Jarrod Kimber, Shayan Ahmad Khan
The IPL Power list is here. You will laugh, cry and be disappointed where I have your team. But that is why we do it. Because it’s as fun as a Tushar Deshpande spell or being Fraser-McGurked.
This week we are looking at each team’s strengths and a player of the week.
1. Rajasthan Royals
Recent record: 0-1 (L @SRH)
Despite losing Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson in the first over of the innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag’s partnership put them on the course for a win. Sunrisers Hyderabad bowled exceptionally well to defend 67 runs in 6.3 overs after Jaiswal’s wicket.
Batting strength: Death overs
Even though they were not able to cross the line against SRH, they have done quite well at the end of the innings throughout the season. Samson has been their most important player, striking at 210 in the final four overs without being dismissed.
Bowling strength: Powerplay overs
Trent Boult has been one of the most effective new ball bowlers in IPL 2024 – he takes wickets and does not go for a lot of runs either. Sandeep has figures of 4 for 19 so far in five overs in the Powerplay.
Player of the week: Yashasvi Jaiswal
Not only was Jaiswal (along with Parag) the main reason why RR came close against SRH, but he also scored a match-winning ton against Mumbai Indians two games before that. His form will be crucial come the playoffs, when RR won’t have the services of Buttler.
Upcoming fixtures: @DC, @CSK, v PBKS (Guwahati)
They still have four games to go, and it went down to the final ball in both their losses. A top two finish should still be achievable with their squad.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders
Recent record: 3-0 (W v DC, W @MI, W @LSG)
They were definitely the best team of the week, and winning two games away from home has strengthened their case for a top two finish. While they won all three games they played this week, victory against MI showed how they could come from behind, recovering from 57 for 5 to 169.
Batting strength: Powerplay overs
Phil Salt and Sunil Narine have been a major reason for KKR’s success. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has also shown promise, scoring 78 off 49 while being dismissed thrice in the powerplay. Will they move him up the order when Salt is not available for the playoffs? They also have the option of Gurbaz.
Bowling strength: Middle overs
The spin duo of Narine and Varun Chakravarthy has been very good in the middle phase. Andre Russell has been slightly expensive, but he has taken nine wickets in just 16 overs – often creating a difference.
Player of the week: Sunil Narine
Narine did not concede more than 24 runs and took at least one wicket in each of the three games. With the bat, he scored 81 off 39 at Ekana.
Upcoming fixtures: v MI, @GT, @RR (Guwahati)
MI and GT are not in form, so this could be a great opportunity for KKR to finish in the top two.
3. Sunrisers Hyderabad
Recent record: 1-0 (W v RR)
Nitish Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen powered SRH past 200, which seemed a bit far off when they had only 48 on the board in eight overs. We saw glimpses of peak Bhuvneshwar Kumar when he dismissed Buttler and Samson in the first over.
Batting strength: Powerplay overs
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have given them terrific starts on a regular basis. Both of them have scored at over 210, and Head also averages a mind-boggling 96.3.
Bowling strength: Powerplay overs
Although their bowling has not been effective as a whole, they are at their best in the Powerplay. Bhuvneshwar has seven wickets, the joint-most this season with Boult and Khaleel. T Natarajan has also done well, returning with 3 for 80 in 10 overs.
Player of the week: Nitish Reddy
Coming in at 35 for 2 in 5.1 overs, Nitish hit 76 off 42. The fact that he is a fast-bowling all-rounder means Indian fans are also excited to see how he goes.
Upcoming fixtures: @MI, v LSG, v GT
They are 6-4 right now, so they need at least 2 more wins to feel comfortable. MI and GT are on a four and three-match losing streak respectively.
4. Chennai Super Kings
Recent record: 1-1 (L v PBKS, W @PBKS)
CSK lost the home game and won the away game against Punjab. They batted first in both games, scored in the 160s, and had way different results.
Batting strength: Death overs
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been their best batter, but they perform at their best in the final four overs. MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube have been destructive in this phase. Ravindra Jadeja finally struck some hitting form in the last match.
Bowling strength: Middle overs
Matheesha Pathirana was a big reason for CSK’s dominance in this phase – his nine wickets came in only 13 overs. Mustafizur Rahman also did quite well, while Jadeja and Tushar Deshpande have also been economical.
Player of the week: Ravindra Jadeja
He had a very good all-round outing in the away game, top-scoring with 43 off 26 and taking 3 for 20 in four overs. He was not as effective in the home game, scoring only 2 and conceding 22 runs in three overs without a wicket.
Upcoming fixtures: @GT, v RR, @RCB
They are 6-5, so they need to win at least two games. RR have been the best team in the tournament, and RCB are also in form right now.
5. Lucknow Super Giants
Recent record: 1-1 (W v MI, L v KKR)
LSG won against MI in the final over and then lost by almost 100 runs against KKR.
Batting strength: Middle overs
Marcus Stoinis, KL Rahul, and Nicholas Pooran have scored runs at a good strike rate and average in the middle overs.
Bowling strength: Powerplay overs
Mohsin Khan and Yash Thakur have taken five wickets each while the field restrictions were on.
Player of the week: Marcus Stoinis
Stoinis put in a good all-round performance against MI, scoring 62 off 46 along with figures of 1 for 19 in three overs. He top-scored with 36 off 21 against KKR, but that would just not be enough.
Upcoming fixtures: @SRH, @DC, @MI
Their net run-rate has taken quite a hit. All three of their upcoming games will be on the road. LSG v SRH is a very important match in context of the playoffs race.
