5 min readUpdated: Apr 1, 2026 11:41 PM IST
CSK start last
After finishing last in 2025, CSK are propping up the table once more with a woeful Net Run Rate after a damaging opening defeat. There might be mitigating injuries, but their tactics – like not opening with Ayush Mhatre and lightweight batting XI when asked to bat first – left a lot wanting too.
MI break streak
It was perhaps more an anomaly than anything that Mumbai hadn’t won their opening game since 2012. But there is a good reason why that streak ended in 2026, because they appear to have the best squad on paper this edition. With key overseas assets Mitch Santner and Will Jacks not even available yet, MI put out a mighty ensemble and Rohit Sharma’s imperious start with the bat is just the shot in the arm they needed too.
‘Attacking champs’ RCB
Winning IPL back-to-back has never been easy, but RCB began with a statement win in the curtain-raiser. Fast bowler Jacob Duffy, who joked he is keeping the seat warm for Josh Hazlewood, starred in a sensational 30-minute cameo. And while Virat Kohli rolled out some classics, the high-impact knocks from Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar augur even better as they made a 200-plus chase look pedestrian.
Punjab’s depth
Even in the Impact Player era, having Marco Jansen as your No.8 is a luxury not many teams can afford. That depth in batting – illustrated even more by the handy Xavier Bartlett coming at 9 and nailing a nervous chase – looks to be Punjab’s biggest strength again. And if Cooper Connolly’s debut is anything to go by, they have unleashed a lethal weapon at No.3. Bowling looks well-rounded too.
Vaibhav unleashed
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picked up where he left off at the U19 World Cup final (BCCI/Creimas Photo)
Second season syndrome? At least not yet. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picked up where he left off at the U19 World Cup final, with a blistering start for RR – how good was that lofted cut over point for six? The RR batting order looks explosive even without Sanju Samson, and perhaps more clearly defined roles. The bowling unit looks strengthened by the additions by Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi too.
Weak bowling, ft. KKR
Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen’s explosive start in Mumbai wasn’t sustained by KKR’s batting unit, and their 220 felt underwhelming at the halfway stage – especially given how 250 was nearly chased at the venue in the World Cup semifinal. The KKR think-tank alluded to Cam Green’s bowling unavailability as part of the imbalance but even if he does start rotating his arm, their pace unit looks severely inexperienced, unaided by Varun Chakaravarthy’s alarming dip in form in recent weeks.
Weak bowling, ft. SRH
Sunrisers might be credited with redefining batting run-rates in the IPL, with their flurry of 250-scores, and they still perhaps have the firepower to keep nudging towards that 300-mark. While their batting failed to get going against in Bengaluru, pegged back by early dismissals for Travishek, it is the lack of penetration in the bowling that appears more concerning. Even when Pat Cummins returns, the attack looks quite weak to maintain a sustained playoffs push.
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GT need a new gear
In a modern era of crash-bang-wallop T20 cricket, GT – like in the image of their coach Ashish Nehra – have maintained an old-fashioned template. They don’t go hard with the bat, like to accumulate more than aggravate, and leave it to the bowlers to defend smartly. That nearly paid off on a not-so-flat pitch in New Chandigarh but you are left wondering, can GT succeed without unlocking another batting gear?
DC’s Early impact
Despite a serious wobble at the top of the order, which wouldn’t worry DC’s management, there were plenty of good signs for Axar Patel’s side. The bowling unit looked well-rounded, with Lungi Ngidi’s slower deliveries leading the show once more and T Natarajan showing glimpses of his best, aided well by Kuldeep Yadav. Then Sameer Rizvi stepped up with his best IPL knock, backing the choice to use him as Impact Sub.
LSG’s confusing vibes
New colours, new logo, but same old confusing vibes. If the first match is anything to go by, LSG’s tactics produced more questions than provide answers: opening with Rishabh Pant, to break one of the most threatening combos that they had, not picking an outright spinner in their batting XI – one of the stories of IPL 2025 in Digvesh Rathi – to then pick a stop-gap allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed to arrest a collapse… LSG have some serious rethinking to do.
