Cricket history: Rajasthan Royals are at No. 1 in the IPL 2024 Points Table. How did they perform till 2023?

They put together a motley crew, of whom few were in demand at the auction. As a result, they ended up spending less than the IPL’s minimum cutoff and paid a fine. They then went through the season without losing a single home match en route to becoming the tournament’s first ever champions.

The low-cost, high-output approach earned them the moniker of the IPL’s Moneyball Team.

Rajasthan continued with their knack of scouting diligently, picking unknown cricketers, and making heroes out of them. They spotted Kamran Khan, the teenage left-arm pace-bowling son of a woodcutter, at a local tournament. At the other end of the spectrum was Pravin Tambe, who was well into his forties but without any domestic cricket background: the Royals picked him from Mumbai club cricket.

Rajasthan emerged from the 2022 mega-auction with a unit of outstanding cricketers – but with almost no all-rounder: they released Rahul Tewatia, while Riyan Parag’s bowling became ineffective at this level. They tried to counter that by pushing R Ashwin up the order, but the problem was not solved: none of their batters bowl, while almost none of their bowlers bats, offsetting the team’s balance.

Judicious use of the Impact Player would have addressed the problem, but the Royals camp was not efficient at it in 2023. Their success in 2024 will depend largely on how they change it. Their explosive batters and outstanding bowling attack are likely to address most of the rest.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders were the only side to have not made it to the Playoffs in any of the first three editions. Then, under Gautam Gambhir, they won the IPL in 2012 and 2014. Later, they finished runners-up in 2021. There was also a phase between 2016 and 2018 when they reached the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.

The Gambhir era was dominated by spin. The Kolkata attack often consisted of at least three spinners in that era on an Eden Gardens pitch that assisted them. Of the KKR spinners of the era, Sunil Narine was the most significant. Over time, Gambhir often used Narine as an opener, giving him full licence to go after the bowling inside the powerplay.

Narine continues to play for KKR. He has bowled alongside generations of spinners for the franchise. In 2024, he will have Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, and if there is an overseas slot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The appointment of Gambhir as mentor may influence the resurgence of the KKR spin attack.

Andre Russell, the other T20 legend for the West Indies, had an ordinary 2023, but a lot has changed since then. With an eye on the World Cup, the national selectors recalled him after two years. Since then, he has been in ominous form, with 214 runs at a strike rate of 196 as well as 10 wickets from eight games.

Mitchell Starc is likely to start, but if he does, KKR will have to pick one of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Phil Salt, dangerous with the bat, as their wicketkeeper. That will mean having to leave out Sherfane Rutherford.

Of course, that may not matter, for the Knight Riders boast of a very strong middle order, in Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and the Iyers – Shreyas and Venkatesh. Likewise, Gus Atkinson may miss out, but Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, and Vaibhav Arora may turn out to be a handful.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad debuted in the IPL in 2013 and made it to the playoffs on first attempt. They made five consecutive appearances in the playoffs between 2016 and 2020, winning in 2016 and finishing runners-up in 2018.

Things have gone downhill since then. They had to remain content with the wooden spoon in 2021, and then again in 2023. In between, they finished eighth out of ten teams in 2022.

Part of this had to do with the constant change at the top. David Warner led them in 2020. They sacked him halfway through the season in 2021 and appointed Kane Williamson, whom they retained for 2022. For 2023, they released Williamson and appointed Aiden Markram, but for 2024, they have already named Pat Cummins.

Additionally, they had replaced Tom Moody with Brian Lara as head coach for the 2023 season. Lara’s stint lasted one season: they will begin 2024 with Daniel Vettori in charge. The constant chopping and changing has almost certainly hurt the team’s cause.

Sunrisers’ strength traditionally used to be a very strong unit of Indian bowlers, especially pacers, while the talismanic Rashid Khan would throttle the opposition in the middle overs. That underwent change over time, but they are still capable of fielding an all-Indian bowling attack from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Washington Sundar, and Shahbaz Ahmed.

