Kolkata Knight Riders are the form team in this IPL, winning matches for fun and sitting atop the table. Rajasthan Royals have lost momentum of late and as rain played spoilsport in Guwahati on Sunday, they missed out on the opportunity to finish in the top two and get a second bite of the playoff cherry.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have that advantage instead, after finishing second in the group league, A golden run - six wins on the spin - meanwhile have taken Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the playoffs.
Kolkata Knight Riders
They have won four matches on the spin. They are riding so high that it feels like the title is theirs to lose. T20 cricket revels in its unpredictability, but when a team has many performers, the unpredictability factor gets reduced. The way KKR have been playing, it doesn’t feel like they would lose back-to-back matches to miss out on playing the final.
Their biggest strength is that they have match-winners aplenty. Sunil Narine has been a revelation this season, as an opening batsman. So far, he has scored 461 runs in 12 matches at a strike-rate of 182.93. As a bowler, he remains miserly, irrespective of conditions – his 15 wickets have come at an economy rate of 6.63.
The team atmosphere has contributed to the team’s success and credit goes to Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s mentor, for making the dressing room a happy place. Team spirit has allowed youngsters like Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora to fit seamlessly into their respective roles. But every silver lining has a cloud and KKR’s success might play a role in them losing Gambhir to the Indian team.
One area of concern for KKR in the playoffs could be their opening partnership. Phil Salt’s departure has broken the tournament’s most prolific opening combination. Salt and Narine had six 50-plus partnerships in this IPL and Rahmanullah Gurbaz will have to hit the ground running. It won’t be easy.
Rajasthan Royals
They went on a golden run in the first half of the tournament, winning eight games out of the first nine. But when the Royals hit a slump, they go into free fall. It happened last year. It’s happening this season as well. They are on a four-match losing streak and must arrest the slide to win the Eliminator against RCB.
On the upside, Royals have arguably the best bowling attack in the tournament. But their batting might suffer in Jos Buttler’s absence. The opener, along with England teammates, has flown back home to play a bilateral series against Pakistan in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. With their talisman gone, the onus is now on Royals skipper Sanju Samson to make up for the absence.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru made a stellar comeback and launched themselves into the playoffs with their nothing-to-lose attitude.
After starting their IPL campaign on the wrong foot, winning only one match from the first eight that they played, they sparked their comeback with a win against the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad, beating them by 35 runs.
Throughout their six-match unbeaten run, RCB's greatest strength lay in their top-order batters. Explosive starts from the opening pair of Virat Kohli and du Plessis, combined with Rajat Patidar jolting into red-hot form, helped RCB dismantle every opponent that stood in their way.
The biggest difference between RCB’s first eight matches and their next six was that most runs were scored in the Powerplay, giving the team an upper hand in every game. Kohli drastically changed his approach, scoring quickfire runs and giving his strike-rate critics plenty to ponder. As for Patidar, he scored five half-centuries in the last eight games.
Their lack of a world-class spinner, however – Yuzvendra Chahal and Wanindu Hasaranga were both let go in recent seasons – could yet come back to haunt them in the knockout games.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
When it comes to the Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad, they look a formidable team that have had their ups and downs in their hunt for a playoff spot. SRH’s biggest strength is their opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. They have both scored at a mammoth strike-rate in excess of 200, and driven the team to post several record-breaking totals.
Head, the Australian left-hand batter, has given aggressive batting a new definition while scored 533 runs, including one century and four fifties. His fearlessness also seems to have rubbed off on his partner – young Abhishek has amassed 467 runs and hammered 41 sixes so far, 10 more than his combined total from the last six seasons.
SRH seem to also have figured out the best fit for the No. 3 position. Rahul Tripathi, now 33, has the ability to adapt and evolve according to challenging situations. Heinrich Klaasen, the South African power-hitter and an important cog in their wheel, too, has found his groove after several mid-season failures. In their win against Punjab Kings that clinched second spot, Klaasen’s 42 played a crucial role in driving the team over the line. Inconsistency, especially on challenging surfaces, remains SRH’s biggest weakness, and it remains to be seen how they handle the pressure in their first playoff appearance since 2020. They will have to play their A game to beat KKR.
In exclusive arrangement with RevSportz
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
