IPL 2018: Rating the teams after their first two games

All eight franchises of the Indian Premier League have contested in two games each in the eleventh edition of the tournament till now. While two teams have extracted all four points from these encounters, four have one win and one loss in their campaign so far.

Two teams at the bottom of the table have lost both the matches and have not been able to open their account as of yet. Let us look at the overall effort from all the eight teams and rate them accordingly:

---

#8 Delhi Daredevils: 4/10

Gambhir has not been able to turn the fortunes of the DD till now

The Daredevils have struggled to make their mark on this tournament in the last decade and they have not started the IPL on a great note this time as well. Despite roping in a successful captain in Gautam Gambhir and a proven mentor in Ricky Ponting, the Delhi-based franchise have failed to hit the ground running.

They lost their first game to Kings XI Punjab, thanks to the onslaught from KL Rahul at the top of the order, where he raced to a 14-ball 50. After that, Gambhir and Co. travelled to Jaipur to take on the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday (April 11).

Therein, they fell to the inconsistency of the DLS method. The Royals had scored 153-5 in 17.5 before rain played spoilsport in the first innings. When the downpour finally ceded, the visitors had to score 70 runs in just 6 overs to win the game. DD could never get going with the bat and folded at 60-4 in the 36 deliveries they faced.

They will now play against the Mumbai Indians, who have also suffered two back-to-back losses so far. However, the teams will be contesting at the Wankhede Stadium, which will make it all the more difficult for the Daredevils to open their account this year.

#7 Mumbai Indians: 4.5/10

MI

will look to turn things around at home today

It has been a heartbreaking start to the season for Rohit Sharma and his team. They have had the tendency to lose their first few games before going on a rampage every season, but this time around, they’ve lost both the games to a last-ball finish from the opposition.

They first tasted defeat against the Chennai Super Kings in the opener of IPL 2018, where the Men in Yellow clinched victory with just one wicket to spare. After sustaining this tight loss at their home venue, MI travelled to Hyderabad on Thursday (April 12), in an attempt to set things right at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

However, they were victims to the same fate yet again. MI batted first to put up a total of 147-8 after the conclusion of 20 overs. In a spirited bowling effort, they reduced the hosts to 137-9, with one over remaining in the contest. Hyderabad required 11 off the final over to win the encounter and yet again, MI had to digest a defeat that came off the last delivery of the game.

They will look to turn things around at home today (April 14), as they take on an underperforming DD unit at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

#6 Rajasthan Royals: 5/10

The Royals still have a few boxes they need to tick

The franchise made a nightmare return to the IPL last week, when they lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad by a massive margin of 9 wickets. However, they managed to turn things around at home on Wednesday (April 11), when they pulled one over the Delhi Daredevils in a rain-curtailed encounter.

They now have a win on the board and will look to capitalize on the same. Ajinkya Rahane, their new leader, is beginning to find his steady consistency at the top of the order and Sanju Samson has performed impressively in both the games.

They will want their celebrated overseas import, D’Arcy Short, to get going at the earliest. The left-hander had to return to the pavilion due to a run-out on both the occasions. If he starts firing at the top of the order, RR will look a lot stronger as a batting unit. Jofra Archer, who was nursing an injury for the last two games, is expected to be back against RCB on Sunday (April 15).

#5 Royal Challengers Bangalore 6/10

RCB will now look to retain their winning momentum

The Virat Kohli-led side fell to the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Sunday (April 8), but managed to clinch victory against a strong Kings XI Punjab unit at home on Friday (April 13).

As has been their perennial problem in this competition, their bowling looked weak in their opener of the season. They leaked too many runs and Sunil Narine wrecked havoc against them at the top of the order.

However, the RCB bowlers turned things around quickly at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against Ravi Ashwin and Co. Umesh Yadav, in particular, was exceptional with the new ball and picked up three wickets in a single over. Due to their sincere effort in the field, the hosts to restrict KXIP to 155 in 19.2 overs and also managed to run through their entire batting order in the first innings.

