IPL 2023: What Eliminated teams learned and how they can bounce back in next season

After 70 exciting league stage matches of IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, and Mumbai Indians sealed their playoff berth. However, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Punjab Kings could not go through as they were not consistent enough.

There was a lot to learn for these eliminated teams, who were not consistent throughout the tournament. We take a look at how these six teams can bounce back stronger in IPL 2024 and what went wrong for them in the 16th edition of the competition.

Rajasthan Royals: After getting off to a solid start in the league stage, Rajasthan Royals veered off the track in the second phase of the tournament. They could not win the crunch situations of the game and it led to their downfall. They were too dependent on their top order and their fast bowlers also floundered when they were put under pressure.

There is no doubt that RR has a solid unit and they will be disappointed with their performance in the second half of the league stage, as they could only manage three wins in their last nine matches.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: RCB’s perennial issue of depending on a set of batters led to their undoing in IPL 2023. The Bengaluru-based franchise was too reliant on the shoulders of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell and the trio did the lion’s share of the scoring for them. However, the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, and Dinesh Karthik failed to deliver for the team with the bat.

Moreover, their bowlers could not hit the right areas while bowling in the death overs, which added to their woes. RCB had their chances to qualify for the playoffs but they went on to squander them as they could not come up with a collective batting show.

Kolkata Knight Riders: KKR’s top order was not consistent in IPL 2023 and they also deeply missed the services of their full-time skipper Shreyas Iyer, who was ruled out with an injury. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz did a decent job for the team, Jason Roy could not find his top form.

Furthermore, Varun Chakravarthy did a good job for KKR as he scalped 20 wickets in 14 matches but he didn’t get the support from Sunil Narine. Moreover, KKR’s fast bowlers could not deliver the goods for the team and thus there were many grey areas for the Nitish Rana-led team.

Punjab Kings: PBKS got off to a good start in the season but they failed to remain consistent throughout the tournament. Their batters had a hot and cold season with Jitesh Sharma standing out. In fact, PBKS batters adopted an aggressive approach but they could not sustain it.

While Arshdeep Singh scalped 17 wickets in 14 matches, he didn’t get the support from the other end. Furthermore, Rahul Chahar, the team’s lead spinner, could only take eight wickets in 14 matches and thus could not contribute to the team’s success.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: SRH’s batting was not at all consistent for them. While the likes of Abhishek Sharma, and Harry Brook played some decent knocks, they were not consistent enough. Moreover, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, and Mayank Agarwal failed to deliver. Heinrich Klaasen was the standout batter for SRH as he scored 448 runs in 11 innings but the South African didn’t get support from the other end.

In fact, the bowlers did a decent job for the Orange Army with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mayank Markande taking 16 and 12 wickets respectively but their batting unit was their kryptonite and thus they finished as cellar-dwellers of the tournament with only four wins in 14 games.

Delhi Capitals: Delhi Capitals’ batting unit was their Achilles Heel throughout the IPL 2023 and they lost their opening five matches, to find themselves under the cosh. The team’s skipper David Warner scored 516 runs in 14 games but the southpaw failed to find any support from the other end. The likes of Manish Pandey, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh and Rilee Rossouw could not hit the straps for DC and it led to their downfall in the season.

In fact, their spinners and fast bowlers did a decent job for them but their batting could not get the job done. Moreover, they deeply missed the services of their full-time skipper Rishabh Pant.