They boast of the strongest overseas contingent, which may – somewhat counterintuitively – go on to hurt them at this edition. If they pick Cummins and Travis Head, their world champions, there will be room for only two of Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and Wanindu Hasaranga, all of whom are much sought-after T20 stars around the world, not to speak of Marco Jansen, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Glenn Phillips.

If they can pick the right overseas combination, Sunrisers may be a difficult team to beat, but will they?

Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow Super Giants played the IPL for the first time in 2022. In that season as well as the next, they finished third in the league, qualified for the playoffs, and lost the Eliminator to finish fourth –to Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in 2022, to Mumbai Indians in 2023.

Lucknow’s strength lies in their long list of all-rounders. If one takes a bit of liberty, at least eight members of their squad can be classified in that category even after David Willey has been ruled out of the early part of the season. Not every member of the side may bat or bowl every time they take field, but such all-round depth, coupled with he Impact Player, enables Lucknow to take risks.

Combine that with the exciting Indian talent – left-arm seamer Mohsin Khan or the right-arm fast bowler Mayank Yadav – and Lucknow come across as a very strong side, at least on paper.

A much-followed aspect of Lucknow’s season will be the batting position of K.L. Rahul. He will want to find his place back in the Indian side for the T20 World Cup. A fantastic IPL may get him there, but there is no room at the top in the international side.

Rahul will thus be forced to find a place in the middle order – something he has done successfully in ODIs and now Test cricket. He may bat at four or even five, and for that, he may want to drop down the while batting for Lucknow. Perhaps that was why they acquired Devdutt Padikkal at the auction.

Of the many all-rounders, Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis are likely to start, along with Quinton de Kock at the top and one of Naveen-ul-Haq and Shamar Joseph. Kyle Mayers may have to wait for his moment.

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings have played 10 IPL finals when no other team has made it to seven, while their five trophies are the joint most (along with Mumbai Indians). The discussion around the greatest IPL team is long, but no franchise has produced comparable sustained success.

Sometimes called the “Dad’s Army”, CSK have a reputation for backing cricketers well into their late thirties and even beyond. They are led by M.S. Dhoni (42) and boast of Moeen Ali (36), Ravindra Jadeja (35), and Ajinkya Rahane (35). Of late, however, there has been an influx of youth.

Of 14 league matches, teams play seven at home. CSK CEO Kasi Viswanath had once commented that the team looked at the league games as two separate legs – home and away. Over the years, their spinners use the slow, low home surface well, with excellent support from their seamers. At Chepauk surface, the Chennai have won 66 IPL matches and lost 33 – an absurd win/loss ratio of 2.

But while Chepauk has played a significant part in Chennai’s success, it has not been the lone decisive factor. Like most successful T20 teams, Chennai bat deep, they have their power hitters, and they can field different-looking bowling attacks in conditions different from Chepauk.

In 2024, Chennai have – as always – a large, diverse set of all-rounders. Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar provide incredible depth even without their Impact Player. Devon Conway will miss out the early stages, but Chennai can pair Rachin Ravindra with Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top.

Towering over all is M.S. Dhoni, who agreed to stay on for this one final season. Dhoni faced fewer than four balls a match in 2023, but the sixes were reminiscent of the Dhoni of yore. The greatest cricketing superstar the city has known will want to bow out on a high.

Delhi Capitals

Delhi’s IPL track record makes curious reading. They made it to the top four thrice in first five seasons, including two instances where they topped the league table. Then began a bizarre slump, where they finished last in 2013, 2014, and 2018, and was outside the top five in the three seasons in between.

Ahead of the 2018 season, they invested heavily in youth, and appointed young Shreyas Iyer as captain. They now embarked upon a streak of unprecedented success, making it to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. This included a best-ever runners-up finish in 2020. They came fifth in 2022.

Despite not exactly being ordinary, Delhi have largely been inconsistent at the IPL. It is difficult to pinpoint a reason behind this inconsistency over the years, though in 2023, they had suffered multiple crucial blows.

They were without Rishabh Pant – in other words, a captain, wicketkeeper, and a much-feared batter. It is never easy to find replacement for a generational talent like Pant. Anrich Nortje had a below-par season, while the dangerous Prithvi Shaw lost form and had to be dropped midway through the campaign. This time, however, they have a full-strength side, and are set to come out all guns blazing.