There were some hiccups that surfaced for RCB during the chase, but they managed to overcome them and reach the target, thanks to a superlative effort from AB de Villiers. They will now look to retain their winning momentum by getting a win against RR on Sunday (April 15).

#4 Kings XI Punjab 6/10

KXIP look stronger than they have through the years

The revamped franchise started off in a terrific manner under the fresh leadership of Ashwin. They ran past the Delhi Daredevils in a thumping manner and registered a convincing victory in their opener of the tournament.

However, they could not replicate the same performance against RCB on Friday (April 13), as they fell to a 4-wicket defeat against Kohli’s team. It was their effort with the willow that was underwhelming in the game, as they could manage just 155 on a batting-friendly pitch in Bangalore.

The team looks strong on the outset, though. Rahul, their costliest buy this season, has already proved his worth at the top of the order. Ashwin is leading the team well and Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been a revelation for them with the ball. If they can get back to winning ways against CSK at home on Sunday (April 15), it will be a definite boost to their campaign in the IPL this year.

#3 Kolkata Knight Riders: 6/10

KKR have surprised everyone with their impressive performance

The Men in Purple and Gold also have one win and one loss in their kitty so far this season. However, they have been fairly impressive with their performances in the tournament and have surprised everyone with the fight that they have put up.

It seemed like KKR was the weakest side on paper before the IPL, but now they seem like a well-gelled unit under Dinesh Karthik. They won convincingly against RCB in their first match of the season and put up a notable fight against CSK at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday (April 10).

After being put in to bat first by the hosts, KKR reached a hefty total of 202-6 at the end of 20 overs. Andre Russell played an incredible innings with the bat, where he made 88 off just 36 deliveries. However, MS Dhoni and Co. managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the chase and ran away with the game by 5 wickets.

KKR will want to put that loss behind them and come out all guns blazing in their next match, where they take on SRH at home on Saturday (April 14).

#2 Chennai Super Kings: 7.5/10

CSK would want their marquee players to bring their A game to the table as soon as possible

The Men in Yellow have come back to the IPL after a two-year hiatus, but it now seems like they never left. They have two victories in two games and have started right where they left off in 2015.

They have clinched both the games by putting in two impressive chasing efforts, both of which have come against sides with strong bowling attacks. Sending Ambati Rayudu to open the innings seems like a masterstroke from CSK, while bringing in the likes of Billings and Shane Watson has just added value to their team.

They pulled off a terrific win against KKR, where they chased a hefty total of 202 at home. Billings slammed the balls to all parts of the ground in his innings and turned the tie in favour of the Super Kings.

Going forward, there are certain things that need to be looked at by the CSK team management. Suresh Raina is yet to click with the bat and that is a worrisome sign for the Chennai-based franchise. They have retained a lot of their core this season and they would want their marquee players to bring their A game to the table as soon as possible.

#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad: 8.5/10

Deepak Hooda was the star for the Sunrisers against MI

After putting up a perfect three-fold display against the Rajasthan Royals to win their opening game of the season in a convincing fashion, the Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to scalp a victory despite being backed against the wall by the Mumbai Indians on Thursday (April 12).

At one point in the chase, it seemed like the hosts were down and out at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. They had lost a bunch of wickets to the young Mayank Markande and it looked plausible for MI to take two points from the encounter.

However, Hooda managed to take his team through with a composed batting effort on the day. Four years after being drafted into IPL in 2014, the right-hande batsman finally came of age to remain unbeaten on 32 off 25 deliveries against MI on the day.

The Sunrisers, without doubt, look like the strongest team in the tournament so far. With the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan in their ranks, the Hyderabad bowling unit has always been excellent. SRH have an astute yet thinking captain in Kane Williamson, they look balanced on the team sheet, and they have momentum on their side with two victories in two games.