4 teams that can qualify for the playoffs

It is that time of the year again. The Indian Premier League has changed the equation of family entertainment, especially in India so much so that even the Hindi movie industry makes sure not to have a clash with the league which has grown so much in stature in the last decade. With players from all over the world coming in to participate in the league, the league has produced some remarkable cricketing encounters over the years.

And while the movie industry works on a script, cricket is all real-time entertainment, with real drama, emotion, and pressure involved. The entire sporting arena awaits this cricketing feast that will be on display commencing the 7th of April 2018 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The eight teams will fight for the top 4 position to qualify for the play offs and stay in contention to win the Trophy. Although all the teams appear more or less capable of winning, some teams stand out, in terms of the ammunition required to be there.

Here are four teams that can qualify for the playoffs this season:

---

#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challenger Bangalore look a formidable unit

The most flamboyant side of the Indian Premier League, this is probably RCB’s best unit since the inception of IPL as far as balance is concerned. They might not have as many big names as they boasted of at one point of time, but they have got all areas covered this time around, which is such an essential part of the T20 format.

With the two of Manan Vohra, Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock, and Parthiv Patel set to open the innings followed by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers at No.3 and No.4 this is by far the best Top 4 in the league.

With the likes of Woakes, Moeen Ali and now Corey Anderson in the all-rounder segment and Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammad Siraj in the pace department, the RCB fans are hoping to see their team win their first title.

Even the spin section is brilliant with Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar striving to do the job for their team. All that being said the RCB will be aiming at nothing less than the IPL trophy this time around.

#3 Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians squad looks good enough to defend their title

The defending champions have managed to put up an impressive squad yet again ahead of the IPL. After Rohit’s poorest run with the bat in IPL history last season, where he returned after 6 months of injury layoff, Sharma will look to get back to his older self in the IPL and is unarguably one of the most devastating batsmen when in full flow and is the X-factor in the batting line up.

With Evin Lewis, Pollard, Duminy Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary in the side the batting looks sorted with the Pandya brothers being so incredible with the bat (coming into bat in the lower middle order), ball and their athletic fielding performances.

Ben Cutting is another all-rounder in the kitty but may have to wait for his chance in the eleven.

In the bowling section, Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rehman, Pat Cummins, Pradeep Sangwan make for one of the best pace attacks of the league. The spin department can be an area of concern though with only Rahul Chahar, the young Indian spinner, and Akila Dhananjaya the spinner from Sri Lanka making the cut.

However, Duminy and Krunal Pandya’s spin bowling can come in handy here for the Mumbai Indians in their attempt to defend the title.

#2 Kings XI Punjab

The Punjab brigade look good to go all the way to their maiden title

Arguably one of the most inconsistent units of the league, the Kings XI Punjab seem to have a good chance to win their maiden IPL title this season. With R Ashwin at the helm of things, Punjab have a good experienced batting order- with a mix of Indian and Overseas greats.

Chris Gayle, Finch, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Yuvraj Singh make for an outstanding batting unit. Although a regular wicketkeeper could have been a smarter grab at the auctions but for KL Rahul (both as a wicketkeeper and a batsman) this would be a great opportunity to express himself, given the potential he has.

Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel and a couple of overs here and there from Yuvi and Punjab would go in the game having the assurance of a few extra overs, if at all that is required. Stoinis could be Punjab’s go-to guy in the all-rounder section and provides much-needed balance to the team.

The bowling unit led by skipper Ashwin himself and the phenomenal Andrew Tye also looks good. With Mohit Sharma, Axar Patel and somebody like Mujeeb Zadran in the ranks, the Punjab squad seems as if they have it in them to go all the way.

#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Orange Army look a tough side to go past this IPL

Even in the absence of David Warner after the recent ball-tampering controversy, the Sunrisers Hyderabad look the most balanced team on paper, with most boxes ticked than otherwise. In terms of an opening slot which will be vacant since Warner will not be featuring in the League, the team management are looking for a suitable replacement to fill in the void.

With a good combination of Indian and overseas players and an excellent balance between batting, bowling and all-round abilities, Hyderabad look all set to repeat the heroics of IPL 2016.

In the batting department responsibility will be on Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, and Kane Williamson to come good with the bat. Kane Williamson, who has been appointed the captain, has had a reasonable amount of success captaining the Kiwi side and will try and translate that into the league.

The inconsistency of hitters like Yusuf Pathan and Carlos Braithwaite seems to be the only area of concern apart from finding Shikhar Dhawan's opening partner.

Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Braithwate , Mohammad Nabi are all capable all-rounders in the team and can turn the match on its head on any given day. With a predominantly Indian bowling attack, led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Orange Army look a tough side to go past in the tournament.