Delhi’s strength lies in their Indian bowlers. They may even drop Nortje and pick an all-Indian bowling attack, in Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, and Khaleel Ahmed. This will enable them to back Pant and Shaw with four overseas batters. They do have some dangerous options – David Warner, Tristan Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mitchell Marsh…

Delhi Capitals have known better days, but they have checked most boxes at the auction this time. Perhaps that elusive IPL trophy is not far away.

Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans won the IPL on their maiden appearance, in 2022. They might have won in 2023 as well, had Ravindra Jadeja not taken ten off the last two balls in the final to pull off a heist for the Chennai Super Kings. They are the only team in IPL history to make it to the final of their first two editions.

What made Gujarat successful? Captain Hardik Pandya went up the order to adopt an uncharacteristic anchor role. He batted deep into the innings, enabling the power hitters – David Miller, Rahul Tewatia – to go after the bowling. They paired Shubman Gill with Wriddhiman Saha at the top and used Sai Sudharsan up the order later.

They boasted of a strong pace attack as well. Mohammed Shami would go flat out in search of wickets, while Rashid Khan – arguably the greatest T20 cricketer of all time – would dominate the middle overs and even contribute with the bat. Pandya himself took new ball and bowled at the death, while the support cast invariably stood up to the challenge.

This time, things are different. Pandya has left for Mumbai Indians. Shami has been ruled out of the IPL. Rashid is returning from an injury. At 39, Saha is perhaps on the wane. Gill will have to bear the additional responsibility of captaincy. While still a strong team on paper, Gujarat may find it difficult for the first time in their brief history.

Umesh Yadav, a like-for-like replacement for Shami, is a top-quality bowler – but is unlikely to match an in-form Shami. There is also the matter of Pandya. While Kane Williamson may assume that anchor’s role at No.3, he will not bowl four overs of pace, which will affect the balance of the side.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians went without an IPL trophy for the first five seasons but won five in the next eight to gallop ahead of their rivals. They finished fifth in 2021 and had an outright forgettable 2022, where they finished last.

However, it was a phase in transition when legends like Kieron Pollard and Lasith Malinga retired from the IPL and took up coaching roles with the franchise. The Pandya brothers – Krunal and Hardik – left for other teams. Their dream of pairing Jasprit Bumrah with Jofra Archer came down crashing when Archer missed all of 2022 and most of 2023, and Bumrah all of 2023.

Mumbai now have Hardik back. They even named him captain instead of Rohit, who had led them to all five titles. There is uncertainty looming over Suryakumar Yadav’s availability for much of the season. And while Bumrah may play, his workload may be managed to ensure his availability for the latter stages.

Despite that, Mumbai have an exceptionally strong outfit – and that is largely due to their long-term faith in Indian talent. Tilak Varma has already made it to the Indian team, while Nehal Wadhera and Akash Madhwal impressed in 2023. With seniors like Rohit, Hardik, Kishan, Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, and when available, Surya, Mumbai have most bases covered even without their overseas contingent.

There are the explosive middle order too, though it is not clear how many of them will fit in. They can even pick all four of Tim David, Mohammad Nabi, and Romario Shepherd, and Gerald Coetzee and, if needed draft in specialist fast bowlers like Jason Behrendorff, Kwena Maphaka, or Nuwan Thushara.

All in all, they look a well-rounded unit. If they have a full squad at their disposal, they will start among the favourites.

Punjab Kings

Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) have reached the final only once, in 2014, when they lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders. But that tells only part of their dismal run. Barring 2008, 2014, and 2017, they have never made it to the top five. They have finished last only thrice – in 2010, 2015, and 2016 – but their win-loss ratio of 0.839 is the worst among the ten teams at their edition.

All that may sound bleak, but Punjab emerged from the 2024 auction with a strong unit. Their pace bowling attack, in particular – Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, perhaps even Sam Curran – bears a formidable look.

They do have explosive batters in Rilee Rossouw, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, and Sikandar Raza as well, though it is likely that they may have to pick only two of them.

