IPL 2023: And the Three Playoff Slots Go To…?

With just four league matches to go the three Playoff slots in the IPL-2023 are still open for grabs, only Gujarat (GT) having already secured the top slot. Thanks to their abandoned match due to rain Chennai (CSK) and Lucknow (LSG) are in some advantage, with 15 points each after sharing a point each. We think this gives bit of an edge to the two teams, because even if they lose their last matches they could still go through depending on what Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai (MI) do. But the dangers are also equally palpable. With 14 points each, if RCB and MI win their last matches they will straightaway enter into the Playoffs leaving only one slot to others and in that scenario either LSG or CSK will get thrown out, based on the net run-rate (NRR). And if CSK gets eliminated that’d be shattering for the MS Dhoni fans who’ve been celebrating the former India captain with the speculation rife that this could be his last IPL—the scenes were really evocative in Chennai when CSK marched around the stadium with Dhoni in the lead and cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar lining up for captain cool’s autograph and that was after CSK lost the match against Kolkata (KKR). However, more positively for the Dhoni fans, if CSK beat Delhi (DC) in the afternoon match today they’ll secure their Playoff slot. If LSG happens to beat KKR in the evening match today they’ll too enter the last stage. Therefore, in that scenario only one slot will remain for the other top contenders, namely RCB and MI.

Mumbai takes on Hyderabad (SRH) in the penultimate league match tomorrow, and as we said a victory for them will take them straight into the Playoffs depending on the results today. Bengaluru takes on the top team Gujarat in the last league match tomorrow, and like Mumbai a victory would take them into the Playoffs, depending on the results today. So, as regards the Playoffs, these four matches are virtual eliminators and qualifiers combined. What more could be expected from a competitive tournament with majority of the teams still caught in the throes of going through or not till the last moments?

If Mumbai and Bengaluru lose and Kolkata wins, a four-way deadlock at 14 points each could emerge with only one team hoping to fill the last slot based on the best NRR. Therefore, the contenders, RCB, MI and KKR, must not only look to win but also to try increase the NRR as much to an extent as possible, and Bengaluru, playing the last league match should be in an advantageous situation as they’d know exactly the scenario. It’d be really unfortunate if Rajasthan (RR) gets kicked out which is more likely than not, because the franchise had been playing quite consistently with the stars like Jaiswal, captain Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler, not to forget spinner duo of Ashwin and Chahal; their hopes crashed due to a few inexplicable aberrations, like getting all out for 59 in the all-important match against RCB. And it’s been really the resurgence of Mumbai, led by Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Tim David, and Bengaluru, led by captain de Plessis, Kohli to some extent and Maxwell, that has helped the teams remain top contenders.

Mitali: The Trauma of Losing a Sibling

Maybe I lied to her when I used to reassure her that she was going to be alright and was going to resume her life in some measure of normalcy in the future years; maybe all my gestures/expressions were false when I used to run my fingers across her forehead or embrace her on occasions when she was able to move around a bit; and maybe all my exhibitions of love care and responsibility were exposed as superficial when I failed to turn up in Delhi where she along with my mother were treated during September-October, 2022 (my mother Urmila Chakravarty was also diagnosed with dental cancer the same month the same year as she was) and when all the members of my parental family and the in-laws converged. Since that fateful day in August, 2022 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer to that disastrous day of March 6, 2025—the day my younger blood sister Mitali (Mainu) Chakravarty Sarma (November 2, 1963—March 6, 2025) passed away in the wee hours in a hospital in Guwahati after giving a bra...

Release of Book 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories'!

The fourth collection of stories titled 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories' by Chinmay Chakravarty has been released on Amazon KDP just now! This collection, short stories in a lighter vein plus with mild satire like the previous collections, has been published in both the E-book and Paperback formats. The links are given below: International: Click Here ! India: Click Here ! Other collections of short stories by the same author: The Cheerless Chauffeur and Other Tales(2021)--Notion Press. Funny and Fishy Tales(2022)--KDP. The Weirdos(2022)--Ukiyoto Publishing. All books of the author are available on Goodreads, apart from Amazon and other outlets! Have a look!

Kolkata: Cancel the Commerce of the Durga Puja Carnival!

Yes! We ask why shouldn't the pure Commerce show of the Durga Puja Carnival in Kolkata be canceled in view of the worsening medical crisis? For how long this cruel irony of continuing the worship of the Mother Goddess and continuing to torture/kill the Mothers in human forms going to continue? Greed, limitless greed of humans! Dear God! This time Goddess Durga came in a cradle which in itself implies ominous times, and further, the tithis from Mahasaptami onward came mixed in such a way that you get three days of worship, technically. Yet, the greedy and selfie-social-media-crazy crowds of 'devotees' were still not satiated, descending on the Puja pandals in uncontrollable hordes for as long as seven days, and to pander to their greed and to have the maximum of business, most of the Puja organizers disregarded the tithi break-up completely and have been celebrating Bijoya Dashami or the Dussehra well into Ekadashi, the eleventh day! They expect the hordes to descend tonigh...