IPL 4 –Team Analysis And Standings
The fourth edition of the IPL is now only more than a month old but it seems like almost a decade ago that the Knight Riders and Super Kings played out a closely contested event. With each team (except Kings XI Punjab) having less than 3 games to play in the league stage, the four playoff spots are more or less decided. Mumbai, as expected, have cruised through and are currently sitting on top of the table while the Royal Challengers Bangalore, after an initial run of bad losses have strung up a sequence of six consecutive wins to sit only 1 point behind Mumbai on the table. The final two spots are currently occupied by the two teams who gave the IPL the kind of opener it needed.
Shane Warne’s Royals always were in contention after a few upsets but being on the wrong end of the results over the past few games have all but killed their chances. The Royals now lie 5th in the table with 11 points but they have played 12 games compared, one more than every other team in the tournament. Below them lie the most unpredictable team of this tourney – the Kochi Tuskers. Led by Mahela Jayawardene, the men in orange started off in pathetic fashion losing their opening two games. But they bounced back in style as they beat Mumbai and the Knight Riders to be touted as one of the strong contenders. But a series of losses including a slump against the Deccan Chargers leaves them in sixth spot.
Sahara Group’s Pune Warriors have been the team that flattered to deceive. After winning their first two matches comfortably, Yuvraj Singh’s men succumbed to six consecutive losses as they drifted down to the bottom of the table. Led by their heroic captain, the team didn’t have enough match winners in their lineup and the likes of Ryder, Uthappa and Thomas failed to bail the team out of pressure situations. The Delhi Daredevils skipper currently leads the charts in leading scorers of the tournament but he’d happily trade his Orange Cap for a much higher spot in the table. Lying at No. 8, the Daredevils squad more often than not has failed to perform up to expectations. And with Sehwag missing the rest of the tournament, the Daredevils trouble just got worse Deccan Chargers, continuing from previous seasons, have failed to live up to their tag of being a formidable unit. The loss of Kevin Pietersen before the tournament began was a big blow and the middle order has been the cause for many a loss of the Chargers. Sangakkara would have liked to be a bit more consistent while Steyn and Ishant Sharma haven’t got as much support from the other bowlers.
The other team left is the Kings Xi Punjab who still have an outside chance of making it through to the playoffs. Preity Zinta’s team lay one place above bottom with 5 games left. They needed to win atleast 4 of the five games and they couldn’t have asked for a better start to this mission by thrashing the league leaders by 76 runs.
With 13 matches left in the group stage, you may believe that the only battle left now is for the fourth spot while the remaining teams scramble for places below the top 4. But the format of the tournament is such that the players will be fighting tooth and nail for the top 2 spots as well. The top two square off against each other in the playoffs. While the winning team will book a slot in the final, the losing team gets another chance as they play the winner of the second playoff. All in all, it is an exciting time to be a cricket fan as the tournament gets into the final stages of its league as the teams look to clinch themselves a place in the playoffs.
*All figures before the start of CSK vs. DD match
Tags: Cricket, Indian Premier League, IPL, IPL 2011, IPL 4, Standings, Team Analysis
