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After 56 matches of intense T20 cricket across 43 days, four teams have progressed to the playoffs, in arguably the most closely contested IPL season ever with the fourth playoff spot confirmed only by the 35th over of the last match of the league.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were among the pre-season favourites, lived up to the expectations by topping the points table while Chennai Super Kings maintained their record of qualifying for the playoffs in every season of their participation.
Kolkata Knight Riders defied all odds to overcome widespread post-auction criticism as they stunned cricket pundits by clearing the league stage through consistent team efforts.
Rajasthan Royals put up spirited performances to earn a well-deserved playoff berth on their return to the IPL, as they pipped Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab on the final weekend of the league.
As for Delhi Daredevils, it almost seems as if their story is in loop mode with just the characters changing every season.
Let us look at the reasons why MI, RCB, KXIP and DD failed to qualify for the playoffs.
#1 Mumbai Indians (12 points, 5th place)
The good
MI's ability to set up winning situations consistently throughout the tournament. Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis and Ishan Kishan provided blazing starts to lay the platform for big totals batting first.
Despite ending up with a number of below-par totals, the fact that their bowlers kept MI in the game is another huge positive.
Mitchell McClenaghan picked wickets with the new ball, Mayank Markande offered control in the middle overs and Jasprit Bumrah was at his lethal best in the death overs.
Hardik Pandya's ability to break partnerships also proved to be an important aspect for the team balance.
The bad
Inability to capitalize on solid platforms and the tendency of the middle order to crumble under pressure.
Rohit Sharma had his personal worst IPL, scoring a mere 286 runs, Kieron Pollard had a poor season apart from a half-century late in the season and the Pandya brothers had a mixed season with the bat.
Mumbai Indians lost as many as six matches in the last over, and that showed the failure of their finishers with the bat and lack of support for Bumrah at the death with the ball.
Rookie leg-spinner Markande started the tournament with a bang but faded away towards the end as MI also struggled to pick wickets in the middle overs in the absence of an experienced spinner.
Overall, MI repeated the same mistakes too many times and could not capitalize on match-winning situations.
Star performers
Yadav grabbed the opportunity of opening the batting with both hands, scoring 512 runs as the leading run-scorer for MI.
The most impressive aspects of his batting, which had eluded him in his stint with KKR, were his shot selection and consistent performances.
Hardik Pandya with 18 wickets was the leading wicket-taker for MI and he provided crucial breakthroughs almost every time Rohit threw him the ball: be it the powerplay, the middle overs or even at the death.
He also played some important innings with the bat in the second half of the season and was one of the protagonists of MI's late surge in the tournament.
The failing stars
Captain Sharma batted in the middle order throughout the tournament, in order to provide a "balance" to the team that only he and the Mumbai Indians management seem to understand.
One of the greatest white-ball openers in the modern game, he faced barely half the balls he should have, and as a result managed a meagre 286 runs in his worst IPL season. The result is for everyone to see.
Pollard had a forgettable season with the bat, scoring 133 runs from 8 innings with a solitary half-century which he scored on his return to the side after being dropped.
Such is the talent in T20 cricket worldwide that MI have strong reasons to consider a long-term replacement for their ageing talisman.
What they missed
The sheer pace and aggression when bowling with the new ball, and fair to say they had it covered in the Aussie duo of Pat Cummins and Jason Behrendorff who both missed the season due to injuries. Cummins would have also provided crucial support to Bumrah at the death.
The experience of Harbhajan Singh in the middle overs. They came out of the auction without a proper replacement for the Turbanator and though Markande impressed in the first two matches, oppositions worked him out soon and as a result, MI failed to make an impact in the middle overs.
The future
One can expect Pollard to make way for a younger overseas middle-order batsman. Lewis (382 runs) had a decent season and MI should persist with him for at least one more year.
If Cummins and Behrendorff are fit and available, they will solve the fast-bowling issues and Mustafizur Rahman is expected to be released after a poor season filling in for them.
MI may also look at an international spinner, and to accommodate the same, they will look for a good Indian seamer to support Bumrah.
#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore (12 points, 6th place)
The good
Partnerships between two of the greatest limited-overs batsmen: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Unsurprisingly, there was a direct correlation between their performances and RCB's victories.
The bowling attack, led by Umesh Yadav, fired in unity a lot more consistently than it has for RCB in the recent past. Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj and Tim Southee all had their moments in a decent season bowling-wise.
The bad
Lack of support for Kohli and de Villiers. Almost all the openers - Quinton de Kock, Brendon McCullum, Manan Vohra and Parthiv Patel- dealt in cameos while Mandeep Singh was too inconsistent in his finishing role.
The Sarfaraz Khan gamble did not pay off while Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali were given delayed opportunities due to an out-of-form Corey Anderson preferred over them.
