IPL 2024: Rating captains after first game of each team

The first round of matches in the Indian Premier League 2024 season came to an end on Sunday, as all the teams played their respective season openers. It has been a great, exciting round of games with Chennai Super Kings throwing in the early marker. Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals too began brightly with a win. 

Shikhar Dhawan-led Punjab Kings side ruined the comeback game for Rishabh Pant. The 2014 IPL runners-up won their opening game of IPL 2024 thanks to Sam Curran’s blazing half-century. For the likes of Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, the season began badly with a loss.

Mumbai Indians had their customary loss in the first game while Pat Cummins saw his side unable to score runs in the last over to win the game, courtesy of an excellent last over by Harshit Rana. Lucknow Super Giants and RCB saw their batting flounder against some incisive bowling from the opposition.

Here is the complete ratings of captaincy of all ten teams after the completion of first round of IPL 2024:

10) KL Rahul – Lucknow Super Giants – 5/10

It was a bad bowling performance by the Lucknow bowlers as they conceded a massive score of 193 in their opening game of IPL 2024. KL Rahul saved the blushes for his team with 58 while Nicolas Pooran top scored with 64 not out. Ahead of the next game against Punjab, KL Rahul will hope to right the wrongs that plagued his team in their season opener.

Rahul himself admitted that there were several mistakes in terms of batting approach, whereas some bowling decisions were also faltered. Hence, Rahul manages the least rating of captains in this list. However, being the LSG skipper for the previous two editions, the side made it to the Playoffs on both the occasions, indicating his excellent captaincy history. Thus, the Bangalore-born is expected to bounce back after a setback in the opener.

9) Rishabh Pant – Delhi Capitals – 5.5/10

Making his return to cricket after almost 15 months, Rishabh Pant would have expected a better result. Delhi Capitals reached a decent total thanks to the late onslaught by Abhishek Porel. Shai Hope with 33 was the leading scorer for Delhi and the lack of starts getting converted came back to haunt Rishabh Pant’s unit. Bowling woes and fielding lapses added to the misery as Delhi saw Punjab romp home to an easy win.

The added pressure of captaincy and comeback seemed to have affected Rishabh's batting as well, as the Haridwar-born failed to score big in an important opening game. However, the stumper-batter has a fighter attitude, and is expected to deliver better results for the team in the upcoming games.

8) Hardik Pandya – Mumbai Indians – 6/10

A return to his old stomping ground in Ahmedabad was a bittersweet moment for Hardik Pandya, this time as the skipper of Mumbai Indians. At one stage the five time champions were on course for an easy win with 43 needed from 30 balls. It was a poor outing with the bat for MI and their skipper who for some reason pushed himself down the order. Even the bowlers looked slack barring the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah no one put their hands up.

7) Pat Cummins – Sunrisers Hyderabad – 6.5/10

Two ICC Titles in 2023 for Pat Cummins meant that he was given the captaincy baton by SRH ahead of IPL 2024. Apart from the veteran T Natarajan none of the bowlers clicked for Hyderabad. Heinrich Klaasen was the only one who stood with the bat as his side fell short by 4 runs to lose the 1^st game of the season.

Although SRH lost the game by a whisker, some unfavourable changes to the bowling line-up by captain Cummins leaked a few extra runs. These extra runs proved to be a boon for KKR, as they managed to defend the target, despite Klaasen's blitzkrieg. In the upcoming games, Cummins will look to play with methods, eventually hoping of success for the 2016 champions.

6) Faf Du Plessis – Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 6.5/10

It was an emotional return to his former ground for Faf du Plessis, the skipper of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. After their win at Chepauk in 2008, RCB haven't been able to post a win on the hallowed track at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The miserable streak continued as they saw Chennai Super Kings win the game with ease.

As a captain, du Plessis couldn't get the results in favour, even after experimenting a lot. Batting wise, he couldn't manage to stay for longer time on the crease, as Mustafizur Rahman got the better of him. Overall, a subpar batting display by Bengaluru's top-order was the key to CSK's dominance in the game.

5) Shikhar Dhawan – Punjab Kings – 7/10

Veteran Indian star Shikhar Dhawan has begun the season well for Punjab Kings (PBKS) side with a win against Delhi Capitals. It was a great team performance by Punjab as the skipper rang in the changes and kept his cool despite his side being under pressure at certain stages of the game.

Dhawan used his experience well, and the introduction of Shashank Singh proved to be a master-stroke. On the bowling front, the southpaw deployed his assets well, and got the results in the team's favour in an evening game at Mullanpur.

4) Shreyas Iyer – Kolkata Knight Riders – 7.5/10

Shreyas Iyer has been under a lot of criticism of late. But the Mumbai-born left all the pressure, and stepped onto the field with calm and composed nature. Although he was not able to contribute with the bat, his presence on the field was praiseworthy, especially when he gave the ball to young Harshit Rana to defend the final over after Mitchell Starc had gone for plenty in the penultimate over.

Needing to defend 13 runs from 6 balls, Shreyas Iyer saw Klaasen hit Harshit Rana for a six on the very first ball. From there, the KKR skipper played a pivotal role by giving his bowler the much needed pep-talk to see his team through. With just 2 runs from the next 5 balls along with 2 wickets, Rana won the game for his side. Just for his awesome captaincy, Iyer has been winning the plaudits in the first round of IPL 2024.

3) Shubman Gill – Gujarat Titans – 8.5/10

Making his IPL captaincy debut against Mumbai Indians, Shubman Gill showed the awareness of a veteran. The 24-year-old was smart with his bowling changes and got his field placements right. His move to hold back Mohit Sharma paid rich dividends as the veteran pacer played a pivotal role in Gujarat winning the match.

Facing the likes of five-time champions Mumbai Indians, and Hardik Pandya, who himself captained Gujarat previously, Gill kept his nerves, and showed a great sense of belief in his unit. Gill and Co. pulled off an emphatic win in a last-over thriller, as the captain utilized the strengths of his team to good effect.

2) Ruturaj Gaikwad – Chennai Super Kings – 8.5/10

MS Dhoni stepping down as the skipper of Chennai Super Kings just 24 hours before the start of IPL 2024 was a huge shock. Ruturaj Gaikwad for long has been earmarked as the man for the job. It seemed like the 27-year-old was made for the job as he showed his calmness even the RCB openers went in for the attack. His bowling changes may have to improve, but his planning was spot on and helped the defending champs make a good start to the season.

The amount of help he got from MS Dhoni helped a lot in producing favourable output for Chennai in the tournament opener. The way Gaikwad used his bowlers was something that was evident in Dhoni's captaincy. The field placement was spot on, and the decision to use Shivam Dube as an Impact Player at the right time helped the team clinch two points in the very first game.

1. Sanju Samson – Rajasthan Royals – 9/10

After their dismal IPL 2023 record at home, Sanju Samson wants to make the Sawai Mansingh Stadium the fortress once again. The skipper led from the front to score an impressive 82* and to aid his side score 193 on the board. Trent Boult led the bowling charts as with 2 wickets as each and every bowler did their bit to help RR start their IPL 2024 campaign in style.

The way skipper Samson advised his bowlers from behind the stumps was something that was noticeable with the results it produced. Moreover, Rajasthan skipper kept Sandeep Sharma to bowl in the death, which eventually helped them stem the flow of runs, leading to another classic example of excellent captaincy by the Kerala-born, which is why he tops the list as the highest-rated captain for the first round.