Indian Premier League 2023 has entered its business end.
After 70 hard-fought matches in the league stage, four teams – Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians – have qualified for the playoff stage.
The 16th season of the cash-rich league is packed with an array of exciting contests.
From stalwarts like Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami proving their class to young guns proving their class with Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal announcing the arrival of the next generation, IPL 2023 has seen skills of the highest order.
Here are the four teams that qualify for the IPL 2023 playoffs.
Gujarat Titans
The defending champions showed that their title triumph last season was not a fluke as they played effective cricket in the first round stage to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Hardik Pandya has led his troops well as he finished the group stage with 20 points from 14 matches.
Young batting superstar Gill led the batting unit and displayed class in what is proving to be his best season yet. He scored back-to-back hundreds in the last two league stage matches, while other batsmen also gave him valuable support.
In the bowling department, Shami ran riot with his swing bowling while Rashid Khan created trouble for the opposition batsmen. Titans will next take on Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Titans have an excellent record against MS Dhoni and Co. in the IPL and would look to continue their winning streak over them to reach the final in consecutive 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 crisis in the camp. The four-time champions bought Ben Stokes for Rs 16.25 crore but a knee injury allowed him to play only two matches this season.
While Deepak Chahar also missed most of the matches, Dhoni got the best of rookie stars like Tushar Deshpande and Akash Singh with the ball, while Sri Lanka’s Mathisha Pathirana became the breakout star for him.
In the batting department, collective efforts from Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane kept them going, while Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja provided the finishing touches.
It is going to be a tough task for Chennai to face the Titans in the first Qualifier but playing at the Chepauk fortress could give them a slight edge.
Lucknow Super Giants
It has been a tumultuous season for LSG as their performances have lacked consistency but some close last-ball wins have helped them make it to the playoffs.
The Lucknow-based franchise suffered a major blow when KL Rahul was ruled out midway due to a thigh injury as Krunal Pandya took over the captaincy.
After a few hiccups, Kunal gets LSG’s season back on track. A nervy one-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders helped them book a place in the playoffs and will now face Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator.
They rely heavily on the brute power of Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran in the batting line-up. The LSG however are yet to settle on an ideal speed combination, having gone through several combinations.
Naveen-ul-Haq has so far failed to live up to expectations while Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan have been inconsistent with their performances.
Mumbai Indians
The five-time IPL champions were once again off to a slow start this season after losing the first two matches, but they came back at the right time to switch gears and storm back into the tournament with some emphatic results in their side.
Rohit Sharma & Co. have showcased their batting depth while chasing big runs and have successfully chased down 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 playoff race.
Green remained unbeaten on 100 in a heavy win.
While Suryakumar Yadav also found his form in the second half of the season as he got back his Mr. 360-degree mojo. Bowling still remains a major concern for MI as they concede more than 200 runs at regular intervals and they cannot afford it in the playoffs.