Tata IPL 2023 Play-offs: An exciting fortnight awaits the fans

Some teams do not even give up till the end, hoping that a No Ball or a Wide would give them a second shot at victory; like how Sunrisers Hyderabad found out on Sunday night against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, in Jaipur.

Few would have expected veteran T20 bowler Sandeep Sharma would fail to defend 24 in the last over. But, as is often said in cricket, a game is not over until the last ball is bowled.

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The same 29-year-old Sharma, in an earlier match, successfully defended 21 runs against one of the finest finishers the game has seen, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai. In that game against CSK, Sharma did not give Dhoni room to score the winning runs by yorking him when five were needed to win of the last ball. That was 25 days ago and a lot can happen over that period in the IPL.

Unforgiving IPL

With five to win off the last ball, SRH's Abdul Samad Sharma to the long off boundary in search of the victory hit only to be caught by the fielder in the boundary. However, the home team's celebrations had to be cut short as the third umpire found Sharma overstepping. The resulting Free Hit was promptly despatched by the J&K batsman straight for a six to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But it was RR who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, as such is the unforgiving nature of this league.

“Matches like this make the IPL so special. You can never, never feel you have won the game,” a distraught skipper Sanju Samson said after Sunday’s loss. “Life is never easy playing this format and this tournament. Each and every game, we have to play our best standard of cricket. We will come back and try to do it again,” he added.

Last year finalists RR, who were once table toppers winning four of their first five matches at the start of this season, are now fourth in the points table after slumping to five defeats in their last six games. That does not throw them out of contention yet. But they have a mountain to climb as two of their remaining three games are away from home.

DC's fiery win against RCB: Phil Salt assault keeps Delhi Capitals alive in IPL

Sunday's thrilling result gave SRH their fourth win and fresh hope as they leapfrog last-placed Delhi Capitals to ninth position. With four matches remaining for the Aiden Markram-led SRH, they can go up to a maximum of 16 points if they win 'em all.

“It is a great win. It gives us the momentum,” said SRH batting coach Hemang Badani after the nail-biting win. “It will give us confidence, give someone like Samad the confidence.”

Late bloomers

Badani added that this was probably the only IPL where, after teams have played 10 games each, everyone is still in with a chance. The former India and Tamil Nadu left-handed batsman said: “If you see the table right now, this is probably the only IPL where 10 games are done and every side is still in with a chance. Even DC, KKR are still in with a chance. A couple of teams at the top, for instance, Rajasthan Royals, who were on top of the table, have lost five of their last six. It is a crazy IPL and I believe we will take it one game at a time and see where it goes. Not going to think too far ahead,” Badani said of his team’s chances of making it to the Play Offs.

Last-placed Delhi Capitals were written off, even by themselves, after they started the season with five successive defeats. But amazingly, they are still in the reckoning, thanks to four victories in their last five matches. “It is all about momentum. The log is so jammed at the moment. We are finding the right balance now at the right time,” said David Warner, the DC captain after his team’s fiery win came against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday. Warner's DC face a tough CSK in Chennai in their next game on Wednesday.

Nothing is guaranteed in cricket, and more so in IPL. Not long ago, the results did not go as planned as each of the top four teams – Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – lost a match each to give the chasing pack a chance at climbing up the ladder. Though that did not displace the four from the top, it did alter shuffle the standings.

Revisit: KKR keep themselves in the hunt as SRH's fortunes dip

Now, while each of the teams will keep an eye on the Play-Offs position, no team can afford to think too far ahead. The clichéd “taking one game at a time” will be the going theme amongst the franchise thinktanks. One bad result may see a team knocked out prematurely while Titans winning their next game will make the other nine teams fight for the remaining three Play-Offs places.

Now at the business end of the tournament, things can only get hotter in what has already been a hotly-contested IPL with the boundaries stretching far and the results taking unexpected turns. For all you know, the teams currently in the top four may proceed to the Play-Offs. Or the teams that are in the bottom four – PBKS, KKR, SRH and DC – could potentially pull of a miracle and seal their final-four berths. If not, one or two teams who have no chance of qualifying could play spoilsport for their opponent’s quest for progress, as is so often the case.

Regardless of who makes it to the final four, the next fortnight could provide some nerve-wracking excitement that is sure to have fans at the edges of their seats.

This is what makes IPL the premier T20 competition in the world.