In IPL 2022, all ten franchises had plunged into the mega auction for picking up the quality & match-winning horses into their side. Many teams succeeded in doing it, and few failed in capitalising on their auction strategy. Teams like Lucknow supergiants, Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings have made a solid batting line-up by cherry-picking the best batters in their squad.
But, in any batting line-up, middle-order batsman plays a crucial role in making it more vital – the batsmen who bat at (4/5/6) compose a middle-order section of a team. In IPL 2022, the batters stay right up on the money in bagging hefty amounts.
Let’s try to figure out which IPL 2022 team have the strongest middle order in this season.
#1 Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Punjab Kings have a solid & brutal chain of Middle Order batting, where “Liam Livingston, Shahrukh Khan & Johnny Bairstow” will come out to spell their magic for their team. These are all intriguing faces who can take Punjab batting to the top of the tournament, which the management of PBKS has been looking for a long time.
#2 Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
CSK has a well-built middle order and is pretty similar to last season, where the consistent Ambati Rayudu will bat in the anchor role while Ravindra Jadeja & MS Dhoni will explode the attacking super showdown at the ending overs of the game. All three batters can bat at a strike rate of more than 130 and serve their teams with decent performances.
#3 Mumbai Indians (MI)
From the Mumbai Indians side, the novice batter Tim David is making his first appearance. While again, a consistent factor of Suryakumar Yadav will play a significant role here, along with the veteran Kieron Pollard. All three batters can shift the gears as per the game’s circumstances and can put the team in a dictating position.
#4 Delhi Capital (DC)
Delhi capitals, along with their skipper Rishabh Pant step in at no 4, and the Caribbean raw hitting power of Rovman Powell can cruise their innings with rapid pace. Sarfaraz Khan, in tremendous form in the domestic Ranji trophy, can harness his golden touch for the DC. While the missed out, Marcus Stoinis possessed a vacuum of aggression, but Rovman Powell could fill it up with his strong arms.
#5 Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
At no 5, Lucknow’s pure Indian batting pedigree of Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda & Krunal Pandya made their position. Though Manish Pandey & Deepak Hooda slightly play with a low strike rate, Krunal Pandya can compensate for their gameplay with his lethal hitting ability. Hence, LSG’s middle-order would be the most stable & consistent among the middle orders of all the teams.
#6 Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
The Middle trio of Sunrisers Hyderabad may look unalluring on paper, but the showdown of last year was unforgettable for all of us. This time the guy in form Nicholas Pooran is joining the duplet of Priyam Garg & Abdul Samad in the middle, and all of them are attacking in their batting approach, which is a missing thing for SRH in the last couple of seasons.
#7 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
The boys in purple have a new member on their side this year. The English Wicket Keeper, Sam Billings, will play a crucial role in the middle order with the two Knights Nitish Rana & ‘ ‘Andre’ the giant, i.e. Andre Russell. While form is the biggest concern for them in the last couple of seasons & would be in this one. Sunil Narine could also get an opportunity to show his game in the most crucial position of the batting line-up.
#8 Gujarat Titans (GT)
Gujarat Titans, one of the new franchises in the 15th edition of IPL 2022, purchased dismantling batters to cope with their batting needs. Hardik Pandya is leading the side of Gujarat titans, having stalwart players like David Miller & the leg-spin all-rounder Rahul Tewatia, who can hit big sixes while the team needs it the most, can do wonders for their side.
#9 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
RCB has the biggest challenge to settle out their middle muddle problem. The best combination for the middle order of RCB is Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Kartik & Mahipal Lomror. But, if Maxy comes out to bat at no 4, then the responsibility of finishing drags on to the young shoulders of Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat & Wanindu Hasaranga, which may not work for them before the strong bowling unit of almost all teams.
#10 Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Again like RCB, Rajasthan Royals also have similar issues. RR’s middle order is the weakest among all teams; Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer & Riyan Parag are not going through good form these days. Though the names of Sanju Samson & S Hetmyer look very big, when they walk in to bat with their blades, they usually disappoint their fans & their teams most of the time.
Also, Read 5 Best Performances of Ravindra Jadeja in Test Matches