IPL 2022 – Which team will bring home the cup this year?

The final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 29, will be a strange affair. This will be because for the first time since 2017, neither Chennai Super Kings nor Mumbai Indians will feature in the final, as the two traditional powerhouses, who collectively win nine titles, did not even exit the round-robin stage. ,

Apart from that surprise, another surprise of similar magnitude has come to the fore this season. This was an immediate impact by newcomers to Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, the former of whom finished on top in the round robin stage.

Apart from Titans, Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants, ranked second and third respectively, are also almost certain to reach the playoffs.

Below we will analyze the sides that are most likely to make it to the final and who, in our opinion, will lift the trophy on May 29.

Gujarat, Rajasthan and Lucknow in playoff

Before we get into this topic, we have to decide whether Rajasthan will be able to retain its second position as it is currently on 16 points with Lucknow, and only Rajasthan’s better net run rate can keep them ahead. Used to be.

Rajasthan’s last match of the round robin match is against Chennai Super Kings, who are already knocked out and have no real motivation to give their full 100 per cent. On the other hand, Lucknow’s last game is against Kolkata, one of the teams competing for the fourth and final playoff spot and hence are expected to do their best to win.

Not only did Rajasthan comfortably beat Chennai in their last game, but they also beat Lucknow on Sunday. In such a situation, the trend is favoring them. Lucknow also beat Kolkata when they met earlier this season, but their current run has seen them lose both their recent matches. Actually, he was recently insulted by Gujarat.

Thus, the conventional logic dictates that Rajasthan will finish second after beating Chennai, and while Lucknow can beat Kolkata as well, its margin of victory is likely to decrease, allowing them to close the NRR gap between themselves and Rajasthan. will not allow. Hence, the possible order would be Gujarat, Rajasthan, Lucknow and the fourth team.

Delhi Capitals – 4th team in the playoffs?

In our estimation, Delhi Capitals will be the fourth team after the above three to qualify for the playoffs. We say this because their last two matches are against Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians. Delhi beat Punjab prominently in their first match, while Mumbai has shown signs of life in recent times, yet Delhi should be expected to beat them if their season is on the line. Mind you, we also expect Bangalore to beat Gujarat in their final round robin match as Gujarat has nothing to play for in this game and might want to rest some regular players. However, Delhi’s positive NRR and Bangalore’s negative will give an advantage to Delhi, who will then secure the final playoff spot.

This would mean that Gujarat and Rajasthan will face Qualifier 1. Now, the point of Gujarat is that they have lost just three times in the entire season and were comfortable winners facing Rajasthan earlier this season. They have also recently defeated Lucknow and Chennai so their confidence is skyrocketing. The Hardik Pandya-led side is a powerhouse and their range of hitters in the middle to late order is an intimidating sight for any bowling unit. We don’t think Rajasthan will be able to beat this team, at least not in the qualifiers. Rajasthan have the Jos Buttler factor but Gujarat have the edge and we see them making the final in their first attempt.

Delhi vs Lucknow in Eliminator, Rajasthan vs Gujarat The last

Meanwhile, the Eliminator will be between Delhi and Lucknow. Now here is the thing that Lucknow has already beaten Delhi twice this season and both the results were close, but there is a clear tilt visible. Lucknow will eliminate Delhi and face Rajasthan for a shot at the final. Another obvious trend is that Rajasthan has doubled down on Lucknow this season. Their most recent meeting came on Sunday when Rajasthan won by 24 runs. Buttler did so despite contributing just two runs because of him. If this trend continues, Rajasthan will once again defeat Lucknow to face Gujarat.

At this point, most IPL betting tips would advise Gujarat to speed up but we feel that the final is where tradition and the established system will be betrayed. By this time, as we say, if all goes well, Gujarat will have beaten Rajasthan twice this season. Perhaps, due to overconfidence, we expect their performance to decline in the finals. Butler’s experience for Rajasthan can also become a reason. It is pertinent to mention here that when these two met on April 14, Gujarat’s top-order collapsed, and had it not been for Pandya’s unbeaten 87, the result could have been different.

conclusion

IPL 2022 has been a tournament full of surprises and we expect it to serve up its biggest surprise on its final day. Rajasthan would beat Gujarat to win only their second title after their first win in the league’s inaugural season in 2008. Butler will be named player of the tournament.

Published on: Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 08:12 PM IST