IPL 2019: Report Card at the halfway stage of the tournament

With 28 of the 56 encounters in the group stage being over, the IPL bandwagon has marched past a crucial mark- the halfway point. With all teams except the Sunrisers having played at least half of their group stage quota, strengths and weaknesses of the teams have become clearer with every match.

Not all is well for all teams, however, as Chennai comfortably sits at the pole position and Bangalore still reels with the ghosts of the previous editions, languishing at the bottom. Before the second half gets underway, let us take a moment to rate the franchises' performances until this point with a possible take on their qualification scenario as well.

Disclaimer: All stats and performances are taken as on April 14, 2019, after the KXIP v/s RCB match (Match 28)

#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore: 3/10

Hard luck continues to haunt Kohli and the Royal Challengers

No one would have predicted RCB's abysmal start to the IPL this year. Six straight losses have pinned the Virat Kohli-led side to the last position. The team's woes are not unfamiliar. Lack of a decent bowling arsenal continues to be their issue. In the tournament opener, the famed batting lineup was shot out for just 70, indicative of the things to come. Many close-call decisions have gone against the team making Virat look like a dejected man.

Parthiv Patel has been decent, and so have been Kohli himself and ABD who have scored 500 runs in between them. In the bowling, Yuzvendra Chahal has been the only glimmer of hope with 11 wickets. Shimron Hetmyer has failed badly and the opening bowlers have all been regularly taken to the cleaners. So much that even 200 does not seem to be a defendable total. Siraj has taken 6 wickets but has also leaked runs away in the death overs.

However, RCB's worst part has been their fielding. The fielders have squandered those rare chances that the bowlers have given them, throwing the team into deeper problems. The sole win against Punjab was a result of some calculated batting from their best batsmen. Moreover, ABD ensured that he stayed on to finish things off. Nevertheless, unless this turns into an almost impossible turnaround, their warcry "ee saala cup namde" will not echo around during the playoffs.

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#2 Chennai Super Kings: 9/10

Captain Thala and his team are on a roll.

In stark contrast with their neighbours, Chennai seems to have yet again unlocked the Midas' touch. Captain Dhoni seems focussed and motivated as ever and almost every position in the playing XI seems to be well-set. Openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson have given flying starts to the team. In the middle order, Kedhar Jadhav and Dhoni have been playing well, with the latter now leading the team's batting chart with 214 runs. Rayudu has also adapted well to his new no. 5 spot.

The animated duo of Imran Tahir and Harbhajan have 16 scalps in between them. They have wonderfully demonstrated how they can give the younger bowlers a run for their money. With Deepak Chahar already having taken 10 wickets and Dwayne Bravo fast recovering from his injury, there is only one obvious problem for CSK- Raina's form. Though he has contributed 136 runs, he has not looked in his fluent best. (That is, until his knock against Kolkata on Sunday!)

CSK's fielding also has been energetic, successfully mounting pressure on the batsmen. Barring a minor blip, courtesy a last over blitzkrieg by Hardik Pandya, Chennai's campaign has been dreamlike. Going by the current performance, Chennai is sure to enter the playoffs and will ideally finish top table to play the first qualifier.

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#3 Delhi Capitals: 7/10

Delhi is seemingly getting into the groove.

With a new name, a new outfit, and high hopes, Delhi's tournament got into a fine start with a clinical victory over Mumbai and a thrilling super over win over Kolkata. However, choking to Punjab from a commanding position and meekly folding out to Sunrisers had raised glaring questions about their team selection. However, with two straight wins, the team combination seems to be set right now.

As touted from the start of the tournament, the young trio of Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer form the backbone of the team. They have collectively contributed almost 650 runs. With the "Gabbar" also finally hitting the form, Delhi's batting will look formidable if Colin Ingram can apply himself as a finisher. However, apart from the standout performer Kagiso Rabada who has already accounted for 13 victims, their bowling looks just okay. Sandeep Lamichhane and Axar Patel have been effective in patches.

Delhi is a relatively young unit, so their fielding unit has looked strong. Some more tweaks may be around the corner as the tournament progresses but for the time being, Delhi seems to have the quality to propel themselves to the eliminators. The forms of Rabada, Lamichhane, and the youth trio will decide whether they will make it. However, a top-two finish looks a little ambitious for them.

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#4 Sunrisers Hyderabad: 7/10

The blazing form of their opening combination is Sunrisers' biggest advantage.

Conventionally, SRH has been a bowling-oriented team. The Afghan duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi has extended the practice to yet another year. However, their opener juggernauts David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have ensured that Sunrisers will not be about the bowlers alone. Contributing more than 600 runs, they are easily the best opening pair of the tournament and have won a few matches on their own. Nevertheless, Sunrisers have quite a few glaring problems too, left to be solved.

Sandeep Sharma with 8 wickets is their only in-form seamer. Bhuvneswar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul have not found their rhythm yet, but that issue pales in comparison with their middle order woes. They desperately miss their captain, Kane Williamson's experience in holding the innings together. Heavily reliant on the openers, their middle order has often looked clueless on the field. Apart from Vijay Shankar, no middle order batsman has scored more than 100 runs.

The current setup has a bleak chance of making it into the playoffs as removing the openers cheaply would choke the team. However, Williamson's return is almost assured to turn things around. He is an astute captain who can keep his XI motivated and a reliable middle-order batsman who can keep the scoreboard ticking- a chimaera for all of SRH's problems. Provided that he quickly gets into the groove, Sunrisers can be in serious contention for an eliminator spot or even a top-two finish.

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#5 Kolkata Knight Riders: 6.5/10

Words can't comprehend this man's impact in IPL 2019.

Everyone knows the medieval tales of brave knights in shining armour. This man has saved his team from defeat in almost every match. It could even be said that he can be the most valuable player ever in IPL history with 302 runs and 6 wickets in seven matches. As long as he took the team over the line, no one complained. However, two back-to-back losses have exposed the chinks in KKR's armour.

Barring Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana, the batting has looked shaky. Karthik's captainship has been ordinary and the fielding unit has performed below par. Their failure to defend totals points to the fragility of their bowling squad. That Russell himself leads the wicket charts too, paints a painful picture of dependency.

Their frontline pacers should step up to aid Kuldeep Yadav and Narine who have taken 3 wickets apiece with decent economies. Karthik needs to be more proactive regarding his batting and on-field decisions. Now that their shortcomings have been brazenly exposed, KKR has very little time to find their answers.

The team surely has the calibre to reach the playoffs judging from their initial form. However, the changes required here are numerous, and a team like Delhi or Punjab could edge them to the eliminators. That would be the highest injustice to Russell and the team has the obligation to elevate their performance to ensure it does not happen.

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#6 Mumbai Indians: 7.5/10

Luck has been on Mumbai's side quite a few times.

Notorious for being slow starters, Mumbai has justified that tag again, comprehensively losing out to Delhi in the opener. Things were not looking good for them until they trumped the table toppers at home with Bravo being taken to the cleaners in the last over. Post then, Mumbai won two more on the trot before almost pulling off a heist against Rajasthan. Mumbai is rated slightly higher than other teams with four wins just because they don't depend on one player alone.

Especially in batting, players like Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock, the Pandya brothers, and Kieron Pollard have all come off good when needed. Rohit has made decent scores consistently. All these players have at least 150 runs to their credit, a testament to their utility. Their bowling also features a similar character with Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Alzarri Joseph, and Krunal Pandya, all having had three or more scalps and their moments in the limelight.

However, their fielding is a cause of worry, especially after the dropped catches cost them the match against Rajasthan. Jason Beherendoff has to improve as Joseph is looking more like a one-match wonder. There is also an air of unpredictability with the players as no one barring the captain has given consistent performances.

However, Lady Luck seems to favour them, as they have somehow fought back from tricky situations. The team bears a settled look and has shown tremendous grit and character in their fightbacks. If their lacklustre fielding in the last outing is improved, Mumbai does have the potential to snatch a top-two league finish.

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#7 Kings XI Punjab: 6/10

Kings XI has blown hot and cold till now.

Punjab has four wins and as many losses in its kitty, a testament to the team's unpredictability. The ever-so-dependable KL Rahul and universe boss Chris Gayle have ensured that either one of them contributes to a blazing start. They also have scored more than 650 runs together, though in two more matches than the Sunrisers opening duo. However, Kings face the same problems as Sunrisers- an unsettled middle order which is also unable to shift gears in batting.

Though Sarfaraz Khan and Mayank Agarwal have both scored 180+ runs, their scoring rate has been sluggish. Ashwin's captaincy has been decent, however, he has visibly lacked ideas for creating breakthroughs. Every match has seen some middle-order shuffle to see which position suits whom. That they are already done with eight matches leaves them two fewer matches for trial-and-error, compared to a team like SRH.

The bowling is comparatively better, as Shami and Ashwin have both been magnificent with 10 and 9 wickets. Murugan Ashwin has been silently effective, choking the run flow in the middle overs. But Andrew Tye has been a huge letdown and the inadequate assessment of the pitch by the batting department has often left the bowlers with too low a score to defend. Punjab has also desperately missed the late flourishes, except for the past two matches where the openers stayed on to finish things off.

Punjab needs someone like David Miller to take up the finisher's role. They also need a seamer who can assist the in-form bowlers. Adding to that, at least two spots in the middle order are still vacant. Unless they find some quick solution to these woes, a top-four finish can be out of the equation for the Kings.

#8 Rajasthan Royals: 5/10

A slew of questionable team selections and lacklustre captaincy have put the Royals in a troubled position.

Rajasthan has finally ended their losing streak with a thrilling last over finish against Mumbai but their problems are far from being solved. As far as the positives go, Jos Buttler and Ajinkya Rahane have been brilliant. Steve Smith also has played some good knocks. However, their combined total of 650 runs is pretty much everything Rajasthan has scored in this season.

Ben Stokes has looked clueless at times and the middle order has not displayed even a single convincing performance. In bowling, barring Joffra Archer and the wily Shreyas Gopal with 7 and 8 wickets respectively, no one has been consistent.

Too many shuffles in the team have resulted in the team bearing an unsettled look. The decision to drop the centurion Sanju Samson has visibly interfered with the youngster's confidence. The slot of the second and third seamers are still up for grabs. Unless Stokes gets into the groove, the team does not have a seasoned finisher either. Rahane has been good with his anchoring style of batting but his captaincy decisions have often been mundane. Perhaps, Steve Smith should be given a chance. The Royals batting has also had problems with increasing the scoring rate, an art in which other teams seem to be way better.

Their team is nowhere as bad as the results show. However, the bad start means that they need some special efforts to make it to the playoffs. Unless some remarkable turnaround occurs, Rajasthan has already completed half of their IPL journey of this year.