All eight teams participating in the Indian Premier League 2018 have played one match each in the tournament. While some of them have impressed with their terrific performances upfront, others have found it difficult to hit the ground running.
8. RR- 2.5/10
The Rajasthan-based franchise was unable to make a strong comeback into the tournament after the two-year hiatus. After being in a strong position at 48-1 after the powerplay, the Ajinkya Rahane-led team lost eight wickets in the next 14 overs and could score just 77 runs to put up a meek total of 125-9 at the end of the first innings.
7. DD- 3/10
Gambhir and Co. ultimately capitulated to a 6-wicket defeat with an over to spare in the second innings. Rishabh Pant came in to bat at Number 5 and that seemed to put him under additional pressure. Shreyas Iyer seemed uncomfortable at one-down and Vijay Shankar was promoted to Number 4. The ploy that DD were employing clearly didn’t work on the day.
6. RCB- 3.75/10
IPL 2018 has not started off well for the franchise. They lost their opening game to Dinesh Karthik’s Kolkata Knight Riders, which, quite frankly, looked like the worst side on paper before the culmination of the tournament.
5. MI- 5/10
It was a one-wicket victory for the Men in Yellow and while a lot of credit must be given to Bravo, it seemed as if MI got too complacent in the business end of the game. They failed to reach a domineering total in the first innings of the game and set a target of just 166 for MS Dhoni and Co.
4. KKR- 6/10
Their bowling looked scratchy in places but their batting clicked well in the second innings of the game. If they wish to go deep into this tournament, they will have to focus on gelling together as a team so as to fill the voids created by the departure of Gambhir and the injury to Mitchell Starc.
3. KXIP- 8/10
Overall, this looks like one of the best KXIP squads in the history of the IPL. Their bowling attack looks fresh and unyielding, while their batting line-up breeds variability. The only concern for the team management would be Yuvraj Singh’s below-par performance and the doubt that hangs over the second opener.
2. SRH- 9/10
It was a perfect game for SRH. They bowled like virtuosos to restrict the Royals to just 125 in 20 overs, they fielded with athleticism and vigilance to affect two run-outs in the innings, and they batted with authority to clinch the game by 9 wickets. It was a terrific all-round performance from them.
1. CSK- 10/10
The bowling effort from CSK was top notch as they managed to restrict a powerful side like MI to just 166 on a flat deck. However, their batting looked concerning, to say the least. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could not build a steady partnership anywhere through the chase. If you peruse through this team’s history in the tournament, you will notice that they have the tendency to fall like nine pins in the one-off game.