The Top Order Cricket Podcast The Top Order Podcast

In this episode of the show, Binksy and Baldy review the past three days of IPL 2024 action - Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals and the Gujarat Titans v Delhi Capitals.
Recorded on 18 April, we discuss the record-breaking runfest at the Chinnaswamy, which saw a Travis Head century, plus excellent innings and giant sixes from Heinrich Klaasen, Dinesh Karthik and many others.
There's also praise for Jos Buttler's remarkable effort for Rajasthan, as they chased down KKR's 223-6 off the final delivery, meaning Sunil Narine's hundred was in a losing cause. The trend of praising wicketkeepers continues with Dinesh Kathik also mentioned in despatches for his effort in a losing cause against the Sunrisers.
Some sides are making a run (we're looking at you Sunrisers and the resurgent Delhi Capitals) whereas the Gujarat Titans look to be in a big hole. Are they done for the season, or is there life yet?
We'll be back again early next week with more news and views in the next instalment of the power rankings, but until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars 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

In this episode of the show, Baldy, Binksy, Raj and Stu look back at another week that was in IPL 2024.
Recorded on 15 April, we review all 10 teams, awarding the turquoise cap and handing out the power rankings along the way.
Is the biggest threat to the Rajasthan Royals actually the Rajasthan Royals?Will the Kolkata Knight Riders ever slow down?Can the Chennai Super Kings get even more from MS Dhoni?Are the Sunrisers Hyderabad batters struggling?Can Shubman Gill carry the Gujarat Titans to the playoffs?Are the Lucknow Super Giants slumping?Why is the Mumbai Indians' bowling so bad when Jasprit Bumrah is so good?Are the Delhi Capitals the scariest team in the bottom half of the ladder?Will a Punjab Kings game ever finish outside of the final over?Has Faf du Plessis given up on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowling attack?And much more!
We'll be back again later in the week with more news and views, but until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars 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
0:35 RR - Are they over-complicating things?
8:45 KKR - Full speed ahead
15:20 CSK - MS Dhoni sixes and a statement week
24:50 SRH - Bowlers getting into a rhythm
30:50 GT - Are they about to go on a winning streak?
37:50 LSG - Is Quinton de Kock having fun?
44:00 MI - Jasprit Bumrah is awesome but the other bowlers are struggling
51:45 DC - Are they becoming a dangerous side? Kuldeep Yadav & Rishabh Pant pushing for India spots
56:25 PK - A lack of matchwinners hurting them
61:50 RCB - Bowling attack at rock bottom

In this episode of the show, Stu and Baldy provide a midweek IPL update to discuss CSK's win against KKR and two final-over thrillers that saw points go to Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Gujarat Titans.
We discuss standout performances from Rashid Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shashank Singh, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shubman Gill as well as the key moments of these three games.
Are the Gujarat Titans back?Will the Punjab Kings ever give up on a chase?Is spin going to be a major factor for the Chennai Super Kings from now on?Have Sunrisers Hyderabad found some consistency?Was it just a bad day at the office for Kolkata Knight Riders?Should the Rajasthan Royals have regrets about only bowling two Trent Boult overs?And much more!
We'll be back again early next week with more news and views as we go through the next instalment of our Power Rankings, but until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars 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
0:55 CSK v KKR - Chennai are a force at home
4:45 Crucial wickets for Ravindra Jadeja as spin plays a big part
8:00 Was it just a bad day at the office for KKR?
10:00 Jadeja pranking the Chennai crowd with MS Dhoni
11:50 SRH v PK - Sunrisers local players step up
14:45 Punjab Kings love a close game
15:30 No score is safe anymore - batters hitting the go button
19:50 Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh do it again (almost)
21:05 GT v RR - Are Gujarat back?
22:50 Excellent day for Rashid Khan
24:40 Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag's partnership
26:15 What went wrong for Rajasthan's bowling?
30:40 Upcoming games

