IPL 2020: Rating the chances of the 3 teams yet to win the tournament
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) will start on 29 March, with a mouth-watering contest between old rivals Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. The same two sides contested the final last year, with Mumbai edging out Chennai in a thriller, by one run. The final of the tournament will be played on 24 May.
According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), this season will feature only 6 afternoon matches, as a result of which the tournament will be slightly longer - lasting for 57 days. The league stage will conclude with the contest between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai on 17 May at Bengaluru.
Over the years, many franchises have lifted the IPL trophy. Mumbai are the most successful with four titles -- 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 - followed by Chennai with three wins -- 2010, 2011 and 2018. Kolkata Knight Riders have won the tournament twice -- 2012 and 2014 - while Rajasthan Royals (2008), Deccan Chargers (2009) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (2016) each have a solitary title triumph.
Three teams participating in this year’s edition are yet to win the IPL crown. In this feature, we analyse the chances of those three franchises.
#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore
Past Record: Currently led by Indian skipper Virat Kohli, RCB have come close to winning the IPL numerous times, but have failed to get past the finish line. They have finished runners-up thrice, in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
In the other years though their performance has been extremely poor. In fact, if you only look at the past three seasons, they have finished 8th, 6th and 8th. Before that as well, they have mostly finished in the bottom half.
Present team analysis: One of the key reasons behind RCB’s under-performance has been their over-dependence on skipper Kohli and AB de Villiers. Their other batsmen have let them down pretty badly, and that needs to change this season. The likes of Moeen Ali and Parthiv Patel will need to step up their efforts.
RCB will have high hopes from veteran South African all-rounder Chris Morris, whom they purchased for a whopping Rs. 10 crore.
If you look at the bowling, they have one genuine match-winner in leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Umesh Yadav hasn’t quite been able to get his act right in the T20 format, and so RCB will want veteran pacer Dale Steyn to deliver the goods along with Navdeep Saini and Kane Richardson.
Winning probability (5/10): If Kohli-De Villiers find support, they can do well, else it might be the same old story for RCB.