IPL 2018: 5 talking points after the first month of the league

We are exactly one month into the 2018 Indian Premier League and already enough has happened which could be written in detail.

The comeback of Chennai Super Kings, the downfall of Mumbai Indians, R Ashwin and his refreshing captaincy and much more have made this league one of the most watchable in recent times.

At the end of the first 30 days, here is a look at the five talking points from the competition so far:

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#5 Royal Challengers and the bowling headache

The IPL, in its 10 editions, has evolved greatly, beginning as an experiment to becoming the competition which every cricketer wants to be a part of. What hasn't changed though is the bowling fortunes of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Season after season, the batsmen put the runs on the board only for the bowlers to let them down and it has been no different in the 2018 edition.

With five games left in the league stage, Virat Kohli and co. will have to put in a collective performance to have a chance to make to the Playoffs.

#4 Kings XI Punjab's refreshing performance

Can Ashwin lead the Kings XI Punjab to their first title?

In two out of the last three seasons of the league, the Kings XI Punjab have had the ignominy of finishing as the wooden-spooners.

In 2018, the management decided to adopt a fresh start, retaining just Axar Patel but buying several players who could perform dual roles.

KL Rahul is one of India's finest young batsman today, but adds up as a wicket-keeper. Marcus Stoinis can give a side runs with the bat and overs with the ball. In Chris Gayle, they punted on a veteran many thought was at his end, but he's shown he's still got it.

But the key change for them has come at the top. Everybody who follows Indian cricket knows that R Ashwin is a cricket tragic. He loves the game and knows the intricacies of it very well.

Appointed captain of the side, he has shown some very impressive skills like the manner in which he bought in Gayle against the Chennai Super Kings or the way he backed Barinder Sran despite having gone for runs in the game against the Delhi Daredevils. It has been very refreshing to watch the way he has taken to the job.

As they move into the final stage of the league phase, Ashwin will hope that his side rise up and deliver and hopefully take the franchise to their first ever title.

#3 SRH and art of defending low totals

Rashid Khan is one of many trump cards that Kane Williamson has at SRH

A lot of coaches around have a varied opinion around the world as to which aspect is more vital to winning a T20 game- a strong batting line-up or a competent bowling unit.

In the 2018 IPL thus far, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have made a strong case for the latter thanks to the manner in which they have defended low totals successfully.

Against the Mumbai Indians first, the team defended a meagre total of 118 runs and then backed that performance with yet another inspired bowling performance against the Kings XI Punjab when they won despite having put only 132 runs on the board.

With the likes of Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma in their ranks, Kane Williamson has been able to get the best out of his players and along with the Chennai Super Kings, they look one of the favourites to lift the title on the 27th of May.

#2 The Mumbai Indians no-show

Can Rohit Sharma take the side to yet another win, even from the position the side finds itself in?

The most successful side in the competition's history, the Mumbai Indians entered the event as the defending champions and hoped to have yet another good season.

However, things have been anything but good for the side with losses following one after the other and with five games to go in the competition, there is absolutely no room for failure right now.

The side has a history of getting on a roll in the later stages of the competition but the key factor then was that they had someone to give them the inspiration, to lit the fire and create the spark which would take then take them all the way.

Who will be that player this time around? Can they stage yet another comeback like they have done in the past? All these and more will be answered soon.

#1 The return of the Chennai Super Kings

CSK's return has been one of the stories of the IPL so far

Not many knew what to expect from the Chennai Super Kings when they were announced to return back to the fold in the Indian Premier League this year.

And their strategy in the IPL auction only baffled the critics further when they opted to go for players well above the 30-year-old mark, hoping for them to bring their best out in the competition.

That hope has turned into reality as the MS Dhoni-led franchise have proven to be arguably the best side of the competition thus far, finding the right combinations consistently to emerge as one of the contenders for the title.

In the final stages of the league phase, they will need to build the momentum that would keep them in good stead when they enter the Playoffs, which now as it stands, looks quite possible.