This Week in Cricket #129 - Title contenders, missed opportunities and an MS Dhoni bear hug

In this episode of the Top Order Podcast, we look back at the final week of the IPL 2023 round robin - then make our predictions about who will win it all. We start the show by discussing RCB and the Rajasthan Royals - two teams who most likely view this year's tournament as a big missed opportunity. Virat Kohli hit back-to-back hundreds, Faf du Plessis lead the run charts, Yashasvi Jaiswal looks set for international stardom and the smile came back to Yuzvendra Chahal's face, but still these sides failed to reach the playoffs. What went wrong (other than a no ball)? We then cast our eye over the four remaining teams: Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and the Mumbai Indians. Can GT ride Shubman Gill's red-hot form all the way to the title? Will Devon Conway and MS Dhoni be wrapped in a big hug after the final ball is bowled? Can Marcus Stoinis pull off two match-winning innings in a row? Or will Cameron Green's long levers be lifting the trophy when all is said and done? We'll be back next week to wrap up the IPL playoffs and look ahead to the English international summer, including the build-up to the World Test Championship Final and the Ashes. In the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook , & @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram ) 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 , and our recent episodes (plus a few from the backlist) are available on YouTube - we're slowly chipping away at populating this channel. You can also dip back into our conversations with special guests - including Lockie Ferguson, Mike Hussey, Sophie Devine, Tim Southee, Shane Bond, Georgia Wareham, Barry Richards, Rachin Ravindra, 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices