Kaustubh S. Mayekar

We are just a few matches away from the electrifying playoffs. With Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings already cementing their place, the other teams are toiling hard to reach the top four. Now let’s cut to the chase by highlighting each team’s placement in the points table.

Delhi dared to win only 2 matches:
At the bottom of the table is Kevin Pieterson’s Delhi Daredevils. Out of 12 matches, the Daredevils have managed to win only 2 matches. In fact, curtains are already down for the Daredevils after their 7th consecutive loss last night. The only reason for the Daredevils to continue playing is for pride. Despite having heavyweights such as JP Duminy, Dinesh Karthik and Ross Taylor, the team failed to capitalize opportunities.

Sunsrisers rose to the occasion only in 4 matches:
A team that has three hard-hitting batsmen—Shikhar Dhawan, Aaron Finch, David Warner—and 3 match-winning bowlers—Dale Steyn, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra—in their team is expected to be among the top 3 teams in the points table. However, that is not the case for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, as they are in the 7th place. The Sunrisers never appeared to rise to the occasion, as they have encountered only 4 triumphs in 11 matches. To add to the fire, the team management took the captain’s throne from Shikhar Dhawan and passed it to former West Indies captain Darren Sammy. The team seems to have no substantial strategy to lift this year’s cup.

Flop show by Ro-HIT Sharma’s team:
At number 6 is IPL’s cash-rich team Mumbai Indians. Having a leader such as Rohit Sharma; mentors such as Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rick Ponting; fielding coach such as Jonty Rhodes, the team showcased a poor performance this year. Though the team managed to grab few victories after their 5 consecutive losses in UAE, there seems to be no light at the end of tunnel for the Ambani’s team. The defending champions have bagged only 4 wins in 11 matches.

Ordinary performance by the Royal Challengers:
The flamboyant Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore appeared undefeatable before the tournament. The on-paper strongest team has had a roller coaster journey thus far. All the same, the entire unit has been belittled by their bowlers. With batsmen putting up 180-plus score, bowlers failed to defend it, thanks to red-hot form of batters – Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers. The Royal Challengers have pocketed 5 wins and 6 losses, and are at the 5th position.

Too hot by Gambhir, too cool by Uthappa, KKR all set to rule:
Registering a win against Mumbai Indians in the league’s very first match, Kolkata Knight Riders had head-over-heels tourney. With unstable strategy and too many changes in first few matches, King Khan’s team looked like losing their way. To add to their misery, in league’s first leg Zaheer Khan had more runs than Gautam Gambhir, as Gambhir quacked a couple ducks. But they say strong men come back stronger and so did Gambhir. He smashed three consecutive half-centuries, which was followed by Robin Uthappa’s blistering form. The Knight Riders have now jumped to the 4th place, with 6 wins and 5 losses.

Rajasthan played the royal way:
Despite losing 5 matches out of 12, Rajasthan Royals are at number 3. Mentored by Rahul Dravid, Royals are flooded with all-rounders such as Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Kevin Cooper, James Faulkner, Stuart Binny, and so on. The IPL’s most balanced team has performed royally in every given department. They have chased big targets and defended smaller ones; and amidst all the “Halla Bol”, they have even snatched a victory in super over.

All in all, number one and number two are secured by George Bailey led Kings XI Punjab and MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings respectively. However, the million-dollar question that keeps every cricket fanatic on the edge of the seat is: who will qualify for the playoffs in hugger-mugger IPL 7?