IPL 2020

The 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), a mega cash-rich T20 cricket event organized by the BCCI, had concluded just a few days ago, and it is safe to say that it was a grand success, emulating the story that previous editions of IPL have been able to achieve.

IPL 2020 was played in UAE, in the cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. While this part of the world has seen several top international teams, especially India, slug it out in the field in the past, the leading T20 club event’s success was no less the entertainer. While some may have argued whether UAE would be able to hold the tournament effectively and be able to live up to the expectations what IPL has seen in the Indian stadiums, the country and the organizers did well to score high on the satisfaction point, especially in the times of Covid Pandemic when Indian government couldn’t provide the permission for its staging in India, and with the fact that the tournament had to be played behind closed doors with no live audience there.

As we were with you right through the tournament to help you get IPL live updates, we are again bringing you this edition to talk about the post-tournament scene, where we will discuss some key highlights from the tournament. So, read on to know more.

Mumbai Bagged their Record Title

Mumbai Indians (MI), undoubtedly the strongest team amongst the 8 for the past few years, once again stamped their authority on the event by registering a record 5ith title win when they beat Delhi Capitals (who were playing their 1st IPL final ever) convincingly in the final. The credit certainly goes to the strong team structure, right strategy, and execution of their plans on the field where they outplayed each and every other team time and again. While they topped the tables in the league stages by a fair margin, moving on from the Qualifier to the Finals, and then clinching the Finals fight was no hard-fought-for them.

Even with their Skipper being out for come games in the second half of the game, the fact they had a strong bench to support the core group meant that they did not falter and kept their winning habit alive. And it is the first time that Mumbai was able to win the back-to-back title and the first instance of them winning the tournament in an odd-year.

CSK Had a Rather Surprising Failed Outing

Apart from MI, one team that has always been one of the strongest outfits in the tournament and one that is arguably the fan-favorite, MS Dhoni-led CSK (Chennai Super Kings) was off-color throughout the tournament. While they had a pretty decent start, winning the tournament’s inaugural match against the eventual winners’ MI, after that they just went off-the-pitch, most of the time looked like they have no idea of how to win matches. While they were able to cap off their season on some promise in their last matches, the team was a pale shadow of what it used to be throughout. Many experts and fans have argued that this may be the result of their plan to stick to an older group than other teams and believing they all are going on a downward spiral in their performance. It would be interesting to see how they turn out the next season next year and what specific changes they could go with by then.

Big Names, Especially Foreigners Had a Big Time

Speaking of the big names from the cricketing world, some shone through, some faltered, while some had an on-off season. The Indian batting sensation, whose RCB once liked an unstoppable side, only to falter at the later stage of the tournament, had a rather mixed tournament when it comes to his performance. As he creates high benchmarks for himself, it would be no fault to say that he wouldn’t be that much pleased with his performance. Other big stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyyer, had a fairly successful outing. Rishabh Pant failed to impress, while Suryakumar Yadav (who is yet to see himself picked in the Indian International T20 side) has a great tournament, staking his claim even further.

For the global names, Chris Gayle, Keiron Pollard, Ben Stokes, Jos Butler, Sam Curran, Steve Smith, Trent Boult, Eoin Morgan; they all were outstanding in their roles.

As the tournament had concluded, now is the time to look forward to the next event. And as this year’s event was delayed, if the pandemic situation improves we could be able to see IPL’s return in the Indian soil in a few months in the summer. For you to get IPL live updates, about the IPL auction, team news, and more, you can keep following this space and see what new cricketing extravaganza we would be able to witness the next year in IPL 2021, the 14th edition.