Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians
Royals have suddenly hit a slump on bigger grounds of Dubai and Abu Dhabi with their willow-wielders not looking half as menacing as they did during the first two games. One of the primary reasons for their fall has been the poor form of Jos Buttler (47 runs from 3 games) along with yet another dismal show from Jaydev Unadkat (1 wicket from 4 games at 9.97 economy). Having been defeated by RCB, Royals was not able to make its way back to the top three. In contrast, RCB was able to propel to the top of the points table.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have been solid in their last couple of games and are currently on top of the table by virtue of a better net run-rate compared to Delhi Capitals, also on six points.
After the loss to RCB in the Super Over, they were able to defeat Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad by 48 and 34 runs respectively. It was an all-round performance by MI as they bowled and batted their plans to perfection. Again the power-hitters of the team stood up at the end to power MI to a big score.They jumped right back and had held their position as the leading team on the list.
Delhi Capitals: Senior Spinner ruled out
Amit Mishra has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2020 due to a finger injury. Mishra was hurt while trying to take a return catch of Nitish Rana when the ball ballooned up off a leading edge. Mishra dived across and got his hands underneath the ball but couldn't hold on, and injured himself in the process. He bowled another over and even dismissed Shubman Gill but didn't bowl again after that, finishing the game with figures of 1 for 14 in 2 overs. Mishra featured in three games this season, picking up three wickets.
The franchise will also look for a like-for-like replacement who could join them at short notice and could turn towards Indian options like S Midhun, Shubham Singh, and Ankit Soni.
CSK ends contract with Raina and Harbhajan
Raina and Harbhajan had a contract with CSK that would be ending this year at the end of the IPL. However, both of them opted out of the current league and the CEO made it clear to them that they would not be paid if they did not play for the tournament. Further, CSK ended the contract with the two players and they are no longer a part of the team. Their names have also been removed from everything including the official website. This also means, if for the next season (IPL 2021) BCCI doesn’t organize a player auction because of the paucity of time – Raina and Harbhajan will not have any contract with CSK and may end up sitting out of IPL for one more season.