IPL 2021: Rating All Teams Based On Their Performance In The Tournament

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) ended with MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lifting their 4th trophy by defeating Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The 4 teams that made it into the playoffs were Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals (DC) MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings defeated Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1 to make a direct entry into the final. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders won the back-to-back battle against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Eliminator and table toppers Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 to make it into the final. Overall fans were able to witness thrilling and nail-biting encounters between top Indian Premier League (IPL) teams that were packed with star Indian and overseas players.

In this article, we will try to rate all 8 teams according to their performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

IPL 2021: Rating All Teams Based On Their Performance In The Tournament

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – 9.5

The Chennai Super Kings are unarguably one of the most consistent teams in the history of franchise cricket. After a horrible run in the IPL 2020. CSK made an exceptional comeback and throughout the season they looked dominant. They started pretty good and were aiming to finish at the top of the points table but were unable to do that after three back-to-back losses. However, they finished 2nd in the points table to secure a spot in Qualifier 1.

In the group stage, Chennai Super Kings won 9 out of 14 games and had 18 points in their bag with a net run rate of +0.455. Also, two of the best performers for the side were Ruturaj Gaikwad the Orange Cap holder and Faf Du Plessis who was the second-highest run-getter of the season. On the bowling side of things, Shardul Thakur was the MVP of the team. Overall CSK had a nice blend of experience and few young talents which led to the team’s success in the 14th edition of IPL.

Also Read: MS Dhoni Becomes Oldest IPL Captain To Win A Title, Breaks Shane Warne’s Record

Delhi Capitals (DC) – 9

Delhi Capitals (DC) were entering the tournament with a brand new captain Rishabh Pant as their original captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the season due to an injury. Although Rishabh Pant faced criticism for his poor captaincy at the start of the season things changed pretty quickly and the Delhi Capitals (DC) finished the first half of IPL 2021 at the top of the points table.

The second half was also a pretty good one for the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals and they had an even better squad as Shreyas Iyer was back in the playing XI. Delhi under the coaching of Legendary Australian Captain Ricky Ponting continued their dominant run and finished at the top of the points table with 10 wins in 14 games and a net run rate of +0.481. However, some bizarre decisions in the playoffs stage resulted in DC losing the Qualifier 2 and getting knocked out of the tournament.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – 8

The Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) barely made it into the playoffs but get an 8 rating for their sensational turnaround in the second phase of IPL 2021. KKR finished the first phase of the tournament at the bottom half of the table, but few changes made by Head Coach Brendon McCullum in the side led to massive success. Opener Venkatesh Iyer and Kiwi Pacer Lockie Ferguson played a big role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ making an exceptional comeback. However, Captain Eoin Morgan had a bizarre outcome with the bat as he averaged 11.08 throughout IPL 2021.

Kolkata Knight Riders had 7 wins in 14 games in the group stage and they had a lot of momentum heading into the playoffs. Many considered Kolkata Knight Riders a serious title contender but the poor middle order of the team led to KKR losing their first final as they had won 2 out of 2 finals played in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – 8

Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had one of the best runs in the history of the tournament in IPL 2021. Virat Kohli also announced that the 14th edition of IPL 2021 will be his last season as a captain and fans expected the season to end on a good note with Kohli finally lifting the IPL 2021 trophy but it didn’t happen.

Royal Challengers Bangalore finished the group stage with 9 wins in 14 games and a net run rate of -0.140. The best performers for the side was Harshal Patel who won the purple cap and Glenn Maxwell who was contributing runs consistently for the team.

However, in the Eliminator match against KKR, the big players like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell were unable to survive against Sunil Narine which resulted in the team posting a small target and eventually losing the game. Meanwhile, the problem for RCB has now increased as they will have to find a new captain for the team in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Mumbai Indians (MI) – 7

Defending champions, Mumbai Indians (MI) had a mediocre run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Throughout the season fans expected that the 5-time champions to make a comeback but it never happened and the roller coaster ride of the team continued. The Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians had a stacked lineup but the players struggled to find a form. Big names like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya failed badly which resulted in the team’s failure in the IPL 2021.

When the group stage ended Mumbai Indians (MI) had 7 wins in 14 games but a poor run rate led to the team failing to make it into the playoffs stage. Overall no batter from Mumbai Indians was consistent in Indian Premier League 2021 and only Jasprit Bumrah was able to pick 20+ wickets. With the mega auction approaching next season Mumbai Indians will have to let go of some big players and will have to start from scratch.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) – 6

The story of Punjab Kings was the same as all other seasons and they were overdependent on openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Other than the openers no batter stepped up to the occasion which resulted in Punjab Kings losing the matches from a winning position. On the bowling side of things, they got experienced Pacer Mohammed Shami and young pacer Arshdeep Singh who were excellent throughout the season. Also leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi who was given limited opportunities shined with the ball. Overall Punjab Kings were able to win 6 out of 14th games in IPL 2021 and in the next year’s mega auction they will have to make a lot of changes if they want to change their fortunes in IPL.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) – 5

The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals once again failed to perform well. They had some big players like Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler. However, the unavailability of the big names resulted in the team struggling in IPL 2021. RR had some very good young talent but continuous changes in the playing XI didn’t allow any player to settle down. Throughout the season Rajasthan Royals made changes in almost every game whether in a losing or winning cause. Also, Several cricket experts criticised the move of the Rajasthan Royals making unnecessary changes in the team.

They finished the group stage on the second last spot with only 5 wins in 14 games. The performance of captain Sanju Samson with the bat was the biggest positive for the team other than that things were not very good for RR.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) – 3

David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the middle of the season turned into Kane Williamson-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, one thing that remained the same was the performance of the team. Under the leadership of Australian, David Warner SRH were at the bottom of the table and under the leadership of Kiwi Kane Williamson, SRH finished with a wooden spoon.

The SRH management decided to drop David Warner from the playing XI in IPL 2021 who has been the most successful batsman of all time for the franchise and the captain that led SRH towards their first title. Kane Williamson who is regarded as one of the best modern-day skippers was given the command and he to failed to help SRH. The main problem for Sunrisers Hyderabad was the lack of experience in the middle order. The team kept losing back-to-back games and changing the playing XI didn’t make any changes in the fortune. Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be aiming at bringing some experienced Indian players to the side in IPL 2022 and build a new squad.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Best XI Of The Players Who Warmed Bench Entire Season