The league stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is finally over. After 70 gruelling matches, we have ourselves the four playoff-bound teams. The last week of the tournament decided everything as most of the teams went to the wire. Some franchises like CSK and MI fell down, while SRH and RR confirmed their berth in the final four. It was a heartbreaking week for PBKS, DC and KKR, who all failed to make it.
The week started with SRH mauling CSK after an Ishan Kishan classic. It finished with a double-header on Sunday, where RR hammered MI, while Delhi capped off the last league game with a win over KKR. In between, we saw a mind-boggling innings from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and a rattling spell by Mohammed Siraj.
IPL 2026 team of the week (May 18 to 24)
Sooryavanshi over Gill-Sudharsan
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan continued with their consistent run as both hammered handsome half-centuries in GT’s only game of the week against CSK. However, neither is part of this team, as Josh Inglis and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have toppled the GT duo. Sooryavanshi had one improbable knock and one failure. However, that knock of 93 off 38 was out of this world. He blasted LSG bowlers and multiple records during the knock that deserved to be a hundred.
Meanwhile, Josh Inglis continued his incredible returns for LSG. He played five innings for LSG, smashing 266 runs at 53.20 and 186. Last week, he hammered 60 (29) and 72 (44), being the only shining light for Lucknow. He outshone every batter with his incredible striking abilities.
Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Klaasen stronghold
Now comes the middle-order. Ishan Kishan ended the week as the highest run-getter, with two fifties in as many games. The first fifty of the week was when Kishan single-handedly took SRH to a massive win over CSK, where he even mocked CSK fans at Chepauk. In the next match for RCB, Kishan blasted 79 off 46 in the first innings, peaking at the right time for Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer did his bit. After some low scores, Iyer finally got running with his maiden IPL century. It was an incredible knock in a must-win game against Lucknow. He broke the back of LSG bowlers with an amazing spray of strokes. Meanwhile, Heinrich Klaasen and Rajat Patidar form up the rest of the batting. While there weren’t many options for the number five or six roles, Klaasen was once again non-negotiable.
The SRH maestro might end up being the player of the tournament since what he is doing as a middle-order batter is incredible. Once again, he smashed 98 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 196. While Kishan played an important knock against CSK, it was Klaasen’s quick-fire 47 that gave SRH a breathing space. Then, against RCB, he was superb with a 24-ball 51.
Patidar, in the same match, also smashed a fifty. However, it was an off day for his side, who failed to deliver. Patidar was the only bright spot. Shivam Dube is also part of the team, as he finally made runs but they all went in vain. After an ordinary innings of 26 run against SRH, Dube played a fiery knock of 47 off 17.
Archer takes RR to playoffs
It is always incredible to watch Jofra Archer in his element. He is making it worth missing England’s Test against New Zealand, giving performances over and over again for RR. This week, he single-handedly took Rajasthan to the playoffs, dishing out an incredible spell against MI. Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir and Hardik Pandya all fell against Archer, who was breathing fire at Wankhede. With his 3/17 and getting the MOTM award, Archer has completed 21 wickets and could end up winning the Purple Cap if RR enter the finals.
Mohammed Siraj and Eshan Malinga would be the other two pacers. Siraj would complement Archer with the new ball, like he has been doing with Kagiso Rabada at GT. In GT’s last game, Siraj wreaked havoc as he sent Sanju Samson for a golden duck and also took wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Urvil Patel in a span of three deliveries. He closed out the game within his first ten balls.
Malinga, meanwhile, has been a dark horse for Hyderabad. He has been dishing out tough overs and doing so with a frugal economy rate. Last week, his bowled at an average economy of 7.37 and took three wickets in two games. He has been a partnership breaker and a death-over specialist alongside Pat Cummins and Sakib Hussain.
The spin duo of this team will be the well-known “Kul-Cha”. Both finished their campaign with superb outings for their respective franchises. While Chahal had an okayish season, but finished with a superb spell of 2/25 in a match where PBKS leaked almost 200 runs. Meanwhile, Kuldeep had a forgettable campaign but capped it with a solid performance against KKR. He almost had a hat-trick but was unlucky that the third ball was dropped. Nonetheless, he finished with 3/29.
