ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU (Table toppers, 18 points)Strengths: Balanced side with a perfect blend of raw and vintage. Virat Kohli’s (557 runs, strike rate: 164) paranormal game awareness and finishing skills remains better than most. Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Purple Cap holder, 24 wkts), and to a lesser extent, Josh Hazlewood, are RCB’s bowling brahmastra, especially in PowerPlays. Each 35 or more of age, the trio underline that age is just a number. Others who made notable difference: batter Devdutt Padikkal, crafty allrounder Krunal Pandya and the reinvigorated Venkatesh Iyer.Worries: Captain Rajat Patidar’s batting blows hot and cold. Two Englishmen, Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell, have underperformed. Bowling thin on spin.Last five games: LWWWLPrognosis: Title favourites, as per most British bookmakers.GUJARAT TITANS (No. 2, also 18 points)Strengths: Organised unit skippered by Shubman Gill. GT developed a winning rhythm after an indifferent start of 3 wins in the first 7 games. Openers Sai Sudharsan (638, IPL 2026’s highest run getter) and Gill (616, no 2) are a consistent and effective pair. Keeper-batter Jos Buttler rediscovering his best at no 3. Real potency lies in balanced and penetrative attack. GT is the only team with three bowlers – Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan and Mohd Siraj — in the top 10 wickettakers list of IPL 2026. Late entrant Jason Holder adds depth to both batting and bowling.Worries: High number of dropped catches. Lacks middle-order muscle.Last five games: WWWLWPrognosis: Will relish home advantage, if it reaches the final.SUNRISERS HYDERABAD (No. 3, also 18 points)Strengths: Strong upper body, backed by a young bowling spine. Three of the top seven rungetters are from SRH: enforcer opener Abhishek Sharma (563 runs, strike rate: 206) , Ishan Kishan (569, sr: 178) and Heinrich Klaasen (606, sr: 159). Allrounder Nitish Reddy has delivered in key moments. Pace quartet Eshan Malinga (19 wkts), Sakib Hussain (15), Praful Hinge (11) and the midway arrival of captain Pat Cummins make SRH a potent pace bowling side.Worries: Among the worst catching sides this year. Subpar form of destroyer Travis Head. Below par spin options.Last five games: LWLWWPrognosis: Can beat any team on their day. RAJASTHAN ROYALS (No. 4, 16 points)Strengths: 100% win record in first four games helped compensate for lows that followed. Serial six-hitter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, his opening partner and fellow southpaw Yashasvi Jaiswal and keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel make a great 1,2,3. But the rest didn’t match up. In bowling, speed express Jofra Archer is the only consistent wicket-taker. His allround show was the difference in the decisive last game.Weakness: Indifferent form of captain Riyan Parag. Lacks overall batting and bowling depthLast five games: LLLWWPrognosis: RR seem to have found a second wind in the last two games. But do they have the consistency to win 3 games in a row?Stay updated with IPL Live Score and the latest IPL news on Times of India. Follow the IPL schedule and track the race for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap.