Hello all!
Welcome to my first blog related to IPL 2020. I hope to write down the blogs for all the IPL games to be played by RCB, this year in a story/ review format. Hoping you guys will enjoy reading as much as I had fun writing them down.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a Twenty-20 (T20) league played in India every year in the months of March-May (summer season) in India and is one of the biggest sporting events taking place in the world. Played between 8 teams, each from different states in India.
The league was introduced in 2008 after India’s highly successful campaign in the 2007 T20 world cup… Ohh what nostalgia… “In the air and Sreesanth takes it! India win the world cup! Unbelievable scenes here at the bull ring…” that commentary from Ravi Shastri still giving me goosebumps! That night changed the complex of cricket and the T20 format had emerged as a great success in India.
This year will mark the 13th edition of IPL. Mumbai Indians (MI) have been the most successful team and the defending Champions with 4 titles followed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with 3, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with 2 and 1 each by Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) and now-defunct Deccan Chargers (DC).
This year IPL would be consisting of 8 teams, where each will play each other twice (home and away format) in a round-robin league phase similar to the one observed in English Premier League (EPL). The top 4 teams at the end of the league stage qualify for the playoffs.
The top two teams have an added advantage for topping the group stages as they get two chances to qualify for the final. First, they play each other and the winning team directly qualifies for the final meanwhile, the losing team does not feel left out as they have an additional chance to qualify as they will face the winner of the playoff between Team 3 and 4. Team 3 vs Team 4 play an eliminator match with the winning team moving ahead and face the team losing the first playoff in the second qualifier. The winning team faces the opponent winning the first playoff for the big prize – The Final and the winner being crowned as Champions!
Know the Dream11 IPL 2020 Teams!
| Team | City | Captain | Coach | Champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | M.S. Dhoni | Stephen Fleming | 2010, 2011, 2018 |
| Delhi Capitals (DC) | Delhi, NCR | Shreyas Iyer | Ricky Ponting | – |
| Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) | Mohali, Punjab | K.L. Rahul | Anil Kumble | – |
| Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | Kolkata, West Bengal | Dinesh Karthik | Brendon McCullum | 2012, 2014 |
| Mumbai Indians (MI) | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Rohit Sharma | Mahela Jayawarde | 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 |
| Rajasthan Royals (RR) | Jaipur, Rajasthan | Steve Smith | Andrew McDonald | 2008 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Virat Kohli | Simon Katich | – |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) | Hyderabad, Telangana | David Warner | Trevor Bayliss | 2016 |
Each team gets to pick a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25 players in their squad. The total team cost cannot exceed 850 million INR. A maximum of 8 overseas players per squad and only 4 can play each match, this was done to promote young Indian talent.
The game follows the International T20 rules, where 1st-6 overs are called as mandatory powerplay having field restrictions of having only 2 players outside the 30-yard circle. Overs between 6th-9th can be used by the bowling side to call for a strategic time out which lasts for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. A similar time out can be taken by the batting side from overs 13th-16th. If a team chooses not to do so then the umpire will himself call out for the strategic time out at end of the mentioned overs above. Since 2018, use of the Decision Review System (DRS) has been in effect allowing each team one chance to review the on-field umpire’s decision per innings.
Apart from the winning team getting to lift the Champions Cup at the end of tournament, there are three main awards- Orange Cap (for highest run-getter in the tournament), Purple Cap (for highest wicket-taker in the tournament) and Most Valuable Player (MVP) award presented.
Stats Alert!!!
{Note- Stats were updated before start of IPL 2020 from iplt20.com}
Most Runs- Virat Kohli (5412)
Most Sixes- Chris Gayle (326)
Most Sixes (Innings)- Chris Gayle (17) vs PWI
Most Fours- Shikhar Dhawan (524)
Most Fours (Innings) – A.B. de Villiers (19) vs MI & Paul Valthaty (19) vs CSK
Highest Individual Score- Chris Gayle (175*) vs PWI
Best Strike Rate- Andre Russell (186.41)
Best Strike Rate (Innings)- Chris Morris (422.22) vs RPS
Highest Average- Jonny Bairstow (55.62)
Most 50’s – David Warner (44)
Most 100’s – Chris Gayle (6)
Fastest 50- K.L. Rahul (14 balls) vs DC
Fastest 100- Chris Gayle (30 balls) vs PWI
Highest Wicket Taker- Lasith Malinga (170)
Best Bowling Figure – Alzarri Joseph (6/12) vs SRH
Best Bowling Average- KagisaoRabada (17.69)
Best Economy Rate – Rashid Khan (6.55)
Best Bowling Strike Rate (Innings) – Suresh Raina (1.50) vs RR
Best Strike Rate (Tournament)- Kagiso Rabada (13.15)
Most runs conceded (innings) – Basil Thampi (70) vs RCB
Most Hat-tricks – Amit Mishra (3)
Most Dot balls (Tournament) – Harbhajan Singh (1249)
Most Maiden Overs – Praveen Kumar (14)
Most 4-wicket Haul – Sunil Narine and Lasith Malinga (6)
This time around due to the unforeseen situation IPL2020 was delayed and shifted to the month of September and will be played in the UAE. The main title sponsors VIVO backed out use to increasing tensions between India and China at LAC (Line of Actual Control). Dream11 bagged the title sponsorship offer after a bid of 220 crores INR for the season.
The streaming of the matches happens on the Star Network (India). Star Sport 1/ HD, and Star Sports Select 1/HD for English commentary and Star Sports 3/HD for Hindi commentary. Online streaming on Disney+Hotstar with options of regional commentary as well!
Dream11 IPL 2020 Schedule, UAE
Stay Tuned for Chapter 1… Coming up shortly. Until then Happy Reading! Ciao!
Vivek Nair
