games has been the emergence of Harshal Patel. Patel was acquired from a trade from Delhi and has currently solved their death overs bowling woes with 7 wickets in two matches. It also looks like the bet on Glenn Maxwell has paid off with Maxwell finally playing to his full potential in the two games so far. However, before the RCB fans start chanting “Ee Sala Cup Namde,” it’s important to remember that RCB could have easily lost both games as well and the form of Yuzvendra Chahal is a little worrying.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
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The Kolkata Knight Riders should have two wins to their name but unfortunately capitulated against the Mumbai Indians despite needing only 31 of their 28 deliveries. Nevertheless, besides that freak collapse, the signs are promising for KKR and they look like an incredibly balanced outfit. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi have batted with great intent at the top of the order which instantly makes KKR a more dangerous batting unit while Shakib Al-Hasan and Andre Russell give Eoin Morgan plenty of options with both bat and ball.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
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What stands out about Chennai Super Kings is their incredible batting depth with Dwayne Bravo and Shardul Thakur coming in at number 9 and 10. The imperative thing now for MS Dhoni is to make the most out of these batting resources in each game and empower their batsman to bat with intent given their depth. While the batting has sorted itself out, Chennai have been inconsistent with the ball so far in the tournament. Deepak Chahar ran through the Punjab batting line up with his seam but the bowlers struggled against were found out by Shaw and Dhawan in their opening game. Dhoni is lacking genuine wicket-taking options in the middle overs and maybe a getting in Imran Tahir or Karn Sharma at the expense of one batsman might be the right move for the team in the future.
MUMBAI INDIANS
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As opposed to the rest of the franchisees, the Mumbai Indians play only 13 league games a season. They performed admirably in their opening warm-up fixture against the Royal Challengers Bangalore which they lost due to an AB De Villiers masterclass but came back nicely to win their first real game of the season against KKR. Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya have been fantastic so far but the team has still found it tricky to adjust on these slow Chennai pitches. Their lower-order firepower has effectively been neutralized on this slow Chepauk wicket and they need to adapt accordingly considering they still have 3 more games to play at this venue.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
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After being tipped by many (including me) to be the team best equipped to challenge the Mumbai Indians, SRH have started with two losses from two games. Their batting has let them down so far in the tournament and Manish Pandey, in particular, has disappointed in both games where he failed to make the most of his starts. SRH have already trialed Jason Holder and Mohammad Nabi but are yet to find the perfect overseas combination and may be forced to bring in Kane Williamson to beef up their batting.
PUNJAB KINGS
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Punjab’s problems over the years in the IPL has been their inconsistency and that was perfectly summed up in their two performances so far this season. Against the Royals, their batting clicked and they scored 221 while against the Super Kings a top-order collapse meant they only managed 104 runs in their 20 overs. It is also difficult to judge their two new Aussie quicks after two games on this Wankhede track but one glaring issue for the team is their lack of all-round options in the XI and their non-existent batting depth with Jhye Richardson at number 7.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
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With Ben Stokes sidelined and Jofra Archer still training in England, Rajasthan’s play-off hopes have already significantly reduced one week into the tournament. However, both David Miller and Mustafizur produced vintage performances for RR against Delhi and if they can continue in that vein, Rajasthan could do well this season. Chetan Sakariya has also been the find of the IPL so far and Sanju Samson has looked in ominous touch with the bat and RR could surprise a few teams this season with their new approach.
DELHI CAPITALS
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The Capitals have been without Iyer, Nortje and Axar Patel to start the tournament but pulled off a complete performance against CSK before losing a last-over thriller to Rajasthan. In terms of positives, Prithvi Shaw has looked a different player to the one that played in the UAE and Avesh Khan has filled the Indian seamer’s role with distinction. Otherwise, there are still some question marks over the balance of the squad and the role of Ajinkya Rahane at number three. The Capitals should make the final four with the squad they have but Ponting and Pant haven’t figured out the right combination as of yet.
It’s still incredibly early into the season with only 8 games played but at this stage, the competition looks incredibly even with every team littered with match-winners and capable of winning on their day. However, as the games come thick and fast, losing can become a habit and winning can be a drug and the pressure to get results has never been greater.
[Image Credit: IPL – Indian Premier League]
Shivaan Shah