IPL 2024: Heroes and Underdogs of the Group Stage

Nathan Revell | 12:00am BST 19 May 2024

The regular season of the Indian Premier League 2024 is entering its decisive phase, and the intrigue for spots in the playoffs is heating up every day. At this stage, the main favorites and disappointments of the current edition of the world’s most prestigious cricket club tournament can already be confidently named. If you want to make a prediction for IPL 2024 with the aim of earning, then go through Mostbet ro’yxatdan o’tish. It’s a reliable bookmaker that offers excellent betting opportunities for cricket.

Sensation from Rajasthan

The brightest revelation and main sensation of the IPL 2024 season are the wards of Sanju Samson from the Rajasthan Royals. The “Royal” team demonstrates an impressively balanced and spectacular game in all aspects and rightfully sits atop the points table after 10 rounds.

The phenomenal success of the Royals is guaranteed by their ultra-modern and powerful lineup, which literally has no weak spots and no prominently “anchor” player. Thanks to such a skillful selection of performers, the team is equally formidable both at their home ground in Jaipur and on away pitches.

Collapse of Bangalore

At the same time, the unquestionable underdog and main disappointment of the current IPL edition can be considered the renowned Royal Challengers Bangalore. The wards of the legendary Virat Kohli have firmly settled at the bottom of the points table, securing only 3 victories in 10 matches played.

There are several reasons for the disappointing performance of RCB. First and foremost, the team clearly lacks top-class bowlers capable of containing powerful opponent attacks in the final overs. There is also an obvious surplus of so-called “anchor” players with the bat, preferring a cautious approach to cricket. As a result, the once formidable collective has turned into a convenient “punching bag” for almost any opponents.

However, some rays of hope for the disappointed Bangalore fans are still visible in the very end of the group stage. In the last home game against the Gujarat Titans, captain Kohli finally managed to demonstrate his unparalleled class, boldly smashing the opponent’s deliveries for 70 runs in just 44 cricketing outings. And the young British all-rounder Will Jex literally illuminated the “Ninewa” field with his phenomenal performance of an impressive 100 runs! Thanks to this, RCB won the match with a crushing score of 201:100.

Perhaps, this success could be a starting point for the late rehabilitation of the once formidable Bangalore club. However, time for a complete turnaround is extremely limited.

Challenges of the Giants

The situation is not much better for another giant of Indian club cricket – the Mumbai Indians. They are also plagued by serious internal problems, which resulted from a protracted conflict between the team and its legendary captain and leader, Rohit Sharma.

The abrupt removal of Sharma from the position of the main skipper led to a sharp disruption of the atmosphere within the team and a complete loss of clear leadership. Despite the colossal individual potential of masters like Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and other stars, under the leadership of the new captain Hardik Pandya, the team struggles to balance the lineup properly and find the optimal balance between defense and attack.

Yet, the chances of the “Indians” to advance to the playoff round still exist, albeit very slim. In the current lineup of the Mumbai Indians, not only Bumrah – the world’s best bowler in the T20 format, but also a whole array of brightest world-class batsmen are performing. If Pandya’s team manages to win all the remaining 5 matches of the group stage, then it almost certainly will break into the coveted top four.

New Rules – New Challenges

The key feature of this year’s IPL has been the introduction of a new rule regarding the use of the so-called “impact player”. According to this innovation, in the final overs of the match, each team has the right to use an additional specialized batsman to rapidly increase the pace of attack.

It should be acknowledged that the new rules have already introduced a significant element of unpredictability into the course of matches. For instance, during the group stage, an unprecedented new world record for T20 cricket was set – the Delhi Capitals team managed to score an incredible 261 runs in a game against the Lucknow Super Giants! Other clubs are also keeping up – in 8 matches of the current season, the threshold of 250 runs per match has been surpassed.

From this, an obvious conclusion arises: teams with powerful bowling units and authoritative bowling line-ups will have the greatest advantage during the upcoming playoff round. There is a high probability that the fate of the IPL 2024 championship title will be determined precisely in the fierce battle between attack and defense in the final stages of the tournament.

Resignation of the Favorite

At the moment, the team with the highest chances of guaranteed qualification for the playoff round and, consequently, the fight for the championship title, is the leading Rajasthan Royals. The “Royal” club from Jaipur only needs one more victory in the remaining 5 matches of the group stage to become the first team to secure a spot in the playoffs. Currently, the Royals have a comfortable lead – 16 points after 10 rounds. During the regular championship, teams play 14 matches, and the 16-point mark is usually considered a safe threshold for reaching the final stage.

However, the “Jaipurites” themselves remember well the misfortune they encountered last season. Then, despite having 7 victories, Rajasthan failed to advance to the playoffs due to a worse ratio of secondary indicators compared to Mumbai, who also finished with 8 wins. So, the club from Rajasthan will only receive full qualification guarantee after achieving 8 or 9 successful results in the group stage.