Surya Kumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
It has been an interesting two weeks at the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While all the focus has been on last season’s finalists – Sunrisers Hyderabad – and how they are struggling to fire this year – there are two other big stories which have emerged this season. Delhi Capitals have got off to a brilliant start and won all their three encounters so far – in fact, they are the only team yet to taste defeat in the competition. On the other end of the spectrum lie 10 IPL trophies – Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have won five each, but if early indications are anything to go by, they will struggle to add to the count this time around.
What is making the Capitals click, and why are the two most successful teams in IPL history struggling big-time this season?
RG analyses.
Capitals Shine with Team Effort and Bowling Brilliance
Capitals look the best team in the tournament and have got off to a brilliant start this season. They have chased down a 200-plus total and restricted the opposition to below 165 in two other matches. While Ashutosh Sharma’s stunning 66 helped them gun down 210 against Lucknow Super Giants, Mitchell Starc’s fifer routed Sunrisers Hyderabad. KL Rahul then showed his class and scored 77 off just 51 deliveries to help Capitals post a stiff 183 on a difficult Chepauk wicket, which proved a tad too much for the hosts. The batting is clicking as a collective, with Faf du Plessis and Abhishek Porel also making valuable contributions.
The bowling has been top-notch with Starc leading the way with the new ball. Kuldeep Yadav has also bagged six wickets while being phenomenally restrictive, conceding just six per over. Skipper Axar Patel has not picked a wicket yet but controlled the middle overs with an economy of just over 8. Overall, DC has the best bowling average (23) and strike rate (15.3) in the tournament.
With the exception of Starc’s fifer, there has been no path-breaking performance by any DC player yet in the competition, but all of them have chipped in, and as many as nine of them have an impact of greater than 1 – which basically means that they have done the job of more than a player in the tournament. This teamwork and camaraderie have defined the Capitals’ show so far this season. DC have not made it to the playoffs in the last three seasons and only once made it to the final – that was back in 2020. They are yet to lift the coveted trophy. Will 2025 be DC’s year?
CSK’s Aging Core and Blunt Middle-order Falter
Chennai Super Kings started their campaign with a win but have lost three matches in a row and are in the doldrums this season. The batting is the main concern for the five-time champions. It is too dependent on the duo of Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad, and if they do not deliver, the rest of the line-up crumbles like a pack of cards. CSK have also struggled to get starts at the top of the order. Their opening partnership averages a paltry 8.3 with a strike rate of 100 this season! The Ravindra-Rahul Tripathi combination hasn’t worked for them, yet they have been adamant not to push Gaikwad to open the innings.
CSK have struggled to chase 180-plus targets, as the batting does not have the firepower in the middle and lower order. According to Cricket-21 ball-by-ball data, CSK has the lowest batting strike rate (134.3) and the worst balls per boundary (6.8 balls) so far in the tournament. Their middle order consists of a number of veteran batters who are well past their prime – Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rahul Tripathi – they are in the twilight of their careers and are struggling to compete with the hectic scoring pace of T20 cricket, especially the IPL, which underwent a batting revolution last season. Shivam Dube’s continuous failures have also not helped CSK’s cause – he has managed just 64 runs in his four innings and looks completely out of sorts – a pale version of the Dube who hammered 814 runs combined in 2023 and 2024 at a strike rate of 160!
MS Dhoni’s rigid insistence on batting at number 7 or 8 when the target is well beyond reach is also baffling. So was his approach during his painful 84-run stand with Shankar against Capitals. The duo resigned to their fate and gave up the chase even without a try in what was one of the worst displays of batsmanship in recent memory in the IPL.
Mumbai’s Top-Order Misfires and Toothless Powerplay Bowling
Mumbai Indians have lost four of their five matches and are staring down the barrel this season in the IPL. The batting hasn’t clicked as a unit, and the bowling without Jasprit Bumrah has lacked the zip, especially with the new ball.
Like CSK, MI also have not got the starts at the top of the order. Their opening pair averages a poor 17.2 in the season, with Rohit Sharma – 38 runs in 4 innings – struggling to replicate his white-ball form for India for the Mumbai Indians – this is not a new story and has been one of the biggest mysteries of the IPL! MI have also struggled to up the ante in the death overs, and their run rate of 9.3 is the lowest amongst all teams in this phase of play this season.
The bowling has lacked penetration up front, and MI have picked just six wickets in five matches in the powerplay this season. Their combined bowling average of 51.8, strike rate of 30, and economy rate of 10.4 are all the worst in the first 6 overs amongst all teams in the tournament. Trent Boult hasn’t been able to fill the void of Bumrah and has returned with just two wickets in five innings in the powerplay. Mitchell Santner has also failed to put any sort of control in the middle overs and has picked just one solitary wicket in five matches while going for aplenty at 9.2 per over.
Nikhil Narain is a die-hard cricket romantic, published author, and has worked for some of the leading digital websites and broadcasters in India and overseas. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Nikhil's forte is using data and numbers creatively to weave interesting stories and revolutionize the way cricket statistics are generated and analyzed.
