Before being suspended earlier this year in May due to the sudden emergence of the Covid-19 case in the various franchises, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, it resumed on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Only 29 of the 56 league matches were played, with four more play-offs will also be played and that means the players and the teams lagging will have the chance to get back into contention. At the same time, the table-toppers might go down if they fail to perform consistently. Chennai Super Kings are the favorites to win the season if the latest predictions of various betting sites are to be believed.
Yet results from over half of the group-stage matches do give us some idea about how the remaining matches of the season will pan out. On referring to the data from the last six seasons of the cash-rich league, we can analyze the situations after the first 29 matches of the IPL as it gives an idea about which teams will have the most chance to qualify for the playoffs and win the final. Apart from that, predictions for the Orange and Purple Caps can also be made.
IPL standings
How the points table has changed after match 29 in the last six campaigns since 2015
| After 29 Games | IPL Champions | Top of the League | Qualify for Playoffs |
| First | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Second | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Third | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Fourth | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Fifth | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Sixth | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Seventh | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Eighth | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Based on this data from IPL betting site Betway, only one team will stand a chance to reach the play-offs and stand a chance to win the IPL. In the last six years, the eighth-placed team after 29 matches has never witnessed a change of fortunes and reach the playoffs, which means that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) certainly stand a very slim chance of qualifying to the top-4.
For everybody else, the tournament can be termed alive and kicking. In 2015, Mumbai Indians (MI) were standing at the 7th position with a couple of wins and five losses after the 29th game, but they managed to churn out six wins in the next 7 games to finish second in the league table and then won the trophy.
MI is the most successful team in IPL history, but one can’t rule out the chances of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who were in seventh place before the start of the IPL 2021 in UAE. In the last six campaigns, the side leading the charts after match 29 has never failed to reach the playoffs, has gone on to finish top of the league five times, and has won the tournament two times.
Delhi Capitals, who lead the way in 2021, can’t be termed as the definite entry in the playoffs. Though teams filling up the remaining spots in the playoffs – teams in each position have qualified in four of the six tournaments since 2015, so one can say there is no surety in that sense. Only once in those six campaigns have the teams reaching the playoffs after the 29th match the same teams in the top four by the end of the league fixtures. In that scenario, one of the Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians will not reach the playoffs. With very few chances of SRH to qualify, at least one of Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders should qualify.
IPL Orange Cap
How the standings have changed after match 29 in the last six campaigns since 2015
| After 29 Games | Top Run-scorer | In the Top-5 | Below the Top-5 |
| First | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Second | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Third | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Fourth | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Fifth | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Below Fifth | 0 | 14 | N/A |
The competition for the orange cap winner seems more settled. Since IPL 2015, 14 players have come from outside the top five after match 29 and finish the tournament finish inside it, but none of them have managed to become the highest run-getter. Indeed, only players inside the top three run-scorers after the 29th match of the competition have won the orange cap.
No batsmen, who were standing at the top of the chart after match 29 have ever fallen out of the top five completely, meaning that we can expect to at least see Shikhar Dhawan figure in the top few positions.
IPL Purple Cap
How the standings have changed after match 29 in the last six campaigns since 2015
| After 29 Games | Top Wicket-taker | In the Top-5 | Below the Top-5 |
| First | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Second | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Third | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Fourth | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Fifth | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Below Fifth | 0 | 13 | N/A |
It only takes one good day with the ball for a bowler to stand a chance to win the Purple Cap, and the stats from history reveals a similar story as well. However, all of the last six orange cap winners have come from the top five of the race after match 29. While previous winners have been second, third, fourth, and fifth at this stage, the bowl at the top of the table has gone on to win the award just two times.
Bizarrely, bowlers in second, fourth, and fifth have often been seen getting out of the top 5 list as often as they have stayed in it since 2015.