In this episode of the show, Baldy, Binksy, Raj and Stu review the week that was in IPL 2024 with another instalment of the power rankings.
Recorded on Monday 8 April, we discuss all 10 teams and the key questions facing all of them as we pass the 20-game mark of the tournament.
Can anyone stop this Rajasthan Royals side?Is the KKR bowling lineup, led by Mitchell Starc, strong enough to win at the business end of the tournament?LSG building nicely in all three facets of the game - so why don't we trust them?Abhishek Sharma's impact at the top of the order for Sunrisers HyderabadShashank Singh's heroics for the Punjab KingsCSK's challenges without Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha PathiranaHave the Mumbai Indians found a better balance with Romario Shepherd and Mohammad Nabi in the lineup?How damaging will David Miller's injury be for the Gujarat Titans?With Mitchell Marsh out for a while, are the Delhi Capitals' semi-final hopes all but gone?Virat Kohli has been outstanding to start the season, but where's the help from the rest of his RCB teammates?
We'll be back again later in the week with more news and views, but until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars 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
1:40 Rajasthan Royals - Jos Buttler's 100, do they have any weaknesses at all?
7:40 Kolkata Knight Riders - So much batting firepower, but what about the bowling?
14:15 Lucknow Super Giants - Marcus Stoinis's responsible knock
20:55 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Abhishek Sharma's ball-striking and positive signs for the bowling attack
30:05 Punjab Kings - Shashank Singh to the rescue
36:45 Chennai Super Kings - Is their bowling in trouble without Pathirana and Mustafizur?
44:25 Mumbai Indians - Is Romario Shepherd the answer to balancing this MI lineup?
51:30 Gujarat Titans - Runs for Shubman Gill, but David Miller's injury news takes their week from bad to worse
58:00 Delhi Capitals - Has Mitchell Marsh's hamstring strain put an end to their playoff chances?
61:40 Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Virat Kohli scoring runs for fun, but where's the help?

In this episode of the show, Baldy and Stu review the recent IPL 2024 games between LSG and RCB, and KKR v Delhi Capitals.
Recorded on 4 April 2024, we start by discussing Kolkata's huge win against Delhi:
Are we about to live in a world where scores of 270 in a T20 become the norm?Sunil Narine's boundary-fest at the top of the orderAngkrish Raghuvanshi's first IPL innings and the fearlessness of young playersPlus Andre Russell, Mitchell Starc, Rishabh Pant and more!
In the second half of the show we look back at the Lucknow Super Giants' comfortable win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
How fun is it to watch this Mayank Yadav story unfold?!How much trouble are RCB in?Will Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell be able to produce the match-winning performances needed to stop this slide?Plus Nicholas Pooran, Quinton de Kock, Reece Topley and other storylines from this fascinating game.
We'll be back again early next week with the next instalment of the IPL 2024 Power Rankings, but until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars 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
0:40 KKR v DC - Is 270 in a T20 game about to become the norm?
3:05 Sunil Narine's boundary-fest and the KKR power-hitting
6:00 Angkrish Raghuvanshi and the fearlessness of young players
8:40 Mitchell Starc on the board
9:55 Rishabh Pant continues to improve
10:45 Are KKR title contenders now?
11:45 LSG v RCG - how much trouble are RCB in?
13:40 Do RCB need more from Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green?
16:00 LSG - Quinton de Kock and Nicholas Pooran looking in good touch
19:15 The Mayank Yadav show
23:35 How are we feeling about LSG's chances after 3 games?
28:10 Outro

Back by popular demand, the Binksy, Raj, Baldy and Stu gathered in the same room to run through the second instalment of the IPL 2024 Power Rankings.
We discuss all 10 teams and how they are travelling after the first 14 games of the tournament.
Are the Rajasthan Royals the real deal?KKR are flying, but how worried should they be about the form of Mitchell Starc?CSK have looked superb, but what happened against Delhi? And is MS Dhoni wasted down the order?Gujarat bounced back after their loss to CSK, but do they have the batting firepower to keep them in the playoff picture?Delhi's batting order shuffle led to a win against CSK - is Rishabh Pant the key to unlocking their true potential?Sunrisers Hyderabad shattered records in game two, before crashing back down to earth. Which performance is the best indication of who they are as a team?LSG were at risk of going 0-2, until Mayank Yadav sparked them into life on debut.Virat Kohli has still got it, but what about RCB's other overseas players?Optimists might say the Punjab Kings should be unbeaten after 3 games - do the boys agree?And what's going on in Mumbai as the Wankhede Stadium fans boo Hardik Pandya?!
We'll be back again next week with more news and views, but until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars 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.