The weekend started with defending champs Chennai Super Kings showing who’s boss and Gujarat Titans getting one over their former captain Hardik Pandya. But what did we really get to see during the weekend? Here are three key takeaways and pointers from the first weekend of IPL 2024.

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Mayhem in Mumbai?

One of the major talking points coming into the IPL was Hardik Pandya’s return to the Mumbai Indians, not just as a player but as captain. His first game didn’t go to plan, unable to lead his side to a win against the former team, Gujarat Titans. To add insult to injury, his Sixer stock price dropped by nearly 13%. His captaincy wasn’t convincing either. He shuffled around his bowlers without conviction and bowled with the new ball ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, who had a heck of an outing with an impactful bowling spell and an 18.76% increase in his Sixer price. Despite his shortcomings on Sunday, Hardik can rely on a star-studded team and kickstart MI’s campaign when they face the Sunrisers this Wednesday.

Money can’t buy happiness?

Speaking of the Sunrisers, they were involved in arguably the best game of the IPL weekend, against the Knight Riders. Both teams splurged their wallets to acquire Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the IPL 2024 auction, although some of the cricket pundits were not quite convinced with their T20 skills. It was a rough start for the Aussies, both of whom went wicketless and couldn't have a great impact on the game itself. Three individuals who did impact the game were Andre Russell, Heinrich Klaasen, and Harshit Rana, all of whom saw a price surge of over 10% each in the Sixer Market. A lot is at stake for both Cummins and Starc, who will have to take a lot of bowling load for their respective sides. As of now, KKR and SRH are yet to get their money’s worth, unlike cricket stock traders on Sixer! Maybe, money can buy happiness!

New Year, Same Ol’ Story?

Every IPL, you’d come across an RCB fan who would fancy their chances of THAT elusive IPL trophy but to no avail. Well, reality check, this year’s no different. There were enough reasons for optimism in the RCB camp ahead of IPL 2024. Be it because of the WPL win or the arrival of the uber-impressive Andy Flower to the franchise. But again, an all-too-familiar concern crept up - the lack of a solid bowling attack. The concern turned into a nightmare as every RCB frontline bowler, in their opening day loss to CSK, saw their price drop in the Sixer Market. However, RCB has arguably the best batting unit in the league and will heavily rely on the likes of Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell, who is available at a contract-low price at the time of writing.

Faf and co take on the Punjab Kings, who are fresh off a close win against the Capitals. With home support to fall back on, RCB will be eager to get things rolling this week. But there’s more to look forward to (and trade, of course) this week with the likes of KL Rahul and Sanju Samson already delivering the goods with the bat. With the action set to intensify, both on the field and in the Sixer Market, the only ways forward are UP and DOWN!

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