IPL 2025 Playoffs: How Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans Stack Up

It has been a thrilling 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a lot of action, on and off the field. Some of the big powerhouses have failed to deliver, including the finalists from last season and at the same time a few perennial underachievers have made it to the last four. Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians are the four teams in the playoffs which get underway in Mullanpur from Thursday. (Follow IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 Live Updates)

We do a deep dive and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the four playoff teams in IPL 2025.

GUJARAT TITANS

Strength:
The Titans' top 3 have produced a batting performance for the ages this season in the IPL. Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill have been outstanding at the top of the order, piling on 909 runs in 14 innings at an average of 69.9 and strike rate of 160! They have been phenomenally consistent with three hundred and four fifty stands in the tournament. The Sudharsan-Gill duo have been miles ahead of competition and in a league of their own this seaosn - just for perspective, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram are second on the list (of opening pairs) with an aggregate of 574 runs at an average of 47.8. Only Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli have a higher aggregate for an opening pair (939 in 14 innings in 2023) in any edition of the IPL - and that record is in danger!

Jos Buttler has also hammered 538 runs at a strike rate of 163. Overall, GT has the highest combined batting average (40.9) and run-rate (10.1) this season. They have crossed 200 on 7 occasions - the joint-most along with Punjab Kings and have also hit a total of 225 fours - the most in the tournament.

Prasidh Krishna has been the standout bowler for the Titans this season and is the joint-highest wicket-taker of the competition with 21 dismissals at an economy of just over 8. Sai Kishore has risen to the occasion and compensated for the indifferent form of ace spinner, Rashid Khan - the slow left-arm orthodox has bagged 17 wickets at a strike rate of 13.5 in the tournament.

Weakness: 
Rashid Khan's form has been a bit of a concern for the Titans. He has picked just 9 wickets in 14 outings at a strike rate of 34 and economy of 9.47.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU

Strength:
RCB's campaign this season has revolved around two standout performers - Virat Kohli and Josh Hazlewood.

Kohli has been the pivot in the RCB batting line-up and is their leading run-scorer with an aggregate of 548 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 145.3. He has been their playmaker with the bat with others like Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal chipping in around him.

Hazlewood has been outstanding with the new ball and is amongst the two best fast bowlers of the season. He has bagged 7 wickets at an economy of 7.2 in the powerplay. A massive area of improvement for RCB this season has been in their bowling with the new ball. Their powerplay economy rate has improved from 9.8 in IPL 2024 to 8.8 this season - which consequently makes them the most restrictive bowling unit in the first 6 overs in the tournament.

Weakness:
RCB's over-dependency on Kohli cannot be over-stated. They have won all the 7 encounters in which Kohli has scored a fifty this season! On the other hand, RCB has lost 4 of the five matches in which he has failed to register a half-century.

MUMBAI INDIANS

Strength:
Their stunning fightback after a disastrous start and the subsequent form of some of their big and experienced players will make five-time champions, Mumbai Indians, a formidable unit come the playoffs.

Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, who reunited mid-season - completely transformed the dwindling fortunes of MI in the tournament - and as things stand currently, they have the best bowling average (21.4), best bowling strike (14.8) and the best economy rate (8.6) for pacers in the tournament! While Boult has been exceptional in the powerplay with 8 wickets at an economy of 8.3, Bumrah has been magnificent at the death with 10 wickets at an economy of 6.8!

SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) has been the mainstay of the batting unit for MI, leaps and bounds ahead of all other batters. He is their leading run-getter with 583 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 170.5. MI looked down and out and in tatters in the initial part of their campaign but have lifted themselves magnificently in the second half. From the match against RCB at Wankhede, the combined batting average of their top 5 of 40.5 is the second-best in the season after Gujarat Titans.

MI, as a unit and also individually, know how to raise their game in the big matches. They are the winners of five titles and their players have the ability to soak in the pressure of knockout encounters - this will give a massive advantage to them in the playoffs.

Weakness:
Just like RCB rely heavily on Kohli, MI need SKY to fire to dominate the opposition - and the contrapositive also holds true - if he does not then they struggle. Surya has been exceptional with the bat and has amassed 583 runs at a scoring rate of 170.5 but the next on the list for MI - Ryan Rickelton is more than 200 runs behind with an aggregate of 361!

PUNJAB KINGS

Strength:
The batting has clicked for Punjab Kings and that is the main reason for their impressive show this season. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya have smashed 433 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 168.5 this season at the top of the order while Shreyas Iyer has led from the front and is the leading scorer for PBKS with an aggregate of 488 runs at a scoring rate of 172.4! Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh have both scored close to 300 runs at a rate of around 150 and have provided the impetus in the middle and lower order.

Weakness:
Punjab Kings have leaked runs in the middle overs and have the worst economy rate between overs 7-15 this season - 9.4. This is where they tend to lose control of the game.

Topics mentioned in this article

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Gujarat Titans Punjab Kings Mumbai Indians IPL 2025 Cricket