IPL 2024: Rating captaincy performances of second week

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), captaincy has always been a crucial factor in the success of teams. Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the best sides in the league with five trophies apiece and behind their prestigious records, their former captains Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni made vital contributions with their leadership skills. 

This year, leadership might play an important role again as the current scenario on the points tally clearly shows how confident skippers have taken their teams to top positions with their stellar form while a few captains are struggling to take their teams ahead due to their underwhelming performances

Here are the ratings of all 10 captains after the second week of the 2024 IPL:

10. Faf du Plessis (RCB)- 4/10

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) failed to be among the victories in the tournament’s second week. Against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), they faced humiliating defeats and disappointed their supporters. Faf du Plessis, the skipper of the side, looked dismal against bowlers. With scores of eight and 19 against Kolkata and Lucknow respectively, he failed to deliver decent starts to the side.

9. Hardik Pandya (MI)- 5/10

Hardik Pandya hasn’t looked confident as a skipper in this competition, thus far. His underwhelming performance is affecting Mumbai Indians’ performance. In the second week, the five-time champions clashed with Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium and faced an embarrassing six-wicket loss. Winning the toss, Hardik put Mumbai to bat first but his decision backfired as Trent Boult wreaked havoc on the Men in Blue.

After the fall of four wickets, Hardik came to bat and he had the chance to step up in crisis to rescue his team. The 30-year-old produced some confident strokes from his bat but in the 10th over, Yuzvendra Chahal trapped him and ended his innings on 34 off 21.

8. Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK)- 4.5/10

Ruturaj Gaikwad looked confident against KKR at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with his unbeaten 67-run knock off 58 balls. However, his performance until the last week wasn’t decent at all as he consistently failed to be effective with his bat. In his team’s 20-run loss against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam, Gaikwad was dismissed in the first over after scoring only one.

7. Sanju Samson (RR)- 5/10

Sanju Samson has looked extremely confident as a skipper in the tournament. As a captain, he has used his resources brilliantly to extract the desired results for his team. However, with the bat, he has failed to be consistent, and leading the pack, he will be required to be disciplined in further games. Against MI, RR got a comfortable six-wicket victory, but the Kerala-born's bat remained quiet. Facing 10 deliveries, the wicketkeeper-batter could score only 12 runs.

6. Shikhar Dhawan (PBKS)- 6/10

Shikhar Dhawan has done a decent job as a skipper for Punjab Kings (PBKS). In the second week, PBKS registered an amazing three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Shashank Singh shone with his bat and guided the team to victory with his unbeaten 61 off 29. 

Earlier in the week, PBKS didn’t get success against LSG but Dhawan looked magnificent with his bat, racking up 70 runs off 50 balls. Dhawan has adopted an aggressive playing style which has got him success. In the upcoming contests, the veteran will be expected to lead the Kings from the front.

5. KL Rahul (LSG)- 7/10

KL Rahul played his role superbly as a captain, guiding Lucknow to back-to-back wins in the second week. His decision to induct young Mayank Yadav into the playing XI brought superb success. However, he needs to put some effort with his bat as well to set an example for his teammates to do their jobs efficiently.

4. Pat Cummins (SRH) - 7.5/10

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost their only game against GT in the third week. At the Narendra Modi Stadium, when the Orange Army squared off with the Titans, the former registered a seven-wicket loss but their captain Pat Cummins again stepped up with the ball and put up decent bowling numbers. Defending 162 runs, SRH took the game to the last over but couldn’t taste success. Cummins bowled four overs and splurged only 28 runs. The Aussie also picked up Sai Sudharsan.

3. Shubman Gill (GT) - 8/10

Shubman Gill has done a fine job as a skipper for Gujarat. The 2022 champions beat the Sunrisers in their first game of the second week in Ahmedabad, and Gill chipped in with his stable 36-run innings off 28 balls. After thumping Sunrisers, GT lost to PBKS by three wickets, but the Punjab-born again showed his batting excellence, notching up an unbeaten 89 off just 48.

2. Rishabh Pant (DC)- 8.5/10

DC got a 106-run pounding at the hands of KKR in the second week of the competition, but their captain Rishabh Pant didn’t lack confidence with his bat. Stepping up in the tough situation, he hit 55 runs off just 25 deliveries and exhibited his fighting spirit. Before the clash against Kolkata, Delhi hammered CSK by 20 runs in Visakhapatnam and Pant scored a remarkable 51 off 32.

Also Read: Reports: Rishabh Pant strong contender for a spot in India's squad for T20 World Cup

1. Shreyas Iyer (KKR) - 9/10

Shreyas Iyer was seen in red-hot form in the second week. In his team’s one-sided win against RCB at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, he contributed with an unbeaten innings of 39 off 24. Similarly, against DC, he scored a swift 18 off just 11 to help his side put up a mammoth score of 272 runs on the board. His confident leadership skills got KKR two important triumphs in the week.