After the completion of two legs in India and UAE and 56 matches of the league stage of IPL 2021, we finally have the best and the deserving top four teams of the tournament. Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders are the top four of the league. These four teams have been consistent and dominant throughout the tournament. The business end of the tournament is here and let’s analyze the journey to their road to playoffs.
Table Toppers – Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals had one of their best seasons in this tournament with 20 points. They were also the first team to qualify. They have a strong batting line-up and a lethal bowling unit. They faced difficulties with their former captain Shreyas Iyer being ruled out of the tournament in the first leg and Stoinis getting injured in the latter half of the tournament. DC handed over the captaincy to Pant, and he has done a brilliant job till now. The team’s win percentage in 14 league matches is 71.43%, which demonstrates their consistency. DC has looked like the best team in the tournament and is one of the favourites to win the IPL title.
Key players in DC’s road to the playoffs
DC has a complete and balanced team. All their players have stepped up in crucial moments, and that’s the reason they are at the top of the table. Shikhar Dhawan, the veteran Delhi opener, has been the lead batsman for DC. He has done this for years, as this year also, he has scored 544 runs at an average of 41.84. His performance in the second leg of the tournament was a little shaky, but overall, his season has been good for DC. DC is on the top of the table mainly because of their bowling attack. The youngster Avesh Khan is their lead wicket-taker and also second in the race for the purple cap. Avesh has picked up 22 wickets in 14 matches and, he has bowled at an impressive rate of 7.18. Other than him, DC’s bowling attack has looked lethal and is one of the best in the tournament as they have picked up 94 wickets in 14 matches.
Second position: Composed Chennai Super Kings
MSD’s led CSK had a great start to their tournament as they qualified for the playoffs with three games in hand. CSK did have a forgettable 2020 season in the UAE, but they came back strong in this year’s IPL with 18 points in their allotted 14 matches. They are second on the table, and they did play well as their trusted players took the challenge in their hands and have performed well. They have scored at a rate of 8.70 with the bat, and with the ball in hand, they took a total of 82 wickets. They have looked a bit trembling in their last three matches as they have faced defeats in their last three league games. But we expect the men from Chennai to bounce back and give a tough fight to DC in the first qualifier.
Key players in CSK’s road to the playoffs
CSK’s team has a lot of all-rounders, and players like Jadeja and Bravo have performed exceptionally well. Their bowlers have also performed well. Shardul Thakur is having his best season as he is picking up wickets regularly and has bowled economically. He has been exceptional and has been supported well by Hazlewood and Chahar. But, their key to success in this tournament is their opening pair of Faf Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Faf has been their highest scorer with 546 runs. He has scored at a great rate of 137.53 and an amazing average of 45.50. Gaikwad is not behind too, as he has scored 533 runs at an average of 44.41. It includes an astounding ton against RR, which was unfortunately on the losing side. The two of them have provided exceptional starts and are responsible for most of the runs, which resulted in winning many games for their team.
Third-placed: Roaring Royal Challengers Bangalore
Is this the year for the boys from Bengaluru? Virat Kohli’s RCB has had one of their best tournaments in the last few years. They qualified for the playoffs with three games to go. RCB is third in the table. They have the same number of wins as that of CSK, but their net run rate of -0.140 is lower than that of CSK. But, RCB is in full flow and is in great momentum with four wins out of the last five encounters, and they look like a strong team going into the playoffs.
Key players in RCB’s road to the playoffs
RCB roped in Glenn Maxwell in this year’s auction, and he has proved to be their best buy to date. The big show was out of form last year and didn’t even hit one-six. Before this year, he scored six fifties in his IPL career, and this year he already has scored six fifties in a season. Maxwell has had his best season with 498 runs at an astonishing average of 45.27 and a stunning strike rate of 147.34. Another player who has made a huge impact on RCB’s success is purple cap holder Harshal Patel. He has picked up an unimaginable 30 wickets in 14 matches at a strike rate of 10.4. He is just two wickets away from equaling the record for most wickets in a season held by Bravo. Harshal has bowled brilliantly along with Siraj and Chahal, and he has proved to be the solution to RCB’s bowling problems.
Fourth positioned: Knights from Kolkata
Kolkata Knight Riders were the last team to qualify. Their impressive net run rate of +0.587 helped them reach the playoffs grabbing the fourth spot in the table. Kolkata looked like a better team in the UAE leg as the players started to perform to their potential. They were getting quickfire starts with the bat, and with the ball in hand, their spinners proved their mettle to pick up wickets at regular intervals, which eventually helped in the team’s success. As a team, they have scored at a rate of 8.18 and have picked up 87 wickets in 14 matches. KKR is a solid team and looks good as they face RCB in the eliminators on Monday.
Key players in KKR’s road to the playoffs
KKR transformed into an entirely different side since the second leg of the tournament when Venkatesh Iyer opened the innings. Venkatesh has been a complete sensation in the second leg of IPL as he has scored 239 runs in just the seven matches, he played this year. The young gun from Madhya Pradesh played fearlessly and provided quickfire starts to his team. He used to set the platform for his team and also had been the anchor in successfully chasing down two targets. He was also handy with the ball in hand as he provided Morgan with an extra bowling option. Varun Chakravarthy led the charge for KKR in the bowling department, as he was the most successful bowler during the league stages. Chakravarthy has picked up 16 wickets in 14 matches. His USP has been his economy rate of 6.50, as he used to prevent his team from getting bashed by the opposition teams. These two players, along with the whole team have helped KKR reach another playoff in this tournament.
Conclusion
All four teams have come to this stage with sheer consistency and determination. Reaching the playoffs in IPL is never easy, but all of these four teams have played to their best potential and have been the better team among the other four teams. It will definitely be an exciting playoffs stage as we set our alarms at 7:30 pm IST on Sunday for the first qualifier between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.