IPL 2024: Rating teams’ performances after second week

Following the second week of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) snatched the top position from Rajasthan Royals (RR) with a 106-run win against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam. The emphatic triumph against Delhi was KKR’s third consecutive success in the competition.

A couple of days before Kolkata’s enormous triumph, Rajasthan hammered Mumbai Indians (MI) by six wickets at the Wankhede Stadium and sat on the top of the points tally. Contrary to KKR and RR, MI and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had a tough week as they lost their games and ended up at the bottom of the points table. Witnessing the fabulous cricketing action in the second week of the league, it's time to rate the performances of all sides.

Here are the ratings of all 10 sides’ performances in the second week

10. Mumbai Indians (MI)- 4/10

After their defeats against Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Mumbai’s confidence was extremely low against Rajasthan at the Wankhede Stadium. Batting first, they failed to face the Trent Boult challenge and got bundled out on 125. Their main batters Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, and Tim David didn’t stand a chance against RR’s fiery bowling. Following the underwhelming batting display, MI bowlers failed to show a fighting spirit and surrendered in front of Riyan Parag’s exceptional batting.

9. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)- 4/10

RCB lost both contests in the second week of the tournament. Against KKR, their bowling flopped and failed to save a total of 182. Mohammed Siraj, who is their premier bowler, got thrashed for 46 runs in just three overs. In the next contest against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Bengaluru’s batting collapsed while chasing 182. Captain Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell returned to the dugout within the powerplay.

8. Chennai Super Kings (CSK)- 4/10

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost their only match against DC in the second week. Fielding first, the defending champions’ bowling attack couldn’t handle Delhi’s batting trio of David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, and Rishabh Pant. Following a target of 192, Chennai never looked comfortable as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, and eventually, Ruturaj Gaikwad and his men fell 20 runs short. 

7. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)- 5/10

SRH’s performance slumped in the second week as they put up an average show against the Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Batting first after winning the toss, the Orange Army posted only 162 runs on the board due to the hosts’ steady bowling. Defending the average score, skipper Pat Cummins gave some tough time to Gujarat but he didn't get enough support from his bowlers. 

6. Delhi Capitals (DC)- 6/10

DC won their maiden contest of the competition against Chennai by 20 runs in Visakhapatnam, riding on David Warner’s half-century and Khaleel Ahmed’s tight bowling. However, their happiness was short-lived as they recorded a 106-run loss in their next game against KKR. Confronting Kolkata, Delhi’s bowlers looked horrendous and gave away 272 runs in 20 overs. Eminent names such as Ishant Sharma, Anrich Nortje, and Khaleel Ahmed were not spared on the batting-friendly surface.  

5. Punjab Kings (PBKS)-7/10

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are back on the winning track after clinching an intriguing three-wicket win against Gujarat in their backyard. Chasing 200 runs, when PBKS were five down at a score of 111, Shashank Singh took GT’s bowling attack to the cleaners and snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat. 

Before winning the contest against Gujarat, PBKS lost the opportunity to beat Lucknow at the EKANA Stadium. Following a score of 200, Punjab looked dominating until the 14th over but the departure of Prabhsmiran Singh derailed the chase and the visitors fell 21 runs short in the end.  

4. Gujarat Titans (GT)- 7/10

Gujarat looked extremely confident against the Sunrisers in Ahmedabad and recorded a convincing seven-wicket win. Mohit Sharma stepped up and bowled an extraordinary spell. Riding on his 3/25 figures in four overs, Gujarat contained the visitors on only 162. 

After pummelling Hyderabad, Gujarat hosted PBKS at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium. This time, the result went in Punjab’s favour as Shashank Singh stood tall and guided his side to a three-wicket victory with his courageous knock of unbeaten 61 off just 29.

3. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)- 8.5/10

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) looked remarkable in the tournament's second week. In their clash with Punjab and Bengaluru, the KL Rahul-led side looked formidable and clinched convincing victories. Mayank Yadav played an instrumental role in the team’s success against both teams.

Hosting Punjab in Lucknow, the Super Giants restricted the confident visitors to 178 and pocketed a 21-run win. Mayank, who grabbed 3/27 figures in four overs, became the Player of the Match in his debut game. After beating Punjab, Lucknow travelled to Bengaluru and thrashed RCB by 28 runs. This time, Quinton de Kock notched up 81 off 56 and Mayank scalped 3/14 figures in four overs. Nicholas Pooran also played an unbeaten knock of 40 off just 21.

2. Rajasthan Royals (RR)- 9/10

In match 14 of the tournament, Rajasthan outplayed MI by six wickets at the Wankhede Stadium and won their third consecutive victory in the competition. Trent Boult came heavily on the hosts and folded them on a low score of 125. The New Zealander got support from Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal, who helped the Men in Pink dominate the contest. Pursuing the target, RR lost their top-order batters but Riyan Parag exhibited his power-hitting skills and took the team home with his unbeaten 54 off 39.

1. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)- 9/10

KKR, who never lost any game against RCB at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium since 2016, continued their domination at the venue, this year, against Faf du Plessis and Co. While chasing a target of 183 runs, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt gave a perfect start to Kolkata, stitching an impressive 86-run partnership off just 6.3 overs. 

After the departure of both batters, Venkatesh Iyer took responsibility and hit 50 runs off just 30 deliveries. The two-time champions pulled off the target in 16.5 overs and Narine became the recipient of the Player of the Match award. The comfortable victory against Bengaluru emboldened Kolkata as they continued their ruthless approach against DC in Visakhapatnam. 

This time, they smashed 272 runs in 20 overs and recorded IPL’s second-highest team total. Narine looked merciless with both bat and ball and won the Player of the Match award for two consecutive games. This time, his contribution to the triumph was 85 off 39 with the bat and 1/29 as a bowler.