The Indian Premier League 2023 has entered its business end.
After 70 grueling contests in the league stage, four teams – Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians have qualified for the playoffs stage.
The 16th season of the cash-rich league has been nothing but littered with a series of thrilling contests.
From veterans like Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami proving their class to young guns – Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal announcing the arrival of next generation, the IPL 2023 has witnessed skills of the highest order.
Here are the four teams which qualify for the IPL 2023 playoffs.
Gujarat Titans
The defending champions showed that their title triumph last season wasn’t a fluke as they played dominant cricket throughout the first round stage to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Hardik Pandya has led his troops well as they finished the group stage with 20 points in 14 matches.
Young batting superstar Gill led the batting unit and showcased his class which is turning out to be his best season. He also smashed back-to-back centuries in last two league stage matches, while other batters also gave valuable support to him.
In the bowling department, Shami ran riot with his swing bowling while Rashid Khan spun his web to cause trouble for the opposition batters. Titans will next face Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
The Titans enjoy a great record against MS Dhoni and Co in IPL and will look to extend their winning streak over them to reach the finals in back-to-back seasons.
Chennai Super Kings
After a forgettable IPL 2022, CSK bounced back in style this season by finishing second in the group stage.
Dhoni managed his resources well this season despite the injury crises in the camp. The four-time champions bought Ben Stokes for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore but the knee injury allowed him to play only two matches this season.
While Deepak Chahar also missed the majority of matches but Dhoni got the best out of the rookie stars like Tushar Deshpande and Akash Singh with the ball, while Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana turned out to be the breakout star for them.
In the batting department, collective efforts from Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane keep them going while Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja provided the finishing touches.
It is going to be a tough task for Chennai when they face Titans in the first qualifier but playing at their fortress Chepauk might give them a slight edge.
Lucknow Super Giants
It has been a topsy-turvy season for LSG as they lacked consistency with their performance but a couple of close last-ball wins helped them seal a place in the playoffs.
The Lucknow-based franchise suffered a big blow when KL Rahul was ruled out midseason due to a thigh injury as Krunal Pandya had to take over the captaincy.
After a few hiccups, Krunal put the LSG’s season back on track. A nervy one-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders helped them seal a place in the playoffs and now they will face Mumbai Indians in the eliminator.
They rely heavily on the brute power of Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran in the batting order. LSG though are yet to settle on an ideal pace combination having gone through several combinations.
Naveen-ul-Haq has not lived up to expectations thus far while Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan have been inconsistent with their performances.
Mumbai Indians
The five-time IPL champions were once again slow starters this season after losing the first two matches but they bounced back at the right moment to switch the gears and got back into the tournament with the some emphatic results in their favour.
Rohit Sharma and Co. displayed batting depth in the big run chases as they successfully chased 200-plus targets a record four times this season (so far).
Meanwhile, Cameron Green lived up to the hype in the all-important clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad when MI needed a desperate win to stay alive in the playoffs race.
Green remained unbeaten for 100 in a massive victory.
While Suryakumar Yadav also regained his form in the second half of the season as he got his Mr 360-degree mojo back. The bowling still remains a big concern for MI as they conceded 200 plus runs on regular intervals and they can’t afford the same in playoffs.
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