First Shardul Thakur with the bat and then the spinners with the ball led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their first victory this season on their return home to Eden Gardens for the first time after the Covid-19 Pandemic. They humbled the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 81 runs, and in doing so, shot from seventh to third place with a Net Run Rate of 2.056.
This also means that RCB's NRR and their position on the table took a hit. They swapped places with KKR, moving to the seventh spot and the NRR fell to a dismal -1.256 after their second game of the season.
While it's still early to predict who will make it to the top four come the end of the league stage of this edition of the cash-rich tournament, each franchise have gotten an idea of how they would want to play, and also get a chance to analyse their opponents as well. Let's take a closer look at the points table.
1. Gujarat Titans: The defending champions registered back-to-back wins to begin their season and are currently in first place with 4 points and an NRR of 0.700.
2. Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan's side rose to second place on the points table after defeating Rajasthan Royals on April 5 (Wednesday). The franchise has four points after two matches played and an NRR of 0.333.
3. Kolkata Knight Riders: The two-time champions secured an 81-run victory to bounce back from their defeat against Punjab. They moved to the third spot with the best NRR in the league: 2.056.
4. Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson's side now has one win and one loss in two matches played in the season so far. With two points and an NRR of 1.675, the Royals are dropped down from second place to fourth spot in the standings.
5. Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul's men began their season on the right note as they trounced Delhi Capitals but lost their second game against the Super Kings. With two points in as many matches and an NRR of 0.950, the Giants are currently in fourth place in the standings.
6. Chennai Super Kings: The Men in Yellow are in sixth place in the standings after losing one and winning one game to begin their season. They have an NRR of 0.036.
7. Royal Challengers Bangalore: The Red Army followed up their win over the Mumbai Indians with a disappointing eight-wicket loss. Faf du Plessis' side have now dropped to seventh place on the points table with an NRR of -1.256.
8. Delhi Capitals: David Warner's team is in eighth place in the standings with two losses in as many games. They have an NRR of -1.703
9: Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma's men are in ninth place in the standings with an NRR of -1.981.
10: Sunrisers Hyderabad: The Orange Army is stationed at the bottom of the points table with an NRR of -3.600.
Let's look at the players leading the race when it comes to the Purple Cap (leading wicket-takers).
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