Shikhar Dhawan, now 38 and in the last legs of his illustrious career, will try to bat as deep into the innings as possible, allowing the big hitters around him to have a go. Punjab also have Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma as well, to compliment the big-hitting overseas batters.

The spin department looks thin, and a lot will rely on Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar, though there will be support from Raza’s off-breaks and Livingstone’s mixed bag of spin bowling. Punjab’s strength, however, lies in their big hitters and fast bowlers. If they get going, Punjab may finally convert their promise to performance.

It is long overdue, too: this will be the tenth anniversary year of Punjab’s only appearance in an IPL final.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) have played made it to the top four eight times. They have played three IPL finals – in 2009, 2011, and 2016 – but have not won any of them, much to the frustration of one of the largest, most passionate fanbases in the world of franchise cricket.

On paper, the RCB do not come across as a weak side. In fact, they could have won two of the three finals. In 2009, they needed 65 in 51 balls with seven wickets in hand. Chasing 209 in 2016, they were 100-0 in nine overs. They squandered title opportunities on both occasions.

A deeper dive will, however, reveal that Bengaluru’s IPL win-loss ratio of 0.95 is better than only three other sides in the 2024 edition. One of the three, Sunrisers Hyderabad, have taken a nosedive in recent past to reach there. While sublime on their days, Bengaluru’s inconsistency has let them down.

Bengaluru’s team selection has played a part in this. Virat Kohli is the leading run-scorer in IPL history, but on the RCB all-time runs chart, the next Indian name is of Rahul Dravid, who last played for the franchise in 2010 and has 12.3% of Kohli’s aggregate. They have never backed a second Indian batter.

Their batting continues to boast of big names. Apart from Kohli, they feature Faf du Plessis, Will Jacks, Cam Green, and Glenn Maxwell, while Dinesh Karthik will want to have a memorable final season.

Unfortunately, the bowling does not seem as impressive. If they include three overseas power hitters, they will be able to accommodate only one of Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Reece Topley, and Tom Curran, leaving Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep to do much of the heavy lifting. And the spin attack looks particularly thin.

How the teams performed head to head

1. Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Two of the eight teams from the first edition of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (erstwhile Royal Challengers Bangalore) can match each other in fan following. However, they have had contrasting shares of fortunes at the tournament.

Despite being banned in 2016 and 2017, Chennai have won the IPL five times, a count matched only by Mumbai Indians; Bengaluru, on the other hand, have never clinched the title. The teams have clashed 32 times, and CSK hold a clear 21-10 advantage over RCB. CSK’s dominance has increased even more in recent past: they have won five of the last six clashes and 12 of the last 15.

Four of these clashes have been in the playoffs. Bangalore won the first of these, in the 2009 semi-final, after keeping Chennai to 146-5 and winning with seven balls in hand. Chennai restricted Bengaluru to 175-4 in the Qualifier 1 of 2011 and chased the target with two balls to spare to reach the final, where they met Bengaluru again. This time they made 205-5 and restricted Bengaluru to 147-8 to win the title.

The other instance was in the Qualifier 2 of 2015. Here, RCB could make only 139-8, and at one point CSK needed five runs in eight balls with five wickets in hand. A three-wicket-collapse later, CSK somehow scraped through with one ball to spare.

In 2023, the teams met only once, at Chinnaswamy, where Devon Conway (83 in 45 balls) and Shivam Dube (52 in 27) helped CSK amass 226-6. Faf du Plessis (62 in 33) and Glenn Maxwell (76 in 36) took RCB to 141-2 in 12 overs in response, but they lost too many wickets as the scoreboard pressure kept mounting and finished on 218-8.

2. Punjab Kings v Delhi Capitals

Over the course of time, Kings XI Punjab changed their name to Punjab Kings and Delhi Daredevils to Delhi Capitals, but none of that helped change their fortunes. The trophy cabinet remains barren, and the most they can show are one appearance in the final apiece – Punjab in 2014, Delhi in 2020.

