Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings remain unbeaten after two weeks of IPL season 19 and that’s no coincidence. They enjoy both balance and depth and, more importantly, they are in-form and confident. Even more ‘in-form’, however, are defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru – despite one loss in their opening four games which was an aberration rather than a slip-up.
Chennai Superkings finally won a game to join Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad on two points but the once mighty Kolkata Knight Riders have just a solitary point thanks to rain.
Neil Manthorp reviews: IPL WEEK TWO
MATCH OF THE WEEK: There were two last-ball thrillers in a row so, take your pick. David Miller (41* off 20 balls) dragged Delhi Capitals back from the dead against Gujarat Titans and, a monstrous six off the fourth ball of the final over left two runs to win with two balls remaining. Tailender Kuldeep Yadav at the non-strikers’ end.
What to do? Take the single and at least ensure a Super Over if Kuldeep can’t scramble the winning run? Or turn down the single and accept the responsibility?
Miller declined the run from the penultimate delivery. And missed the final one. Run out, match over, lost by one-run. If only, what if, maybe…
BATTER: Vaibhaj Suryavanshi continues to defy logic and belief. Or logical belief. Strike rates of 200 are still rare, despite their increasing frequency. But 300?! The Rajasthan Royals 15-year-old slug-juttered 39 from 13 balls in an 11-over match against Mumbai Indians flicking Jasprit Bumrah for a legside six as though he were a 15-year-old net bowler.
Later in the week he kamozzled 78 from 26 balls (8x4, 7x6) against defending champions, RCB. He is truly a man (boy) for whom a new language must be created.
HE IS HIM MOMENT FOR VAIBHAV. 🥶🔥
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 7, 2026
- 15 year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed Jasprit Bumrah for two sixes in 3 balls. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/rCZ5Hx0aGl
BOWLER: Prasidh Krishna’s 4-28 and Jamie Overton’s 4-18 stand out as the contributions which won matches for the Gujarat Titans and Chennai Superkings in a world in which the batsmen get most of the credit.
But…when Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma posted 105-0 in the Power Play for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Punjab Kings, a total of 240 seemed a minimum. That’s when Marco Jansen’s figures of 4-0-40-0 and Xavier Bartlett’s 4-0-42-1 look ordinary on the scorecard but were, in fact, instrumental in victory. Conceding ten runs per over in some IPL conditions is gold, in a velvet bag.
You will always see Prasidh Krishna taking wickets only when batsman are attacking him.
— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) April 12, 2026
He doesn't have any special talent, he will miss his length 3/4 times in one over,he is highly inconsistent.pic.twitter.com/QB7RoUUjvN
PERFORMANCE: Mukul Choudhary…wow. LSG required 55 runs from the final four overs – but they were seven wickets down with Avesh Khan at the crease.
Remarkably, not only did Choudhary score an unbeaten 54 from just 27 balls with two fours and seven sixes, but he farmed the strike so efficiently that Avesh was required to face just three deliveries for his 1* as Lucknow stunned KKR when it looked like their modest 181-4 would be plenty.
INDIAN PLAYER: Sanju Samson is modest and respectful, quietly disdainful of the glamour and egos which come with the IPL. He doesn’t have social media accounts. When CSK acquired his services, he knew he would bare the burden of ‘MS Dhoni successor.’
When he crafted a silky 115* (56 balls) to help the men-in-yellow break their three-match losing start against DC, there were many thinking ‘that’s one for the good guys.’
OVERSEAS PLAYER: Jos Buttler appears to have overcome the worst slump in his white ball career. Most people know that he has the words “F*** it” written on the top of his bat handle, so he can see the words before every ball. They are supposed to remind him to be brave.
For the last six months he has looked anything but bold. But 52 from 27 balls against Delhi Capitals and 60 from 37 against Lucknow both led to victories and the man looks like he’s back. His England opening partner, Phil Salt, also came good for RCB in the final match of the week with a rampaging 78 from 36 balls with half a dozen sixes and fours.
SOUTH AFRICAN: Marco Jansen. Punjab Kings are one of just two unbeaten teams so far, one point behind log-leaders Rajasthan Royals with four wins from four. Punjab had a washout.
Jansen hasn’t kept the headline-writers busy but, his teammates and coach Ricky Ponting know precisely how critical he has been to the start of the season. It’s not the final analysis which matters, it’s bowling the 19th over at a cost of five runs which makes the difference.
MARCO JANSEN… WHAT ON EARTH WAS THAT 🤯
— Dhiraj (@dhiraj01_) April 11, 2026
A STUNNER OUT OF NOWHERE, PURE ATHLETIC BRILLIANCE 🔥
pic.twitter.com/OFSTDIlZWV
BEST LOSER: KL Rahul was at his best with a classy 92 from 52 balls and David Miller’s 41* from 20 all-but won the game for Delhi against Gujarat before losing by a single run. Both would have been match-winning innings on most other days.
TALKING POINT: Chennai ‘retired out’ Ayush Mhatre on 59 from 36 balls and sent in Shivam Dube ahead of Dewald Brevis. Dube made 20* from 10 balls, which is alright, but…does ‘seniority’ still count in cricket? Dewald Brevis was back for his first game after injury and his strike rate suggests he might have been a better choice. But CSK won, so no matter.
LOOK OUT FOR: Heinrich Klaasen. Something is not right. The former Protea is now third in the race for the Orange Cap as leading run-scorer with 184 from four matches. Suryavanshi leads with 200 and Rajat Patidar has 195. Yashasvi Jaiswal has 183 and Virat Kohli rounds out the top five with 179.
Four of the top five have strike rates of 162+ with Suryavanshi an eye-popping 266 and Patidar 214. Klaasen’s strike rate is 140.45. Something has to ‘give’. The great man is currently contributing more to Sunrisers losses than victories.