IPL 2025: Power Rankings - Episode 3

We’ve only looked at each team’s bowling this week, because it still exists and has not yet been banned.

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This week’s power rankings are coming at you like a mystery spinner drunk on power. We have assembled a list of teams in terms of vibes, which is the only way we know. We’ve only looked at each team’s bowling this week, because it still exists and has not yet been banned.

(The rankings are based on their overall performances and not just the bowling).

1. RCB

RCB defeated RR with 15 balls to spare. They raced to 61/0 in 3.4 overs versus DC, after which Phil Salt was run out and it took a late flourish from Tim David to take the score to 163. They reduced Delhi to 58 for 4 in the 9th over, but KL Rahul & Tristan Stubbs comfortably took the visitors home. It looked like they would defeat MI by a significant margin, but Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma’s partnership meant it ended up being fairly close. They now have a 4-0 record on the road and 0-2 at home.

RCB’s quicks have done well in the competition. They have the second-best economy rate – 0.9 runs per over clear of MI in third place – and the fourth-best strike rate of all teams in the competition. The experience of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood has worked, while Yash Dayal has also had a decent season so far. But their spin bowling hasn’t been promising; they’re sixth and eighth on the economy and strike rate respectively. Suyash Sharma has bowled a couple of economical spells, but he’s not been among the wickets. Krunal has taken most of his wickets versus KKR and MI, but has conceded more than 9.5 runs per over.

Bengaluru have a few rest days before a packed travel schedule – they play Punjab on 18th night (home) and an afternoon start on the 20th (away). After that, they’ll host RR on the 24th. If they can defeat RR again and go 1-1 in the two games versus Punjab (a better side than RR), it wouldn’t be a bad outcome. Will the two home games again cause issues, or can they solve that problem?

2. DC

Delhi were in cruise control while chasing 206 versus MI, needing just 71 runs off 51 balls before Mitchell Santner dismissed Karun Nair. It ended up being a close game, and they lost their last three wickets in the last three balls of the 19th over – all to run outs. Against RCB, they started poorly on both sides of the ball, but were able to wrestle back control and eventually win easily. 1-1 seems like a fair reflection of how they’ve played in these two games.

Mitchell Starc has picked up 9 wickets, but has conceded 10.3 runs per over doing so. Mukesh Kumar and Mohit Sharma have 6 wickets between them, and they’ve been more economical than the Aussie star. But Kuldeep Yadav is on the road to having an all-time great season (10 wickets at 5.6) and Vipraj Nigam has done a splendid job. Axar Patel hasn’t picked up a wicket yet and he has an economy of 9.78.

Rajasthan seems to be their easiest fixture based on current form, while GT and Lucknow have done pretty well so far. Two wins and a loss would take them to a 6-2 record, and finishing top two from there would not be as difficult. Their upcoming games are well spaced out as well.

3. GT

Gujarat seemed to be cruising versus Lucknow when the openers were batting. However, Jos Buttler and Sherfane Rutherford got stuck, and they didn’t have good returns with the ball in the powerplay. It ended up being a closer loss than expected when Nicholas Pooran was in the middle, so their net run rate wasn’t affected a lot. They comfortably defeated Rajasthan on the back of Sai Sudharsan top-scoring and then taking four wickets in less than eight overs.

Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna have had an outstanding start to the season. The former has done his best work with the new ball, while the latter has been impactful through the middle overs. Although we’ve talked about Rashid Khan’s struggles, Sai Kishore has been really good, picking up 10 wickets at an economy of 8.47.

GT have a 2-1 record both home and away. Another similar run in the next three games should set them up well for a playoffs spot. Delhi have looked like one of the best teams in the competition so far, and Kolkata’s 3-3 record isn't far behind Gujarat’s either. Hosting Delhi in Ahmedabad for an afternoon start on the 19th and then travelling to Kolkata for a night game on the 21st sounds quite busy and tiring. Then there will be a break before the RR game, who they defeated at home. Can they repeat that result on the road too?

4. LSG

They had two wins on the trot, and for a second, looked like they could squeeze CSK for another. That did not happen.

Shardul Thakur has been their best seamer. In fact, he has carried their quicks. Let that sink in, a great story for the Essex seamer, but if you are relying on him at the death, you’re going to lose a lot. Avesh Khan hasn’t had a good year and Akash Deep is still not a plus bowler in this format. They tried Prince Yadav, and Mayank Yadav should be back soon. Their spin is also struggling, and it shouldn’t, because Digvesh Rathi has been great, but Ravi Bishnoi has been the opposite of that. If he finds form, things change. Their batting has to keep overperforming to get into the playoffs.

Their schedule is not horrendous, they play two sides with poor records away in RR and MI, and then at home against Delhi. There is something to work with here. But losing to CSK might dent their mojo.

5. PBKS

PBKS put up big first innings totals in both their games. Priyansh Arya played a special knock versus CSK, and the opening pair again did a brilliant job against SRH. But despite the win, their bowling wasn’t great against Chennai, and that showed versus Hyderabad – who chased down 246 with nine balls to spare.

Punjab’s quicks have the third-worst economy rate and the worst strike rate of all teams in the league. Arshdeep Singh and Lockie Ferguson have been alright (though the latter is now gone for the tournament), but Marco Jansen has not had a good start by any means. Yash Thakur and Marcus Stoinis have also been expensive without taking wickets. Vyshak Vijaykumar hasn’t played a single game after a good outing versus GT in their first game of the season. Their spin returns have also been quite terrible. Yuzvendra Chahal has been taken to the cleaners, picking up only two wickets in five games at an economy of 11.13. Glenn Maxwell has been okay considering he’s a part-timer, but that’s just not enough even for a batting side that has been scoring very fast.

Their next three fixtures are on the 15th (home), 18th (Bengaluru) & 20th (home) – the first two are night games, while the third one is an afternoon start. It is a very hectic schedule against two pretty good sides, so it’ll definitely be a challenging run. If they can come out on top after this, it’ll set them up well for the rest of the season.