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By K.R. Nayar  A lot has been discussed about the salient qualities and common factors among the four teams that qualified for the Indian Premier League 2026 playoffs. It might also be interesting to examine what these teams did not do, which carried them into the final four. One important factor was their controlled panic under pressure. They avoided reckless performances like trying to win the match in one over. One did not see them change plans every three balls, and most importantly, they had captains who avoided brain fades like overlooking their strike bowlers’ quota. The IPL is entertainment, but some analyse it like a Test match. It is so funny that on numerous occasions, teams that were talked and written about as having the best top order lost all their top batters before the 50-run mark. Again, one cannot be sure that all of these four teams will have great performances in the playoffs. Take Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), for instance. They ensured that cricket...

By K.R. Nayar  There are many cricketers with enormous skills, but not many possess nerves of steel. Shreyas Iyer stands tall among them. His unbeaten 101 to steer Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 23, 2026, was a brilliant captain’s knock. It was his maiden ton in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but it will glitter as an innings soaked in determination. Reaching his century through a six also reflected his authority with the signature of mastery over the toughest of moments. The world has seen many captain’s tons, but the best are those played during a must-win match. Iyer led the way with unwavering vision. All his 11 boundaries and five sixes, after coming out to bat with his team’s score at 22 for 2, were shots that felt louder than the blast from a cannon. The task before him was daunting - to end his team’s six-match losing streak, and he achieved it.   Unfortunately, in less than 24 hours, Rajasthan Royals clinched the...

By K.R. Nayar Strange, truly strange, are the debates that the Indian Premier League (IPL) throws up. One suggestion wondered whether the remaining IPL matches should be played without spectators—to conserve fuel. Another claimed that, thanks to the rush of 200-plus scores, spectators are now suffering from something called ‘sixer’ fatigue. Packed stadiums for IPL in every match Both can be laughed off, but there are many who believe that these are serious matters. With fuel prices going up, some believe that it is foolish to keep spending on fuel, especially to watch cricket matches. Traffic swells during every match, resulting in a huge consumption of fuel. The sixer fatigue is because in many of these matches an average of close to 30 sixes have been hit, and some spectators are bored to see bowlers look helpless. In a country where IPL matches have turned out to be the biggest entertainment, stopping spectators to conserve fuel seems impossible. Thankfully, a suggestion t...

  By K.R. Nayar Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) failed to make it to the playoffs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. This is a huge disappointment for a team that has a large fan following. Their crushing defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT) by 89 runs on May 21, 2026, in Ahmedabad, resulted in CSK becoming the third team to be eliminated from this edition. More than the sorrow of the poor show by the team, for which they have always whistled to win, it was the pain of not being able to watch Mahendra Singh Dhoni, their greatest hero, whom they address as Thala (leader), in action this season . So have we seen the last of Dhoni? This is a question going around for nearly a decade, but he has silenced everyone by turning up for CSK, fit and agile, with an unyielding spirit. This season, at 44 and barely two months away from turning 45, Dhoni needed a bit of luck to stand beside him. Unfortunately, a calf strain, followed by a thumb injury, kept him away from the sta...

By K.R. Nayar  What is a kid gone out of control called? Are they called disruptive because they disrupt people and activities around them, turn order into chaos and calmly walk away from the mess? Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a kid out of control. He upsets bowlers, unsettles the opponent captain’s plans, and destroys their hopes of winning the match. He smashed 93 runs off 38 balls, with seven boundaries and ten sixes, ensuring a seven-wicket win for Rajasthan Royals (RR) over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 19, 2026, refusing to calm down and continuously annoying the bowlers.  Every trait of a delightfully uncontrollable kid was on full display in that match. The sad part for the bowlers was that even an effort to tire him by forcing him to take runs through singles and doubles failed. Out of his 93 runs, 88 came from hits to the boundaries or over them. This meant it was the fielders who were getting tired, running frequently to the boundary. He did not even run as much ...

By K.R. Nayar Defeats are tough to swallow, and when it is six consecutive defeats, it becomes even tougher. Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) six consecutive defeats, after reigning at the top of the table like kings for weeks, has become the talk of the tournament. Interestingly, reasons beyond cricket are being attributed to it.  After they crashed to their fifth consecutive defeat on May 14, 2026, against Mumbai Indians (MI), some said that it was owing to an earlier PBKS social media tweet. When PBKS lost their sixth match in a row, going down to Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 17, 2026, it was even attributed to a curse. Why is it that reasons beyond cricket have emerged in this case? It seems strange that PBKS, who were at the top and unbeatable in the first seven matches, thereafter lost six in a row! What is it that has lead them to such a steep fall? Now it looks like the team has developed a habit of losing matches, though, like the statutory warning on a cigarette pack...