Against each other, the geographical neighbours have provided one of the most intense rivalries in IPL history. After 32 matches, they have won 16 apiece – though one of Delhi’s wins, in 2020, came in the Super Over. No pair of teams in IPL history is tied on head-to-head records after as many clashes.

Since both teams have traditionally been middle-of-the-table sides, each of their clashes has been in the group stage, but the contests have always been fierce. The intensity is reflected in Delhi’s home games, where neither side holds an advantage after 12 games. In Punjab’s fortress at Mohali, however, the hosts have won six of the seven matches between the sides.

Of late, Delhi have held a distinct advantage over Punjab, winning seven of the last nine games. The teams met twice in 2023. At Delhi, Prabhsimran Singh’s 65-ball 103 helped Punjab amass 167-7. David Warner (54 in 27) began the response well, but Delhi could only make 136-8 against Harpreet Brar (4-30).

Delhi had their revenge in Punjab’s adopted home at Dharamshala. They rode on a belligerent 37-ball 82 not out from Rilee Rossouw to amass 213-2. Liam Livingstone led Punjab’s charge with a 48-ball 94, but they could only make 198-8.

3. Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad

It took Kolkata Knight Riders four attempts to reach the top four in the IPL, but they turned things around quickly by winning the tournament in 2012 and 2015. Sunrisers Hyderabad came to the party late, in 2013, but it took them only three years to win their maiden title. Additionally, Kolkata played the final in 2021 and Hyderabad in 2018.

Kolkata have dominated this “Biryani Derby” over the years, winning 16 and losing only nine of the matches between the sides. In the playoffs, the teams met three times, in consecutive seasons.

In the Eliminator of 2017, Hyderabad made 162-8 and Kolkata 140-8. In next year’s Eliminator, it rained after Hyderabad made only 128-7, and Kolkata’s target was adjusted to 48 in six overs: they got there with four balls to spare. And in the 2018 Qualifier 2, SRH posted 174-9 and restricted KKR to 160-9 to qualify for the final.

KKR have also dominated the recent matches, winning six of the last eight. Both sides won their away matches in 2023. At the Eden Gardens, Harry Brook slammed an unbeaten 55-ball 100 to take SRH to 228-4. Nitish Rana (75 in 41 balls) and Rinku Singh (58 not out in 31) could take KKR to only 205-7.

The encounter at Hyderabad, on the other hand, was not a high-scoring affair. Kolkata quickly became 35-3 before Rana (42 in 31) and Rinku (46 in 35) lifted them to 171-9. Hyderabad lost their way in the middle overs and eventually finished on 166-8, five fewer than Kolkata’s score.

4. RR vs LSG

In the inaugural edition, in 2008, Rajasthan Royals became the first team to win the IPL. However, they have reached the final only once since then, in 2022, which also marked the debut of the Lucknow Super Giants. After making it to the playoffs on maiden appearance, Lucknow repeated the feat in 2023.

Since the league stage of the 2022 edition was played entirely in Maharashtra, the two Rajasthan-Lucknow clashes were both played in Mumbai. At the Wankhede Stadium, Shimron Hetmyer took RR to 165-6. Trent Boult then took two wickets with the first two balls of the Lucknow innings before Yuzvendra Chahal (4-41) restricted Lucknow to 162-8.

Rajasthan won again at Brabourne Stadium. Yashasvi Jaiswal (41 in 29 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (39 in 18), their youngsters, took them to 178-6. This time Boult struck with the first two balls of his second over. Despite Deepak Hooda’s 39-ball 59, all Lucknow could make was 154-8.

With the pandemic a thing of distant past, the IPL was played across India in 2023. The two teams met only once that season, at Rajasthan’s home turf in Jaipur, but it was here that they collapse in bizarre fashion to lose to Lucknow for the first time.

Kyle Mayers made 51 in 42 balls at the top to help Lucknow post 154-7. Jaiswal (44 in 35 balls) and Jos Buttler (40 in 41) kept Rajasthan on track, adding 87 for the opening stand in 69 balls. Four quick wickets brought Padikkal and Riyan Parag together, but the target was a very gettable 51 in 29 balls, but Rajasthan could never get going. They lost by 10 runs.