The death bowling cost RCB severely in the first half of the tournament, as Umesh Yadav and Chris Woakes failed to deliver under pressure.
Washington Sundar was expected to play a key role with the ball but he leaked runs too, leaving Kohli with limited options in the middle overs as well.
In the second half, Yadav was aptly used as a powerplay wicket-taker while Southee and Siraj impressed at the death, but the lack of depth in their batting continued to haunt the team despite improved bowling performances.
Star performers
Umesh Yadav bowled with pace, aggression and intensity to emerge as a strike bowler in the powerplay for RCB, ending the tournament with 20 wickets.
He picked wickets off consecutive deliveries on five separate occasions- a jaw-dropping feat, and his performance also earned him a place in India's T20 squad for the tour to England.
Kohli (530 runs) and De Villiers (480 runs) scored the bulk of RCB's runs in what was otherwise a disappointing season for their batsmen.
The duo's class is unparalleled, but RCB's repeated inability to progress in the tournament proves the fact that cricket is a team sport.
The failing stars
Sundar came into the IPL on the back of a man-of-the-series performance in India's triumphant Nidahas Trophy campaign.
However, he failed to live up to expectations and a dependable bowling option became a liability for RCB.
The surprise retention of Sarfaraz didn't reap rewards as he managed a mere 51 runs in six innings and was dropped midway through the season.
Woakes leaked runs at above 10 RPO in the five matches he played, but considering he was RCB's most expensive auction purchase, he deserved more chances.
What they missed
The impact of Nathan Coulter-Nile being ruled out of the season was neutralised to a certain extent with Yadav taking over the mantle of picking up wickets in the powerplay.
However, Coulter-Nile's control as a death bowler was missed in the death overs till RCB turned to Tim Southee later in the tournament.
The biggest blunder RCB made was replacing the Australian fast bowler with Anderson- a batting all-rounder without sufficient match practice- despite the presence of Ali and De Grandhomme already in the squad.
A like-for-like replacement would have strengthened their pace attack as Southee was unavailable for the first few weeks due to illness.
RCB conceded 200+ totals twice in this period, and who knows, an international seamer could have made a difference in these matches.
The future
As Kohli admitted after RCB's last game, they need to look at the composition of their middle order to release some pressure off de Villiers and himself.
De Grandhomme has probably done enough to earn himself a first-XI spot for next year. One can expect Sarfaraz to be released and a call on Mandeep will depend on his performance in the domestic season. The international form of De Kock and Woakes will determine their future.
The Indian bowlers they ended the season with haven't done much wrong, but RCB will definitely look for a marquee overseas fast bowler to complement Southee if Coulter-Nile isn't available again.
#3 Kings XI Punjab (12 points, 7th place)
The good
Kings XI Punjab had a dream start to the season, winning five out of their first six matches, and looked set to become one of the first teams to cement a playoff berth.
Chris Gayle, who wasn't even expected to play by many, announced his arrival in IPL 2018 by scoring three half-centuries and a hundred in his first four matches.
KL Rahul started the season by scoring a 14-ball fifty- the fastest in IPL history- and built on the good form to show the world that he is a top-class T20 player.
Ravichandran Ashwin led the side admirably with his shrewd tactics and unpredictable moves, most of which worked well in the first half of the season.
The bad
The rest of the tournament after their sixth match. KXIP lost seven out of eight in a disastrous turnaround from a position where they were cruising through to the playoffs.
The overdependence on the openers was worsened by Gayle's loss of form and that translated into an overdependence on Rahul, as the middle order comprising of Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Mayank Agarwal and Marcus Stoinis failed to make an impact.
Karun Nair showed glimpses of his calibre, but wasn't consistent enough and inevitably, KXIP's batting innings suffered a free-fall every time Rahul was dismissed.
Axar Patel failed to justify his retention, and captain Ashwin had a mixed season with the ball: his overall economy was decent, but he only managed to pick up 10 wickets in 14 matches.
Star performers
Rahul had an outstanding season and he ended among the top three run-scorers with 659 runs at an average of nearly 55.
Widely regarded as a part-time wicket-keeper, Rahul was safe behind the stumps and that is probably the reason why his keeping did not make the news.
Andrew Tye was fantastic with his variations and emerged as KXIP's go-to bowler under pressure. With 24 wickets including three four-wicket hauls, he deservedly owns the purple cap and is likely to take it home.
Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, the 17-year-old mystery spinner from Afghanistan, was a revelation in his debut IPL season, picking up 14 wickets as he foxed Kohli among others with his tricks.
The failing stars
Finch had a forgettable two months following his wedding, managing just 134 runs in 10 innings.
Marcus Stoinis, the marquee all-rounder of the team, could not repay the trust as he failed with both bat and ball and his failure hampered the team balance.
Yuvraj Singh looked out-of-sorts and this IPL may well turn out to be his last appearance in top-level cricket.
