IPL 2021: Top 5 team battles in IPL history

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will be entering its 14th season when the 2021 edition begins on April 9. The tournament will begin with a clash between Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI). The match will certainly generate a lot of hype because this battle is something that fans always look forward to. 

But, over the years, there are many rival teams that have emerged in the IPL. For example, the stakes are always a little high when Mumbai is playing Chennai or when Chennai plays their South Indian rivals Bangalore. 

With the upcoming season around the corner, it is a good time to look back at some of these interesting rivalries which the league has produced. Some of these rivalries generate massive amounts of interest in the fans. It is almost like Manchester United vs Chelsea in football or any other derby.

Here are the top 5 team battles in the IPL:

1. Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings

In the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008, during the early stages of the league, Mumbai visited Chennai for an evening match at the iconic Chepauk stadium. A Sachin Tendulkar-less Mumbai went down by just six runs against Dhoni’s men. Since then, the two teams have played many memorable matches, like the finals of 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2019. 

In addition to that, these two teams are the most successful teams in the league. Chennai has won the IPL three times (2010, 2011, and 2018) while Mumbai has won the competition five times (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020). The two teams have faced each other in the IPL 30 times. Mumbai have won 18 clashes while Chennai has won 12 matches. 

Even though Mumbai is leading, in terms of numbers, Chennai was a much dominant force in the early seasons. The two teams have always had the best of players. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Dwayne Bravo have been major stars over the years for Chennai while Mumbai has had Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, and Sachin Tendulkar. And then, there are players like Ambati Rayudu, Michael Hussey, and Harbhajan Singh who have represented both teams.