It has been an attractive 18th edition of the Indian Premier League. The biggest speaking point of the season is dominated by perennial underchivers and the poor performance of most powerhouses. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capital and Punjab Kings – who do not even have an IPL title among them – have set the stage on fire since the start of the tournament and are in the top clusters. Meanwhile, the five -time winner – Chennai Super Kings, three -time champions – Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals – have lifted the trophy on each occasion – have struggled to build any kind of speed in their campaign this season. And then Mumbai are Indians – who had a disastrous start and looked down and outside before staging one of the most notable changes in IPL history!
So, who are favorite for making playoffs? Will RCB end on the position of the pole? Is DC in place of troubled? Can Mi spoil the party of PBKS and bring a storm in the final four? We investigate.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s success is the year and currently seven out of 10 encounters are in a position of pole. He has created some speed to win his last three matches and looks good to make a playoffs for the fifth time in the last six sessions. The RCB has been very aggressive in the Death over (run-rate of 11.7) and is very restrictive with the ball through competition (IPL 2025’s best economy rate of 8.8).
Virat Kohli has been his playmaker with the bat and is the leading run-song of the season with 443 runs at a strike rate of 139. He is very continuously registering in 10 innings in the six fifty. Josh Hazlewood has been fantastic with the ball and is about to take major wickets of the tournament, with 18 dismissal at a strike rate of 12.2.
The remaining four encounters of RCB are with teams in the lower clusters – one -one with a Lucknow super legend, Sunrisers, Knight Riders and CSK. They will fancy themselves to win at least three of these matches that will take them up to 20 points and guarantee the top-two finish.
Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans have been malicious with bat with six out of eight matches and this season has the best joint batting average (43.1) and the highest strike rate (167.9). His top-order has been fired for a long time and is the only team that has lost only two matches in the competition. His top 3 has a joint batting average of 54 in this season – so far, the competition is best in the competition.
Sai Sudharsan, JOS Buttler and Shubman Gill have all scored more than 300 runs at a strike rate of 150+. Titans are also outstanding with balls with the best average and strike rate for pacers this season. Prasad Krishna has been his unsuccessful hero with the ball and has returned this season with a strike rate of 11.6 and 16 wickets in the 7.3 economy.
Delhi capitals
Delhi Capital started the season with a blast, winning its first four matches, but after that three of their last five matches faced defeat. He is currently at number 3 on the points table with six out of nine matches. The next two fixtures against KKR and SRH are very important for DC and need to win both before a confrontation with other teams in the top clusters.
The batsmen have performed well for DC this season – they have been aggressive with five of the main six striking at the rate above 150! KL Rahul is a pick of batsmen with a pickle of 364 runs, including three fifties.
Punjab kings
Punjab Kings have been the most aggressive team in the tournament and seem to be the most demanded until the mid-season. However, in the last few matches, the indifferent results in the last few matches and they suddenly find themselves at number 5 disturbing location on the table. PBK needs to win at least three of its last five matches. The fourth place could be decided for the playoffs in his game Dharamasala against Delhi Capital and Mumbai Indians.
Priyash Arya has been a star for PBK this season. He has scored 323 runs at a rate of 200.6 and stole Limelight from Shreyas Iyer, who started the tournament in breathtaking fashion, but has seen the form in the last few matches.
Mumbai Indians
The five -time champion has made the most sharp comeback this season and is now knocking on the door for the playoffs! He looked down and out and completely out at the beginning of his campaign, lost four of his first five matches, but has seen a remarkable change since winning his last five matches. The Mi points have jumped at number 3 on the table and with their top-order firing, they have force and speed with them.
Suryakumar Yadav has been his highest impact of the season with 427 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of around 170. Jasprit Bumrah has influenced the competition after late entry and has taken nine wickets in six matches in only 7.5 economy. Trent Bault is also at the right turn for MI with seven wickets in its last two encounters.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans should qualify for playoffs without much sweat. The scramble will be for the other two spots with three teams – with three teams in Delhi Capital, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Subjects mentioned in this article
