The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League got off to an electrifying start between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi. The three-time IPL champions started their campaign on a winning note against the defending champions. CSK beat Mumbai Indians by five wickets to seal the IPL opener.

However, Mumbai Indians will be looking forward to get off the mark with a win when they play against the two-time IPL  Kolkata Knight Riders on September 23, Wednesday. On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings will play their next match against Rajasthan Royals on September 22.

Meanwhile, the cricket experts, commentators have picked their top four contenders for playoffs this season. The likes of Sanjay Manjrekar, Ian Bishop, Deep Dasgupta, Gautam Gambhir, Tom Moody, Ajit Agarkar and Aakash Chopra picked top four teams for the playoffs.

Other than Tom Moody and Gautam Gambhir all others picked Chennai Super Kings in their top four contenders for the playoffs. Their decision to ignore Chennai Super Kings raised quite a whole lot of eyebrows. Chennai Super Kings are the most consistent team in the history of the Indian Premier League.

Under MS Dhoni’s leadership skills, CSK won the title on three occasions. They have reached the finals on eight occasions, more than any other team in the cash-rich league. In addition, CSK are the one and only team to reach the playoffs in every season they played in the tournament.

However, Mumbai Indians managed to find its place in experts’ choices for IPL playoffs. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab are the only three teams that are yet to win the league. It will be quite interesting to see which team will win the title this time around.

Here are the experts’ choices for IPL playoffs:

Sanjay Manjrekar:

Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad

Ian Bishop:

Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Deep Dasgupta:

Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders

Gautam Gambhir:

Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Capitals/Rajasthan Royals

Tom Moody:

Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad

Ajit Agarkar:

Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings

Aakash Chopra:

Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore