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After 70 league matches, the four teams that will battle it out in the playoffs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 have finally been decided.
The league stage was tightly contested, which can be gaged from the fact that the fourth and final team to qualify for the next round was confirmed after the result of match number 70 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, May 21.
Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are the four teams that have booked their place in the playoffs.
Defending champions Gujarat, who topped the points table with 20 points, will take on second-placed Chennai (17) in the Qualifier 1 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday, May 23.
Lucknow finished equal on points with Chennai. However, they were placed third owing to their net run rate and will face Mumbai Indians (16) in the Eliminator on Wednesday, May 24, in Chennai.
As the four teams prepare for the playoffs battle, we analyze one area of concern for each franchise.
#1 Gujarat Titans - Skipper Hardik Pandya’s form
Gujarat were the standout side in the league stage of IPL 2023. They won 10 of their 14 matches. It could have been 11, but for a spectacular show by Rinku Singh in their match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Ahmedabad.
Both in batting and bowling, GT are looking extremely strong with the likes of Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami in great form. There have been some very good support acts as well.
The one major worry for GT ahead of their playoffs clash against CSK is the form of their skipper Hardik Pandya.
The right-handed batter has not looked in great rhythm with the bat. In 13 matches, he has scored 289 runs at an average of 28.90 and a strike rate of 130.77, with two half-centuries.
Hardik, though, is a big-match player and will be confident of rising to the challenge against Chennai.
#2 Chennai Super Kings - Over-dependence on Gaikwad and Conway
There has been a lot of talk about RCB’s batting being dependent on Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. However, the case seems to be similar with CSK too.
Openers Devon Conway (585 runs) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (504) runs have scored the bulk of the runs for the franchise. Shivam Dube has performed a similar role to what Maxwell did for RCB, smacking 385 runs at a strike rate of 160.41.
The rest of the batters, though, haven’t been consistent. Ajinkya Rahane was brilliant in the first half, but his form has gradually tapered off. In his last four innings, he has registered scores of 15, 21, 21 and 16.
Ambati Rayudu has hardly done anything of note, while Moeen Ali has been a pale shadow of the batter who dominated bowlers in IPL 2021. Luckily, cameos from Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni have lifted them at the death.
#3 Lucknow Super Giants - Inconsistency in batting department
Lucknow Super Giants also have an issue in their batting department. They have been way too inconsistent and have depended on individual brilliance to pull them out of trouble.
Kyle Mayers was excellent in the first half at the top of the order. However, he was dropped from the playing XI after managing just one half-century in his last six innings.
Deepak Hooda has had a horror run. In 11 matches, he has scored merely 69 runs at an average of 6.90, with a best of 17. His failures have hurt LSG big time for the franchise was banking on him after his success last year.
In KL Rahul’s absence, Marcus Stoinis (368 runs at a strike rate of 150.20) and Nicholas Pooran (358 runs at a strike rate of 173.79) have lifted LSG with some fantastic knocks.
However, heading into playoffs, Lucknow are still unsure of their batting combination, which will be a big worry for the think tank.
#4 Mumbai Indians - Weak bowling attack
Mumbai Indians have been extremely unlucky with injuries in the bowling department. First, Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to his ongoing battle with injuries.
There was mystery over Jofra Archer right from the start of the tournament. Not surprisingly, he missed more matches than he played. After featuring in five games, with breaks in between, he was officially ruled out. His replacement, Chris Jordan, has done precious little to inspire confidence.
To be fair to MI, pacer Jason Behrendorff (14 wickets) has done a good job, while veteran leggie Piyush Chawla (20 wickets) has been outstanding. Akash Madhwal has also impressed in a couple of matches, but that’s about it. Most of the others have gone for plenty.
Luckily, MI’s batters have hit their straps, as a result of which they have chased down 200-plus on multiple occasions in home games. The bowling, though, remains a major cause for concern, which cannot be ignored.
