INTRODUCTION

The Indian Premier League is arguably the biggest Cricket event in the world and is also one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. Cricket fans all around the world eagerly wait for the time of the year when the IPL takes place. As for the Indian fans, it is nothing short of a festival. The 13th edition of the IPL was nothing different from its previous editions, as it brought in similar energy, buzz, and excitement among the fans. However, in the year 2020, due to unfortunate circumstances caused as a result of the COVID 19 or Coronavirus pandemic, the IPL along with all other sporting events were suspended for an indefinite period of time.

REVIVAL OF THE IPL 2020

The Coronavirus pandemic has been the greatest humanitarian crisis the world has ever seen. As a result of the pandemic, India has suffered drastically in all aspects. The economy of the country took a toll after a record downfall in GDP in the June quarter. As a result of the pandemic and the growing rate of infected cases in India, all major sporting events including the IPL were indefinitely suspended. The suspension of the IPL was not the only blow for the world’s premier cricket tournament as VIVO pulled out as the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League, following backlash on social media due to clashes between Indian and Chinese defense troops in Ladakh. After a period of time, it seemed as if there was going to be no IPL for the year 2020, but the BCCI (The Board of Control for Cricket in India ) worked hard behind the scenes and implemented an idea to conduct the 13th edition of the IPL in the United Arab Emirates. After VIVO’s decision to back out as the title sponsors of IPL a bidding procedure was conducted in order to determine the title sponsors. After the elongated bidding process, the Indian fantasy sports platform DREAM 11 got the title sponsorship rights for the 13th edition of IPL. Thus under the influence of BCCI and the support from other major sponsors most importantly DREAM 11 the Indian Premier League 2020-21 was revived and finally, after waiting for months, the DREAM 11 IPL 2020 finally became a reality with the first match being played between defending champions Mumbai Indians and arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings on the 19th of September, 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

START OF THE IPL AND TEAM PERFORMANCES

A fascinating first match in Abu Dhabi ended with Chennai Super Kings chasing down Mumbai’s target of 163 with 5 wickets in hand. However, since then the tournament has been one of the most exciting IPL’s in recent years. In T-20 cricket a draw is not a usual occurrence. A match that ends in a draw results in a super over where both teams bat for one over with 2 wickets in hand and the winner is decided by whoever scores the most runs. A super over brings a great source of excitement to the fans thereby adding to the entertainment that the game already produces. In IPL 2020-21 out of the 19 matches played in total, there have already been two matches settled by super overs with Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore defeating Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians respectively. The 13th edition of the IPL has been a belter already with high scoring fixtures, huge run chases, lots of boundaries scored, and comparatively;y less number of wickets to show for it from the bowler’s point of view.

The DREAM 11 IPL is being hosted in the UAE across three different cities in the form of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai.  Sharjah and Dubai pitches have favored the batting side while the Abu Dhabi pitch has favored the fielding side.

Sharjah is known for its high scoring fixtures because of the factors favoring the batting side. In this year’s IPL, Sharjah was host to the biggest run chase in IPL history when Rajasthan Royals chased down Kings XI Punjab’s massive target of 224 runs. Sanju Samson and Rahul Tewatia played key roles in getting their side across the line. Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore made excellent starts to their campaign after both sides secured three wins out of a possible 4 in their first 4 matches. Defending Champions Mumbai Indians who are known for their slow start to the league campaign recovered from the slow start and after the win against Punjab they went up to the third spot in the standings. Two teams that focused heavily on young Indian talents in the IPL auction in the form of Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders have both made decent starts to their campaign after securing 2 wins from a possible 4. The biggest disappointments so far are the 3-time champions Chennai Super Kings, one-time champion Sunrisers Hyderabad, and high spending Kings XI Punjab after they failed to make a positive start. The start was not ideal for the two teams but it would not take long for them to gain some momentum with lots of matches still to play for and lots of stake on the line.imitasyon saat

IPL POINTS TABLE (AFTER MI VS SRH MATCH)