IPL 2018: Team Analysis of All Eight T20 Franchises

The eleventh edition of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) drew curtains on Sunday (May 27) night, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lifting the title for the third time in league’s history.

However, when we look back at the tournament, it will be remembered as one of the most evenly fought games, as all teams had their fair shot at the title, at one point or the other.

Here we’re looking at the IPL 2018 campaign of all eight teams this season:

Delhi Daredevils – 4/10:

Another year, another disappointment for the Delhi Daredevils’ fans. The double-D’s ended their campaign on a positive note after the disastrous start of the season.

It was utter mayhem within the Daredevils camp in the middle of the season, with the swapping of captaincy, and dropping of Gautam Gambhir.

Yet again, the Daredevils turned out to be party spoilers for Mumbai Indians and the Super Kings, during the fag end of the round-robin league.

IPL 11 turned out to be the first season where all eight teams reached above 10 points, with Daredevils winning five and losing nine matches this year.

Kings XI Punjab – 5/10:

The campaign of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) may be distinguished into two halves. While they were firm contenders for the title with their winning streak in the month of April,

Ashwin’s KXIP side had a disastrous May where they encountered a losing streak.

At one stage, even after housing the Orange Cap and Purple Cap holders in the tournament, (KL Rahul and Andrew Tye), Kings XI could not progress into the playoffs, due to the lack of team effort and overdependence on a couple of players during the fast-paced league.

Also, Kings XI won??six out of the first eight games, but could not cross the finishing line even once during the last six games of the season. They ended up second last in the table with 12 points in the tournament.

Royal Challengers Bangalore – 6/10:

Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore side, after a dismal start to the season, gathered momentum in the back end of the tournament with a string of wins.

RCB, at one point in time, were firm contenders for the fourth spot in the playoffs but could cross the finishing line when it mattered the most, versus Rajasthan Royals (RR).

The perennial concern always has been their bowling, But, during the latter half of the tournament, the likes of Tim Southee, Mohammed Siraj, and Umesh Yadav were exceptional, to provide RCB fans with optimism for next season.

RCB ended up with 12 points but were placed sixth in the points table of IPL 2018 with a superior net run rate.

Mumbai Indians – 6/10:

Another team which came back strongly during the latter stage of the season, Mumbai Indians (MI), could not quite replicate their old habit of qualifying into the playoffs, after a string of losses up front.

The likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Mayank Markande, turned out to be a revelation in the tournament, while the Pandya brothers, as always, were brilliant for MI.

Unfortunately, Mumbai had the tendency of losing close matches up front. The defending champions ended up in the fifth position with 12 points in IPL 2018.

Rajasthan Royals – 8/10:

During the last week of round-robin phase of the tournament, as many as four teams were locked at 12 points.

However, it was a Jaipur-based outfit which trumped all with a win in the penultimate match, to qualify into the playoffs with 14 points.

Much like the other teams in a gridlock, Royals were languishing at the bottom half of the points table. But, the likes of Shreyas Gopal, Gowtham, Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler turned it around for their side, to see Royals making into the playoffs.

When the Royals look back on the tournament, it would be the case of ‘what would have been’ if Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson did not give their wicket away in the eliminator game.

However, the Royals, on their comeback trail, would be proud of their performance, ending the season at the fourth place, even without a helping hand from Unadkat and Stokes, for whom they spent a fortune, or in the absence of their marquee player Steven Smith.

Kolkata Knight Riders – 8.5/10:

Dinesh Karthik had his task cut out to carry forward the legacy left by Gautam Gambhir with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). That said, Venky Mysore will be delighted with the podium finish in the IPL 2018.

The positives out of this season would be the performances from the youngsters. Namely, Shivam Mavi, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, and Shubman Gill.

Also, their big guns, Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, and Andre Russell, showed the way to the young Indians in the team. Their spin attack proved to be lethal, every time they took the ball in hand.

When they look back at this season, they would feel that they were undone by Rashid Khan, who single-handedly knocked them out of the competition with his all-round show in the second qualifiers.

Sunrisers Hyderabad – 9.5/10:

The eventual runners-up Sunrisers in the tournament were the team to beat throughout the season, as they ended up as table-toppers in the league.

Kane Williamson marshalled his troops brilliantly, in the absence of their talismanic captain David Warner, with his inspirational captaincy and the bat in hand.

The Kiwi star had his breakthrough season in IPL 2018, amassing as many as 735 runs. Also, he had the best bowling attack in the tournament.

With their record of defending low-scores in the tournament, the Sunrisers were given the tag of ‘Ministers of Defence’.

Unfortunately, they faced a lethal Shane Watson in the grand finale, who blew away Sunrisers’ proven bowling attack.

Looking back, Moody and co. would be proud of his boys, who were sensational in the tournament. They might be a force to reckon with, in the presence of Warner and Billy Stanlake, next season.

Chennai Super Kings – 10/10:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Super Kings went on to lift their third IPL title by defeating Sunrisers for the fourth consecutive time in the tournament, this season.

Clearly, they had the better of the men in orange and truly were the best side in the competition.

The yellow brigade had a different match-winner every time they stepped onto the field. Starting from Kedar Jadhav and Dwayne Bravo to Sam Billings and Ambati Rayudu, and finally, Shane Watson who scored two glorious tons this season, showing that the old dog still has a lot on an offer.

Further, Dhoni himself had a memorable season when it comes to captaincy and batting. Despite limitations in the bowling department, injuries to key players, and being devoid of their home turf.

CSK, on their comeback trail, against all odds, managed to lift the IPL 2018 title, registering one for the folklore.