Virat Kohli's RCB out of contention for play-offs, young Indian batsmen shine bright

Rising Pune Supergiant and Delhi Daredevils shot back into contention for the playoffs, thanks to superlative performances by their young batsmen. Rahul Tripathi's 93 helped RPS overwhelm  Kolkata Knight Riders while Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson exploded at the Feroz Shah Kotla to gun down a record 208 vs Gujarat Lions.

Ben Stokes fetched mega bucks at the auction but his IPL journey had been a rather forgettable one. But the English superstar, bought by RPS for a whopping Rs 14.5 crore, brought out his best against Gujarat Lions - he hammered a 63-ball 103 and earned rich praise from skipper Steve Smith

Suresh Raina won't feature in the IPL playoffs for the first time since the tournamen't inception in 2008. As a Chennai Super Kings player, he played the last-four from 2008-2015 while he led the Lions to the playoffs in 2016 as table-toppers.

Virat Kohli has himself been in decent form but lack of runs from Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers and some poor cricket from the rest of the team meant Royal Challengers Bangalore, finalists in 2016, were out of contention for a place in the playoffs before the week ran out. Kohli urged his men to play without the fear of failure but nobody stood up to help the captain along the way.