No fierce Points Table tussle in IPL, as Punjab beat Delhi yet again

Kings XI Punjab managed to edge out Delhi on the second occasion in IPL 2018, by beating them in a close encounter at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.

Although quite a few matches have gone down to the wire in this year’s IPL, but there seems to be a fair distance between the table toppers and those at the bottom of it. Led by Ashwin, Kings XI Punjab is bossing the points table. On the other hand, Delhi is lingering at the bottom, as has been the case in the previous editions of IPL.

At the start of 2^nd innings, Delhi Daredevils required 144 runs to win the game. But, they again dragged the game too far and needed 17 runs of the last over. They managed to run close, but lost the game by 4 runs.

The concerning part is not the defeat, but the gap between Punjab and Delhi. While Punjab is sitting at the top with 10 points, Delhi has only a couple of points to show for their efforts. Both the teams have played 6 matches each, which makes the task very difficult for the Delhi Daredevils from here on. There is a similar kind of difference between CKS and Mumbai. While CSK is at the 2^nd spot with 8 points from 5 games, MI is languishing at the 7^th place with 2 points from similar number of games.

At this point, the scenario is almost certain. It’s easier to back Punjab and CSK to make it to the playoffs. On the other hand of the spectrum, Delhi and Mumbai are likely to get eliminated, if things continue to go downhill for them. Apart from these four teams, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Rajasthan are sandwiched in the middle of points table.

But then again, SRH and KKR seem to have quite a lot of fire power to come good and the other two teams seem to be dependent on a couple of guys. However, nothing much can be said about Rajasthan Royals, as they are blowing hot and cold. So, we will have to wait and watch how RCB and RR play from here on. But, the overall scenario looks sorted, if something dramatic doesn’t take place. So, enjoy the close encounters for now, before the juggernaut runs out of steam.