IPL prediction: Who will win IPL 2023?

Who will win IPL 2023? As we head into playoff week, it's the question on everyone's mind. Chennai Super Kings booked their place in the finals with an extraordinary performance and are favourites to be crowned champions again.

It feels like just yesterday that reigning champions Gujarat Titans were bulldozing teams but against the CSK side at Chepauk Stadium, they came second best as the spinners spun a web around their batters. And yet, just like that, we're already into the playoff phase of the IPL 2023. What does this mean for our IPL prediction 2023?

Lucknow were sent home on Wednesday night as Mumbai triumphed over them. Mumbai were subsequently knocked out by Gujarat as CSK prepare for another clash with Gujarat.

All this to say, the next few days of IPL action will be critical in answering the question: Who will win the IPL 2023?

Before we dig into our overall IPL 2023 prediction and which team will win the IPL 2023, we take a look at the today IPL prediction ahead of today match:

 

Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans IPL 2023 Final Match Prediction

What a bummer the rain was on Sunday, messing up the IPL final!

The playing conditions haven't changed since Sunday night, but there's forecast for some intermittent rain today as well. The clock is ticking, and if we want a full match, it needs to start before 9:35 pm. But here's the thing, if things go south, we have backup plans. We can squeeze in a five-overs-a-side match until 12:06 am. Whoop whoop, we can play night cricket, folks!

And if all else fails, get ready for a Super Over showdown. The cut-off time for that bad boy is 1 am. Can you feel the tension in the air? It's electric! But wait, here's the cherry on top. If, by some wild twist of fate, a Super Over isn't possible, the Gujarat Titans will be declared the champs.

The stage is set for an epic showdown in the IPL final! After a spectacular performance against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2, Gujarat Titans have earned their spot in the ultimate face-off against their rivals, Chennai Super Kings. It's a rematch from Qualifier 1, where CSK emerged victorious, but this time, the game will take place in Gujarat's own backyard.

The dream11 prediction for CSK vs GT is buzzing with excitement, as both teams have shown incredible form throughout the competition. The venue itself, Ahmedabad, promises a high-scoring match, unlike the spin-friendly tracks of Chennai. It's going to be a test of adaptability for the Super Kings, who must adjust their game plan accordingly.

Read: Our full CSK v GT prediction

The 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗦 of #TATAIPL 2023 🏆

It's going to be the Chennai Super Kings facing the Gujarat Titans in the summit clash 🙌

BRING. IT. ON 😍 pic.twitter.com/FYBhhsN808

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 26, 2023

Chennai, with their rich history, has reached an impressive 10th final in just 14 seasons, while Gujarat is making their second consecutive appearance in the final. The clash between Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni is particularly intriguing, with a tied record of 1-1 this season.

With all the ingredients of a thrilling encounter, the IPL final is set to deliver a spectacle that fans won't want to miss.

Read: IPL playoffs format 2023

Who will win IPL 2023? Our expert IPL prediction

Here's our team by team analysis of who will win IPL 2023. Not only will our experts be looking at overall team form and how individuals have performed across the season, but we also take into account what fixtures teams have coming up, squad depth, and past performance under pressure. With all of the latest stats, news and expert opinion, these are the best IPL predictions available.

Gujarat Titans: Table-toppers face difficult task in Qualifier 1

Gujarat Titans, led by Hardik Pandya, managed to win their maiden IPL season when they defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final. Titans were terrific throughout the IPL 2022, topping the group table with 10 victories. They then defeated the Royals in Qualifier 1 by seven wickets with three balls to spare, before going on to win the title.

Pre-season, GT looked strong with the likes of Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan in top form. Gujarat also brought in three overseas players for the 2023 season in Kane Williamson, Odean Smith and Joshua Little, while Shivam Mavi and KS Bharat were the two notable Indian additions. 

After the completion of the regular IPL season, GT are looking just as good as their IPL prediction 2023. The side finished top of the table, with 20 points – three clear of the next closest side, CSK on 17. Gujarat only lost on four occasions this season, and have been by far the best and most consistent team.

