Weekly Roundup: Favorites to win IPL 2024
It has been a month since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 started with the match between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. With the tournament already halfway through, several jaw-dropping matches have taken place. Targets of over 200 do not seem safe anymore due to the batting friendly pitches and the firepower of the opposition teams.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), under the leadership of Pat Cummins, have been refreshing, to say the least, especially after they failed to make it through to the playoffs in the last couple of seasons. RCB, on the other hand, are all but out of the competition as they are languishing at the bottom of the table with losses in 7 out of 8 matches.
Rajasthan Royals (RR), led by Sanju Samson, are sitting pretty on top of the table. The Super Kings began their journey with 3 wins on the trot, but have lost their way a wee bit. But being defending champions and having won the title 5 times, one cannot rule them out by any means.
With Gautam Gambhir being back with them, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have looked like a force to be reckoned with. Gujarat Titans have looked far from their best. After Hardik Pandya’s departure and Mohammed Shami’s injury, GT have not found it easy by any means.
Mumbai Indians (MI) are currently going through a transition period after Rohit Sharma passed the baton to Hardik Pandya. With 3 wins from 7 games, MI have a tough challenge ahead going into the second half of the championship.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have chipped in with useful performances, but they are yet to show consistency. Punjab Kings (PBKS) have lost close matches and are languishing at the ninth place in the table.
Who are the Favourites to Win IPL 2024?
Rajasthan are being deemed as favourites to win the IPL with the best rate of 4.00 in the outright odds. Being on the top of the table, Samson’s men have been impressive until now. They won 6 out of their first 7 matches thus far and have a net run rate of +0.677. It goes without saying that they have a great chance of making their way through to the playoffs.
In fact, the Royals will also look to finish in the top 2 of the table and give themselves 2 chances of advancing to the final. They began their campaign by beating the Super Giants by 20 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Thereafter, they thumped Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals (DC) by 12 runs at the same venue.
RR kept growing in stature as they won their first away match after beating MI by 6 wickets at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. During this time, the Royals had an issue with Jos Buttler’s form. However, the opener returned to form with a hundred against RCB in Jaipur where RR chased down 184 and won the match by 6 wickets.
- Rajasthan Royals - 4.00
- Kolkata Knight Riders - 4.75
- Sunrisers Hyderabad - 4.50
- Chennai Super Kings - 6.00
- Mumbai Indians - 8.00
- Lucknow Super Giants - 15.00
- Gujarat Titans - 26.00
- Delhi Capitals - 67.00
- Punjab Kings - 201.00
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru - 301.00
The Royals faced their first defeat after losing to the Titans by 3 wickets. Skipper Samson and Riyan Parag scored half-centuries, but their efforts went in vain. They had an almighty scare in their game against PBKS, but they won by 3 wickets. With 10 runs needed off the last 4 balls, Shimron Hetmyer took the attack to Arshdeep Singh and helped his team win.
The Royals also got out of jail when they faced the Knight Riders a couple of days ago at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. They recorded the joint second-highest run-chase in the history of the IPL after tracking down 224 off the last ball. Buttler was on top of his game as he notched a 55-ball hundred to take his team past the finishing line. Buttler, who batted as an Impact Player, had issues with his foot, but he did not let it affect him in the middle. Rovman Powell’s assault on Sunil Narine also helped them.
Parag and Yuzvendra Chahal have also been impressive for the Royals. Chahal is on the cusp of becoming the first bowler to reach the landmark of 200 IPL wickets. Parag has also flourished while batting at No.4 for the Royals.
Rohit, a dedicated cricket enthusiast renowned for his keen statistical insights, has a professional background spanning over six years in the field. His expertise has been widely recognized through his contributions as a freelance writer, with his work featured in esteemed publications such as Wisden, Cricbuzz, The Independent, The Cricketer, The Hindu, Mumbai Mirror, The Quint, News18, Firstpost, and Sportskeeda.