IPL Week Eight Recap: It was quite an action-packed eighth week of IPL 2022. The race for the playoffs reached its final stage. With Gujarat Titans having already sealed the top spot, it was a battle for the remaining 3 places. Mumbai and Chennai stood eliminated in the previous week itself. It was a battle between the 7 teams for these 3 spots. At the end of the penultimate game, we knew which teams qualified for the playoffs. It was a memorable cricketing week.
We Take a Quick Look at IPL Week Eight Recap:
#1 Can RR repeat the magic of the first season?
The Rajasthan Royals had started the tournament strongly only to stutter a bit in the middle. As the race for the top spots intensified, the Royals brought out their A-game. Their experiment to make Ravichandran Ashwin bat up the order paid dividends. RR won three out of their last 4 games to storm into the playoffs. Their superior net run rate helped them finish second in the points table.
It was for the first time since the inaugural season that the Royals finished in the top two. They will be aiming to repeat the magic at the end of the next week.
#2 The other new team joins the playoff race
Lucknow Super Giants along with the Gujarat Titans were the two new teams this season. The Titans had already sealed a berth in the playoffs while LSG was in contention for one. They were up against KKR in their last league game. LSG had to win big to go ahead of RR in the standings.
But what played out was one of the best games of this season. LSG prevailed but just about. The margin of two runs victory stopped them from taking the second spot. LSG had to settle for the number 3 spot in the playoffs. They joined Gujarat Titans to make it to the playoffs.
#3 Rohit keeps Virat Kohli’s dream alive
Mumbai Indians’ last league game was against the Delhi Capitals. It was a must-win game for the Capitals. They had to win it to make it through. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore pinned their hopes on Mumbai. For RCB to proceed to the playoffs, they needed Mumbai to win against DC.
After putting up a spirited performance against Gujarat, RCB left it to Mumbai to help them surge ahead. In what was a nail-biting game, Mumbai defeated Delhi enabling RCB to book a spot in the playoffs. The end was poetic for Mumbai, as the Rohit Sharma-led side kept Virat Kohli’s dream of winning the IPL title with RCB alive.
#4 The tale of the bottom four this season
Nobody would have expected that MI, CSK, SRH, and KKR will be the bottom four teams this season. But it was that kind of a season for these decorated teams. MI and CSK finished at tenth and ninth respectively. KKR finished seventh while SRH stood at the eighth spot after losing their last league game.
These four teams placed at the bottom had historically won 12 IPL titles between them. Mumbai ranked tenth had won five, CSK placed ninth had won four, SRH placed eight had won one title while KKR had two IPL titles. It is an ironic IPL in every sense!
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