Their No.1 spot on the table means they get two chances at qualifying for the IPL Grand Final on Sunday. And we think they'll need them – because first up, GT head to Chennai to play CSK in their own backyard. CSK are notoriously difficult to beat in their home conditions, and there's a good chance that GT will be outplayed by CSK, and need to play the Qualifier 2 Final, against either MI or LSG.

Also read: Who is the owner of GT in IPL 2023?

GT went on to win the Qualifier 2 Final against Mumbai Indians, setting up a rematch against CSK in the final. This match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, however, and should allow GT to play their natural game in front of their home fans.

Our IPL 2023 prediction is that GT will get their revenge in the Grand Final, and go all the way to claim the title this year. With players like Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan all in terrific form, it's hard to bet against them.

Best GT team 2023: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad.

IPL 2023 prediction: Champions.

Chennai Super Kings: The old CSK are back, but will it be enough?

The ‘Yellove army' Chennai Super Kings are the second most successful franchise in the IPL with four titles. Their last title came in 2021 but had an awful season next year, finishing ninth in IPL 2022. CSK won only four matches and lost 10 in the previous season. 

This year, it seems Chennai are back.

The CSK that has performed so consistently across the years has yet again qualified for the playoffs, ending the regular season where they have spent most of the past month – second on the ladder. With eight wins and five losses, CSK have been strong this season, without stepping into complete dominance. They've won big and won ugly, really only failing to fire in one match in IPL 2023.

Central to the CSK cause in 2023 has been Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tushar Deshpande and Ravi Jadeja. Conway and Gaikwad have both cracked the 500 run mark, and sit No.5 and No.8 in the Orange Cap race this IPL. Thier contributions and fast starts have helped CSK make big totals this year; which have been well defended through the wicket taking ability of Deshpande and Jadeja.

Also read: MA Chidambaram Stadium IPL records, stats & highest totals

Playing Gujarat in the opening match of the IPL playoffs, it's hard to not feel like CSK were supremely lucky. The playoff venues were determined prior to the start of the season, and yet CSK found themselves playing at home in the Qualifying 1, despite finishing lower than their opponents. This gave CSK a big advantage, as they upset GT and qualified directly for the Grand Final.

However, GT have been so good at bouncing back after losses this year, that it's tough to see CSK defeating them a second time in the Grand Final, should GT get there after Qualifier 2. This match will be played at a neutral venue in Ahmedabad, and will likely be the downfall of Dhoni's men.

Best CSK team 2023: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana

IPL prediction 2023: Runners up.

Mumbai Indians: A season to remember, but just not enough mileage

The most successful franchise in the history of IPL, Mumbai Indians have had a couple of really bad seasons. The five-time champions ended fifth in IPL 2021 and succumbed to the bottom-place finish last year. They also haven't done much in the auction to solve their issues. 

The good news is, Mumbai aren't last this season. In fact, MI have successfully executed an excellent second half of the season, after loitering near the bottom of the table after the first two weeks of the IPL 2023. They went on to make the playoffs and eliminated Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator clash.

In the league stage, eight wins and six losses, Mumbai claimed the final spot in the playoffs. They ended up being two points clear of the Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, after wading their way through the mid-table gridlock on the final weekend of pool play.

Read also: Who is the owner of MI in IPL 2023?

They, however, lost to a carnage from Shubman Gill and a probing spell from Mohit Sharma in Qualifier 2 to finish in third spot.

Best MI team 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Piyush Chawla, Jofra Archer, Kumar Kartikeya, Riley Meredith, Arshad Khan.

Lucknow Super Giants: Hot and cold LSG look to keep firing 

Lucknow Super Giants had a strong debut season, reaching the playoffs in IPL 2022. They won nine out of 14 matches in the group stage and narrowly missed the top two finish. It cost them big time as their campaign ended after suffering a 14-run loss to RCB.

This season, LSG have strengthened their batting unit by bringing in the left-hand batter Nicholas Pooran in the middle order. The West Indian has proved to be a good acquisition, scoring 358 runs from his 14 innings – and he's had some company too, with Marcus Stoinis and Kyle Mayers accumulating 368 and 361 as well.

These batting efforts, along with the 16 wickets of Ravi Bishnoi, have seen LSG through to third place in the ladder. It's been a hot and cold season for the men from Lucknow – epitomised by scoring 257/5 against PBKS, then following it up a few days later by being bowled for 108 by RCB.

LSG had to deliver one of their hot performances if they were to get past Mumbai, their opponent in the Eliminator Final. The two sides had met just last week and LSG were clinical, defending 177. But they couldn't repeat that performance as Mumbai chucked them  out of the competition for this season.

Best LSG team 2023: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya,  Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Prerak Mankad, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq.

Eliminated IPL teams in 2023

Delhi Capitals: Mid-season revival to no avail

The franchise from India's capital are still in search of their first championship in the IPL. Delhi Capitals had a mixed season last year where they finished fifth on the points table with seven victories and seven defeats. Rishabh Pant, who was involved in an unfortunate car accident, will be the biggest miss for the franchise this year. 

Unfortunately for DC, they had the worst start imaginable to the IPL 2023. After five matches in this year's tournament, DC were winless and stuck firmly on the bottom of the table. However, in their next five matches, they've won four, giving themselves a fighting chance of scraping into the playoffs still.

Most impressively, one of their recent wins came against top of the table Gujarat. Delhi stumbled their way to 130/8 batting first, but were able to produce a sublime bowling effort to defend the total, restricting GT to 125/6.

Most recently, they showed what they can do in a chase as well, hauling in RCB's 181/4 with ease. The form of David Warner has helped their batting line up, with the Aussie scoring 330 runs at 120 so far. In the bowling ranks, Mitchell Marsh has been their best, taking nine at 8.10.

Also read: Who is the owner of DC in IPL 2023?

Best DC team 2023: David Warner (c), Phil Salt, Prithvi Shaw, Mitch Marsh, Manish Pandey, Aman Hakim, Axar Patel, Ripal Patel, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma.

IPL 2023 prediction: Sixth place.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Close but no cigar, despite Kohli heroics

Like Delhi, Royal Challengers Bangalore have also never won a title in the IPL despite coming close on a couple of occasions. Last season they finished fourth on the table with eight victories and six losses. RCB then defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs in the Eliminator before going down by seven wickets versus Rajasthan Royals.

With 11 matches played, RCB find themselves in a precarious position. There most recently game against MI last night really was a must win. Unfortunately, they didn't, and now they sit at seventh in the standings, at the bottom end of a tricky deadlock. Four teams are tied on 10 points, with RR, KKR, RCB and PBKS all on five wins and six losses. To break clear of this, RCB will need an excellent final three games.

Faf du Plessis leads the side for the second season in a row, and has been leading from the front in the run scoring department as well. The South African leads the Orange Cap race with 576 runs from his 11 matches, while fellow top order batsman Virat Kohli is also a heavy contributor at No.5 in the race, with 420 runs. With the exception of their 123 all out against KKR and 126/9 against LSG, RCB have consistently posted strong totals, no lower than 172 in their other nine innings.

The key for RCB making the playoffs in the IPL 2023 will be their bowling. Five times already this season they've leaked 200+ runs, undermining all the good work of their batsmen. Thankfully two of their remaining matches are against underperformers RR and SRH, however their final fixture comes against table toppers GT. 

Best RCB team 2023: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj.

IPL prediction 2023: Lose in Eliminator Final.

Rajasthan Royals: Another second-half fizzle for RR

Rajasthan Royals haven't won an IPL title since the inaugural season. They came close to winning the second title last year, reaching the final but were defeated by Gujarat Titans. The Royals finished second on the table with 18 points. They lost Qualifier 1 against Gujarat but defeated RCB in Qualifier 2 to reach the final. 

Rewind the clock 10 days, and this was looking like Rajasthan's season. They were sitting at the top of the table, and were looking like a force to be reckoned with. Now, with just one win in their past five games and three consecutive losses, can Rajasthan stop the rot? They still sit in fourth place and have a chance to make the playoffs, but they'll need to change something quickly.

With the exception of one major hiccup against GT where they were bowled for 118, Rajasthan's batting has been strong. In three of their past four matches, they've posted 200+ runs. Trouble is, they aren't defending their totals, regardless of how generous they may be. While Ravi Ashwin and Trent Boult are fairly economical, the rest of their bowlers need to pull in the economy rates quickly.

