IPL 2020: A Race To The Top

 

We are halfway into IPL 2020 and it’s been one of the most competitive seasons so far. There isn’t that one dominating team sitting pretty at the top of the table, and every team still has a mathematical chance to qualify. As a KXIP fan, this season has been quite frustrating but there’s been a magnificent amount of good cricket to cover up for that. 2 Super Overs already, so many close games! The highlight of this season for me is the terrific young local lads who are stealing the limelight. I had a look at the teams’ journey so far and tried to predict the qualifiers!

Mumbai Indians: As opposed to their last UAE outing where they lost 100% of the games, the Mumbai Indians have come well-prepared this season. They lost the first game of the IPL but bounced back quite hard. They’re a well-balanced side this time around. MI is fighting for a spot in the top 2 and not in the top 4!

Delhi Capitals: Contrary to their previous season, the Capitals have built one of the best T20 teams. Powerful hitters and wicket-taking bowlers. It’s a young side but they’re cruising into the playoffs this year. My personal favourite this year and would love to see them play the qualifier 1 and the final! 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Finding much relief this season compared to the last few, Kohli & Co. are looking quite confident to end in the top half of the table. They’ve had some great wins lately and they’re only getting better. It’s a team that’s clicking for a change. Winning 3-4 out of the next 7 should do them well and they completely deserve it this year. 

Kolkata Knight Riders: If there’s one team that’s leaving people confused this year, it’s KKR. They’ve clinched some pretty close games but also had some hard defeats. Dinesh Karthik as captain is raising many questions and that might be the make-or-break for the Knight Riders. They’ll need to win 5 games to compensate for their poor NRR in order to make it to the top 4.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Backing their bowling side as always, SRH has had quite an inconsistent run this year owing to the openers’ lack of form and the injury of their main man Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In order to elongate their journey, Sunrisers have to win atleast 4-5 out of their next 7 games. Their positive NRR is going to give them an edge over the others, if it comes down to that. 

Rajasthan Royals: For a team with Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Steve Smith, you’d expect them to be in the top 4 consistently. However, barring Archer, the form of rest has been a huge concern for the team. Royals are easily in the running and have to win 5 of their next games since they come bearing a poor NRR.

Chennai Super Kings: IPL’s most celebrated and successful franchise has finally bear the brunt of age. Losing Raina and Bhajji right before the tournament, CSK never got themselves perfect replacements. They’ve won only 2 out of their 7 games and every loss made CSK fans believe in nightmares.Super Kings need to win atleast 6 of their games, up their NRR and expect the other contenders to not further gain points. 

Kings XI Punjab: Distressed by hard luck and poor decisions, KXIP has managed to triumph only one game so far this year. They’ve come close to victory on several occasions but never managed to seal the game. They need 7 wins on the trot, several losses of their opponents and a miracle in order to make it in the top 4. Kings XI are now playing only to gain back their confidence going into the 2021 season.

After religiously watching every ball of every match, I dared to make a prediction for a tournament in this unpredictable year of 2020 where “CSK is losing and RCB is winning”.

Likely to make it to the playoffs: Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad