The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League has reached its halfway mark, with each team now having played seven matches apiece.
With less than a month to go in the tournament, the league table is starting to take shape nicely. While some usual suspects have made a strong statement, new challengers have also emerged on the horizon. Meanwhile, some heavyweights have had a shocker and are staring down the barrel at the midway point.
Based on the evidence of what has been served up in the first half of the campaign, we have graded the eight franchises on their performances.
MUMBAI INDIANS
GRADE: A+
Image credit – BCCI/SPORTZPICS.
The defending champions were scratchy at the start and suffered two defeats in three matches to open their campaign. Just when doubts were starting to emerge about their title defence credentials, Mumbai turned on the style.
It is safe to say that Rohit Sharma’s men have finally found their bearings in the UAE with four victories on the trot. They sit at the top of the table due to their superior net run-rate and are the team to beat once again.
What’s encouraging about Mumbai is that all their key men are in good form, while new additions like Trent Boult and James Pattinson have settled in instantly. Kieron Pollard is looking like a man on a mission with his consistency, although it is Suryakumar Yadav who has emerged as the team’s batting lynchpin.
With Quinton de Kock also starting to find his feet after a poor start, Mumbai have as complete a starting XI as they come. They dismantled fellow challengers Delhi Capitals in their most recent clash, bearing all the hallmarks of a team firing on all cylinders.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
GRADE: D
Image credit – BCCI/SPORTZPICS.
After key players like Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh pulled out of the IPL before the campaign had even begun, Chennai Super Kings entered the competition as a team in slight turmoil. A win over arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener did assuage some of those doubts, although it only proved to be a misdirection in the end.
Five losses in the six games since have left Chennai’s ‘Dad Army’ thoroughly exposed, with MS Dhoni’s ageing squad lacking in both inspiration and energy on the field. Chasing under pressure used to be Chennai’s forte in previous editions, but that ability seems to have been stripped off completely in the Emirates.
In Dhoni’s own words, there are ‘several holes’ in the CSK squad, and it looks like one which is doomed to sink. Not refreshing the squad with fresh faces is biting them in the face, and the prospect of missing play-off qualification for the first time in franchise’s history is now a real one.
Sam Curran and Faf du Plessis have been the only positives in a shambles of a season so far for the three-time champions.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
GRADE: A
Image credit – BCCI/SPORTZPICS.
IPL’s perennial underachievers look like they might finally be on to something this year after registering five wins from seven so far.
An emphatic loss at the hands of Kings XI Punjab in the early stages of their campaign sent alarm bells ringing and it seems like a familiar script was about to follow. To Bangalore’s credit, they have responded strongly to adversity this time in contrast to previous seasons.
The Super Over win over Mumbai Indians has worked wonders for their confidence and it has been followed up with some convincing victories. Skipper Virat Kohli and his partner-in-crime AB de Villiers have fired at key stages for the side, while young Devdutt Padikkal is proving to be a massive hit in the opener’s role.
Spinners Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal have applied the squeeze on the opposition batsmen, and are a big reason for RCB’s promising first half. South African all-rounder Chris Morris has given them a lot of balance since coming into the playing XI, after the likes of Moeen Ali and Josh Philippe flattered to deceive.
There is still the possibility that the Bangalore boat might go belly-up in the latter stages, but for now the signs are promising.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
GRADE: B
Image courtesy – BCCI/SPORTZPICS.
The most positive aspect of Kolkata’s season so far is that they find themselves in the play-off positions without Andre Russell really contributing in a big way. The Windies star all-rounder’s best work so far has come with the ball in hand, and we are yet to see any of that famed explosive batting in the UAE.
Four victories and three losses show that KKR have struggled for consistency, and two of those wins came with the narrowest of margins. What’s worked for them is the consistency of Shubman Gill at the top, while England skipper Eoin Morgan has shored up the middle-order with his displays.
Huge concerns, though, remain in other areas of the team. Pat Cummins hasn’t really churned out the performances befitting the profile of the most expensive auction purchase, while spinner Sunil Narine’s season is in doubt after he was warned for a suspect bowling action.
If Russell can live up to his reputation as the league’s most valuable player in the remaining games, then Kolkata can still hope for a strong finish. At this stage, it could go either way for Dinesh Karthik’s troops and the recent crushing loss by 82 runs against Bangalore does not inspire too much confidence.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
GRADE: C
Image credit – BCCI/IPL.
The Rajasthan Royals campaign started off in rollicking fashion with back-to-back wins, but the wheels quickly fell off in spectacular fashion. The runs drying up for Sanju Samson along with the lack of consistency in Steve Smith and Jos Buttler’s batting resulted in four straight losses for the franchise.
Rahul Tewatia, though, has turned out to be an unlikely hero for Rajasthan with his latest heroics against Sunrisers Hyderabad giving a new lease of life to the side’s faltering campaign. What is evidently clear is that the Royals are heavily dependent on their overseas contingent and their domestic Indian roster is severely lacking in quality.
Jofra Archer has been exceptional with the ball, though Smith and Buttler will need to step up if a charge for the play-offs is to be made. One cause of optimism is the return of Ben Stokes, although he looked out of touch in his first game of the season.
If the all-rounder can replicate his sensational 2019 exploits for England in the IPL shirt, then Rajasthan could realistically challenge for the play-off spots. However, that is a big if at this stage, especially with Stokes having just returned to cricket after a long spell out due to personal circumstances.
KINGS XI PUNJAB
GRADE: D
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A campaign that started in the most encouraging of fashions has quickly disintegrated into a familiar story for Kings XI Punjab. With KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal forging the most prolific opening partnership of the tournament, KXIP should really have amassed more wins that a solitary victory so far.
It is telling that Punjab are rooted firmly to the bottom of the table despite at least three players enjoying excellent individual campaigns. The rest of the support cast has not chipped in enough, while their bowling in the death overs has greatly hampered their prospects.
These factors have culminated in Punjab losing three close encounters, although they have also been thrashed comprehensively in their three other matches. One of the primary reasons for their failures has been Glenn Maxwell’s abysmal form, with the Aussie maverick yet to live up to his billing as one of the most destructive T20 batsmen.
Meanwhile, veteran Chris Gayle is rotting on the bench and KXIP could need to turn to him if they are to salvage anything from the second half of the season. The picture, for now, is ominously bleak.
DELHI CAPITALS
GRADE: A+
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Their most recent loss to Mumbai notwithstanding, Delhi have been the most captivating team in this year’s IPL. Shreyas Iyer and his men have arguably the strongest domestic roster among the eight franchises, and that has translated into some brilliant displays.
The fact that Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have forged a formidable overseas pace duo has helped Delhi’s cause too, while Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel have been immense in the spin department.
The Indian batting spine of Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant has been vital to Delhi’s progress, with Shimron Hetmyer adding to it with his Caribbean flair. Unlike Chennai, there are no gaping holes in this Delhi side brimming with quality all the way from No1 to 11.
Coach Ricky Ponting looks to have drilled a winning ethos across the board, and anything less than an improvement on their third-place finish in 2019 will be seen as a failure. If they can maintain the intensity, a maiden IPL title is not out of the question.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
GRADE: C
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Sunrisers Hyderabad looked like they recovered well from a disastrous start to their campaign, though the latest loss to Rajasthan has wiped out the optimism once again. The fear with Hyderabad going into the tournament was they were too top-heavy in the batting department, and that has proven to be the case on several occasions already.
There is a big gulf in quality below the opening pair of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, and even Kane Williamson’s inclusion in the playing XI has failed to allay the fears. On the bowling front, Afghan star Rashid Khan has been the key performer while the others have been a mixed bag.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with an injury throws a further spanner into the works for Hyderabad. All is not lost, and the gap between SRH and the top-four is a very small one.
If Warner and Bairstow can rediscover the consistency in their partnership from last season, then the Sunrisers will be a challenge for any team in the competition.