Most recently, RR suffered a baffling loss to low-ranked SRH in the most frustrating of circumstances. A no-ball was conceded on the final ball of the innings, with the subsequent free hit getting sent over the ropes for SRH to win it.

If their tactics and bowling can tighten up, RR could still make something of this season.

Also read: Who is the owner of RR in IPL 2023?

Best RR team 2023: Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa.

IPL 2023 prediction: Fifth.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Another hapless season for SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad won their only IPL trophy in 2016 and have had a couple of poor seasons. In IPL 2022, they finished eighth in the group stage with six victories and eight defeats. SRH have made some major changes and are the most exciting team for this year. 

Sunrisers let go of Kane Williamson and Nicholas Pooran, and have brought in Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Heinrich Klaasen and Adil Rashid. However, it hasn't done much for their results – currently, SRH sit on four wins from 10 matches, and are saved from being in last place by their run rate alone. 

Notably, none of the SRH batsmen sit in the top 20 runs scored this season, and their best bowler is ranked 15th in the Purple Cap race. Put simply, they haven't been doing enough of either outcome – taking wickets, or scoring runs. Five times they've scored less than 150 runs, and five times they've allowed their opponents to keep more than five wickets in hand.

While the power-packed batting line-up has fired at times, scoring 228/4 against KKR, bottom line is SRH yet again seem to be rather hapless this season. It's hard to see them getting their affairs in order and making a run to the playoffs, particularly with fixtures remaining against LSG, GT and RCB.

Best SRH team 2023: Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Mayank Markande,  Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik.

IPL 2023 prediction: Last.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Mercurial KKR disappoint as expected

Kolkata Knight Riders are the former two-time champions but their record in the last eight years hasn't been great. Last year they ended up seventh on the table, winning six games and losing eight. Heading into the 2023 season, concerns lingered over several of the ongoing issues they've been carrying.

With an already underwhelming squad, injuries to Lockie Ferguson and Shreyas Iyer further weakened KKR's chances in 2023. After 11 matches, they've managed five wins, and lost six times. Most recently they've won ugly against fellow bottom of the table side SRH, defending a total of 171/9, and then chased down 179/7 against PBKS.

Read also: Who is the owner of KKR in IPL 2023?

On the bright side, some of their batsmen are performing – Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh and Nitesh Rana all have 300+ runs this season, sitting at No.10, No.12 and No.13 in the Orange Cap race. Bowling-wise, Varun Chakaravarthy has been their only star, taking 17 wickets at an economy of 7.84 and coming in clutch at the death overs. With Andre Russell not firing, KKR will be hard pressed to make the playoffs, considering they'll need at least two, if not three wins, from their upcoming fixtures against RR, CSK and LSG.

Best KKR team 2023: Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan (wk), Nitish Rana, Shakib Al Hasan, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav

IPL 2023 prediction: Ninth place (thanks to SRH).

Punjab Kings: Consistency the kryptonite for PBKS

Punjab Kings are one of three teams who have been part of the league since its inception but haven't won a title. They had a middling season last year, where they won half the group matches and finished sixth. In the last two years they have let go of two Indian stars in KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, and acquired Jonny Bairstow instead. 

Punjab Kings suffered a huge blow ahead of the season with the unavailability of Jonny Bairstow. They also emptied their purse in the auction to bag Sam Curran for a record price but the England all-rounder hasn't been in great form. As a result, PBKS are sitting at seventh in the table, having won five and lost five. 

Shikar Dhawan is again carrying the batting in the team, scoring 349 runs. PBKS have proven that they can score 200+, doing so in four of their last five matches, but are failing to close out games effectively. With two fixtures against DC remaining and one against RR, PBKS still have a chance of making the playoffs. However, this depends entirely on Arshdeep Singh continuing his excellent bowling, and Sam Curran finding some form with both bat and ball.

Best PBKS team 2023: Matt Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Harpreet Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), M Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar

IPL prediction 2023: Eighth. 

About our IPL predictions

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Read also: Today toss prediction

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