IPL 2026 Playoff Preview: Hazelwood & Bhuvi v Sudharsan & Gill, SRH batters & tough questions for MI

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Raj and Stu take stock of all 10 teams at IPL 2026 as we move to the knockout phase of the competition.

We start the show by focusing on the three teams already qualified for the playoffs at the time of recording - Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru & Sunrisers Hyderabad. There are contrasts among the styles - GT's bowling has been a huge strength, SRH look to overpower sides with their batting & RCB favour a more balanced approach - but all three must feel they have a strong chance of lifting the trophy in 2026. There's talk about the upcoming battle between Josh Hazelwood & Bhuvi Kumar and the GT top three of Sai Sudharsan, Shubman GIll & Jos Buttler - plus yet more praise for Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan & Eshan Malinga.

As the conversation turns to the sides on the bubble - Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals & Kolkata Knight Riders - we avoid discussing the permutations and instead focus on which of these teams we'd most likely expect to play spoiler when one of them slides into that number 4 slot on the table. For KKR, it's the bowling that has shone in recent matches - the spin of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in particular capturing most of the headlines. Punjab finally awoke from their slumber thanks to a superb hundred from Shreyas Iyer, but after a losing streak that long, can they really be expected to win 4 matches in a row? Rajasthan's equation was simple - beat Mumbai and they're in - then hope Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's outstanding season can continue for a few more games against the toughest opposition.

In the final segment, we say goodbye to Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and the Chennai Super Kings. Are there any bright spots? What skillsets should they target in the 2027 auction? And could that auction feature big names like Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Aiden Markram & Matt Henry?

We'll be back in your feed again soon with more cricket news, including to review the IPL finals and preview the Black Caps v England Test series. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or !) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website.

You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including conversations with Mike Hesson, Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Matt Henry, Sophie Devine and Ish Sodhi, coaches Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com.

Thanks for listening.

0:00 Intro
1:30 IPL 2026 - The contenders
2:20 RCB - consistency has been key
9:55 GT - Top 3 and bowers world class
14:00 SRH - can batting firepower win it all?
20:20 The bubble: KKR's spinners
23:10 Punjab Kings' bizarre season
26:10 Rajasthan Royals - Sooryavanshi's star turn
32:30 Exit interviews - are LSG too average?
38:35 MI to face tough offseason questions
43:30 DC - glass half full or half empty?
49:25 CSK - is the rebuild on track?
55:40 Outro