6. Delhi Capitals
Recent record: 0-1 (L @KKR)
Kuldeep Yadav took Delhi past 150, and KKR made more than half of that in the Powerplay without even losing a wicket. Axar Patel’s bowling was the only other positive.
Batting strength: Powerplay overs
Jake Fraser-McGurk is scoring at more than 2.5 runs a ball, while averaging 65. While Prithvi Shaw and David Warner have not been at their best this season, they have done a decent job while the field restrictions are on.
Bowling strength: Middle overs
The spin duo of Kuldeep and Axar have taken wickets while also stemming the flow of runs between overs 7-16.
Player of the week: Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep top-scored with a 26-ball 35 against KKR, to drag DC from 118 for 8 to 153 for 9.
Upcoming fixtures: v RR, @RCB, v LSG
Delhi can still qualify for the playoffs, but they need to win all three games. Their net run rate is -0.44, so it may not be easy to get through with just seven wins.
7. Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Recent record: 1-0 (W v GT)
RCB restricted GT to 147, which started off with 23 for 3 in the powerplay. Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli then came out all guns blazing but they slipped from 92 for no loss to 117 for 6. It took some smart batting from Dinesh Karthik and Swapnil Singh to take them home safely.
Batting strength: Powerplay overs
Kohli (272 runs at 91/160) and du Plessis (258 runs at 32/178) have done an impressive job of giving consistent starts at a good clip. They put up RCB’s highest ever powerplay score (92) against GT.
Bowling strength: Powerplay overs
Even though RCB’s attack has been up and down, their powerplay bowling has been a major factor in the last four matches. In the first seven games, they took seven wickets at an economy of 10.8. In the last four, they’ve taken 11 wickets at an economy of 8.4.
Player of the week: Mohammed Siraj
Siraj was off colour at the start of the season. However, a brief spell on the bench and the rest he got have transformed him. He has 4 for 123 in 16 overs in his last four games, keeping the runs down in key overs while making important strikes.
Upcoming fixtures: @PBKS, v DC, v CSK
If they win all three games and a few other results go their way, they might still be in with a chance to sneak into the playoffs. However, the one-run loss against KKR might just come back to haunt them.
8. Punjab Kings
Recent record: 1-1 (W @CSK, L v CSK)
Punjab bowled first and kept CSK in the 160s in both games. They chased it down with ease at Chepauk, but collapsed from 62 for 2 in the eighth over to 90 for 8 in the 15th in Dharamsala.
Batting strength: Death overs
Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma have carried Punjab in the final four overs of the innings. They have come close on several occasions this season.
Bowling strength: Middle overs
Almost every Punjab bowler has done a good job between overs 7 to 16. Harshal Patel has the most wickets, Rahul Chahar has been a strike bowler while maintaining a good economy, and Harpreet Brar has kept a lid on the scoring rate.
Player of the week: Rahul Chahar
Chahar has figures of 5 for 39 in eight overs against CSK. He was dropped for five matches after starting in the first three, but he has made a terrific comeback.
Upcoming fixtures: v RCB, @RR (Guwahati), @SRH
They are still in it mathematically, but their upcoming games will be challenging. Again, if they win all three and just miss out, it could be the close losses that hurt them.
9. Mumbai Indians
Recent record: 0-2 (L @LSG, L v KKR)
MI recovered from 27 for 4 to 144 for 7 while batting first, and managed to take the game to the final over against LSG. However, they let KKR make 169 from 57 for 5. Apart from Suryakumar Yadav, nobody else got going in the chase.
Batting strength: Middle overs
Tilak Varma has been very good in this phase, averaging 55 at a strike rate of 164. Suryakumar is also at his best, and even Hardik Pandya prefers to bat between overs 7 to 16 in this IPL. Nehal Wadhera has also rescued MI from precarious positions against RR and LSG.
Bowling strength: Death overs
Of course, thanks to Jasprit Bumrah, MI have been the third most economical team in the final four overs. Gerald Coetzee has also conceded less than 8 runs per over in this phase.
Player of the week: Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah is operating at a level above the rest. Although he did not take a wicket against LSG, he conceded only 17 runs in 4 overs. He also took 3 for 18 in 3.5 overs against KKR.
Upcoming fixtures: v SRH, @KKR, v LSG
They can win a maximum of six games, and none of their upcoming games are easy. Their season is all but over at this point.
10. Gujarat Titans
Recent record: 0-1 (L @RCB)
GT had a terrible start – 23 for 3 – in the powerplay against RCB. Shahrukh Khan, David Miller and Rahul Tewatia hit 30s to ensure that they recovered enough to post 147. Josh Little and Noor Ahmad did trigger a collapse that gave them a chance, but they just did not have enough ruins on the board in the first place.
Batting strength: Death overs
Tewatia, Rashid Khan and Miller have been their top three run-getters in the final four overs. Miller strikes at 220, but he has only faced 30 balls in this phase.
Bowling strength: Middle overs
Sai Kishore has been their best bowler in the middle overs, while Noor Ahmad has also been decent. Rashid has picked up only three wickets at an average of 76 in this phase, which is far from what you’d expect from him.
Player of the week: Noor Ahmad
Noor’s spell of 2 for 23 in four overs kept GT in the game against RCB. He got two big wickets, of Will Jacks and Kohli.
Upcoming fixtures: v CSK, v KKR, @SRH
They are also not yet out of contention. But a net run rate of -1.32 means that even if they finish with seven wins, it may still not be enough. Plus, their upcoming games are against strong teams.
