With just two weeks of league action remaining, every match from here on is do or die. This is what we saw in the week just gone by, with the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) finally getting eliminated from the IPL 2026. Eight teams remain, with jam-packed action coming. But before that, let us rewind and catch what happened in the last seven days.
Some matches continued with the high-run fest action, while others went down to the wire. MI started the week with a dominating win over LSG, and capped it with a tight loss to table-toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had a marvellous week too, winning both of their games. Sanju Samson has finally been consistent, while Noor Ahmad has found his form back.
IPL 2026 Team of the Week (May 4 to May 10)
Overseas combo up top, Sanju Samson at three
The week saw as many as three centuries. Interestingly, all three of them were scored by overseas players. Only Finn Allen’s unbeaten 47-ball 100 came on a winning cause as KKR humbled Delhi out of the tournament (virtually). KKR had dropped Allen previously but accepted their mistake by slotting him in and he single-handedly tormented Delhi to hammer his maiden IPL hundred.
His partner in this team, Mitchell Marsh, also had a century that came against RCB. However, his team lost that game, with Rajat Patidar’s brilliance. Marsh also had a 25-ball 44-run knock against MI that helped him end up as the highest run-getter of the week with 165 runs at a strike rate of 181.31. Cooper Connolly also scored a century, but he isn’t part of this team, as the match for PBKS was already over when the Australian checked his individual effort.
Sanju Samson finds a place at three in this team despite the fact that he has been one of the best T20 openers in recent times. Samson batted twice this week and had an impact on both occasions. His 87* against DC ensured CSK two points, while Samson got a fast start against LSG in the afternoon game against LSG. Samson averaged 115 and had an SR of 174.24.
All-Indian batting core ft. Patidar
Interestingly, there weren’t many middle- and lower-order batters who did well this week. That’s why Urvil Patel and Naman Dhir are batting slightly out of place in this imaginary team. But these two can do that role effectively. Talking about Urvil, he produced perhaps the most belligerent knock of this IPL, registering the joint-fastest fifty in IPL history. In just 13 balls, he rewrote magic, and LSG bowlers had no answers. He struck at 282.6 in CSK’s win over LSG.
Meanwhile, Naman Dhir didn’t blaze away like Urvil but he has consistently shown enough potency. Against LSG, Naman’s knock of 23* off 12 might not be remembered by many. However, it was low-key a match-winning cameo. After Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma did their thing, MI stumbled.
Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma both failed and LSG could’ve easily choked MI. But Naman hammered superb boundaries to help MI register their highest successful chase in IPL history. Then again, against RCB, Naman batted at a higher strike rate but agonisingly missed a much-deserved fifty.
Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya strengthen the team as the RCB duo delivered punching blows last week. If Patidar helped the defending champions to topple LSG, Pandya did the same against his old team, MI. Chasing 210, RCB went from 104/2 to 112/5. Things could’ve easily derailed from there but Patidar stood tall as he has been in times of crisis for RCB, and hammered a 31-ball 61, with six sixes.
Meanwhile, Krunal played one of his best IPL knocks, dishing out 73 at a moment when no RCB batter crossed even the 30-run mark. He battled through cramps but still managed to hit those mighty sixes to end MI’s run.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar headline bowling attack
Three pacers and two more spinners complete the team. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the pace attack, as he has been for RCB as well. He has not only outshone someone like Josh Hazlewood this year, but IPL 2026 could be remembered as the ‘Bhuvneshwar Kumar redemption arc‘.
The ageless pacer is currently the Purple cap holder after his superb four-fer against MI. A four-fer that included the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Rickelton, Suryakumar and Tilak. Still, this wasn’t the act that won RCB the game. It was his jaw-dropping six over covers when RCB needed 9 off 3 that completed the ‘Bhuvi Kumar show’.
Meanwhile, Corbin Bosch and Shahbaz Ahmed are two other all-round options in the team. They aren’t big names but did well and showed why their respective franchises made mistakes by not playing them often. Bosch was the leading wicket-taker this week with six scalps at an economy of 7.66. Yet he bowled just six overs in two games. MI underutilised Bosch massively. Shabhaz, meanwhile, played a superb 43*-run kock against CSK while also taking four wickets this week.
Kartik Tyagi is another underrated talent to feature in this team. Tyagi, who started IPL 2026, on an expensive note, has showed a fighting spirit lately. He has been doing superbly well for KKR. In their only game last week, against DC, he took two crucial wickets of KL Rahul and Ashutosh Sharma, ending up with figures of 2/25. In last 4 matches for KKR, Tyagi has taken eight wickets at a magnificent economy of 7.37.
As an Impact sub, Noor Ahmad completes the team. Whenever CSK have played both Akeal and Noor, the Afghani spinner has done exceedingly well. Noor averages 15.6 and has an economy of 7.09 in the six games he has played with the fellow left-arm spinner. Again, in the two games after May 4, Noor was superb. He took three wickets at a miserly economy of 6.57.