What they missed
Team performances.
Kings XI relied too heavily on individual brilliance, as key players failed to contribute when the team needed them to.Rahul, Gayle, Tye and Ur-Rahman single-handedly won them games early on, but when more was needed from others, particularly after Mujeeb's injury, Rahul and Tye were left on their own.
They didn't have glaring weaknesses in the middle-order: Finch is a world-class batsman, Milller is among the finest T20 finishers, Stoinis is Australia's best all-rounder at the moment, Mayank Agarwal was fresh from a breakthrough domestic season, and then they had Yuvraj Singh.
Bowling-wise, Mohit Sharma was a former purple-cap winner and Axar Patel was KXIP's best player over the last four years.
Just that none of them could perform.
The future
One doesn't expect Yuvraj to hang around till next year, and sadly, it will mean a low-key end to the career of one of the greatest ever white-ball cricketers.
A tricky decision awaits regarding Gayle. Perhaps his international form for West Indies could serve as a good indicator.
At least one of Finch and Stoinis are expected to be released, given they were among the franchise's expensive buys at INR 6.2 crores each.
Ankit Rajpoot is the only Indian seamer who impressed, and KXIP will look for options to complement him.
Ashwin's captaincy was impressive and probably good enough to earn him another season at the helm.
#4 Delhi Daredevils (10 points, 8th place)
The good
The consistency of their batting lineup to pile up huge scores.
Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Vijay Shankar were the protagonists of one of the most prolific batting teams in the tournament.
Pant's century against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Delhi was arguably the greatest ever IPL innings in a losing cause.
The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel and Sandeep Lamichhane performing well was another huge positive.
The bad
Gautam Gambhir stepping down from captaincy after five losses in six games.
It is admirable how selfless the man is, but given the absence of another proven captaincy candidate in the squad, Gambhir should have given his decision another thought and weighed in the fact that DD picked him at the auction more for his leadership than his batting.
The foreign batsmen failed to make an impact apart from one match-winning innings from Jason Roy.
Chris Morris had a poor start to the season and him being ruled out for the rest of it was a body blow to the team.
The bowling attack repeatedly failed to build pressure on the opposition, and except Trent Boult, who himself was patchy at times, most bowlers had a poor season.
Amit Mishra, the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history, was dropped from the team after just one bad game and till he was given his next opportunity, the season was almost over for DD.
He showed his class in the last three matches of the league and his non-selection is a crucial aspect for the team management to think about in hindsight.
Star performers
Pant had an incredible season, scoring 684 runs at an average of 53, strike rate of 174, including five fifties and one century.
His power-hitting was no surprise, but his consistency is what left everyone in awe. If this is a sign of what is to come, then India need not worry at all about MS Dhoni's successor.
Trent Boult picked up 18 wickets at an economy under 9, bowling the tough overs in the powerplay and at the death. An excellent season for one of the world's best fast bowlers.
The failing stars
Glenn Maxwell was in the form of his life in the lead-up to IPL 2018- he was named player of the series in Australia's T20I tri-series involving England and New Zealand, scoring over 200 runs including a century.
Unfortunately, he failed to bring that form into the IPL and that proved to be the biggest disappointment of DD's season.
All he managed was 169 runs in 12 innings, and despite coach Ricky Ponting backing him with an extended run in the side, Maxwell was just unable to perform.
Gambhir scored a half-century to start the season, but low scores followed in the next five innings.
He dropped himself from the team and did not play after that. It is debatable whether he made the right decision or not, but in either case, it seems unlikely that we will see him play next year.
What they missed
The most exciting fast bowler in the world, Kagiso Rabada. He was ruled out of the tournament with injury, and the value he adds to any team in the world makes him irreplaceable. It is scary to imagine him sharing the new ball with Trent Boult.
Their most valuable retention, Morris. His control with the ball in death overs and ability to finish games with the bat is unmatched. Unfortunately, his 2018 season was limited to four appearances due to injury.
The future
Daredevils have an enviable pool of young talent and almost everyone who got an opportunity, made the most of it which is a pleasing sign for years to come.
Prithvi Shaw, Abhishek Sharma, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane and Rahul Tewatia showed immense potential, and in combination with Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Vijay Shankar who are already part of the national set-up, these youngsters could form a solid Indian core for DD.
Hopefully, Morris and Rabada will be available and that will add much-needed pedigree to the bowling attack.
Gautam Gambhir, one of the most underrated contributors to Indian cricket, may well have played his last match of an illustrious IPL career.
The foreign batsmen- Roy, Munro and Maxwell- will certainly be released as DD will look for quality international batsmen, preferably with a more consistent record.
Ideally, their choice should also have captaincy credentials to relieve Shreyas Iyer from additional pressure and allow him to focus on his game.
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