For the first time in the IPL’s history of being hosted in India, all 8 teams will play no matches at their home venues and have been assigned neutral venues through the tournament!
We take a look at the impact of this decision today on the defending Champions, MI who start their campaign in Chennai on the 9th.
IPL 2021 is now set to take place from the 9th of April to the 30th of May across India and will start behind closed doors with a decision on whether to allow fans looking bleak, with our nation still battling the effects of the Covid19 pandemic The one never-seen-before twist to the schedule is that of neutral venues, which could have a massive impact on the success of teams based on where they play the majority of their games.
Matches at each Venue for each IPL team
Rohit Sharma & the Mumbai Indians begin their search for the 3-peat vs RCB at the traditional home of their arch rivals, the Chennai Super Kings. The Paltan army have no reason to stress though as MI have a win % of 62.5 at Chepauk up against Virat Kohli and RCB’s paltry 22% at the same venue. Mumbai do have a tradition of being slow starters but they perhaps can’t afford that luxury this time, playing away from their fortress and familiar surrounds of the Wankhede stadium.
Mumbai have a win % of over 60% in 3 of the 4 venues they are playing at, which is the most for any team and gives you an indication that the defending champs are perhaps most equipped to take on this change in scheduling in IPL 2021!
WIN % AT EACH VENUE | CHENNAI | DELHI | KOLKATA | BANGALORE |
MUMBAI INDIANS | 62.5 | 36.3 | 76.9 | 75 |
They do however play a majority of their games (9) in Chennai and Delhi which are venues most unlike the Wankhede and tend to be slow and low, assisting the spin department, which is perhaps the least threatening aspect of this Mumbai Indians’ setup. The addition of Piyush Chawla however alongside Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya gives MI a wicket-taking option and a man who can bowl at any phase of the innings. The addition of Hardik “the bowler” could be valuable on these wickets too, with his ability to take pace off the ball with his cutters, as displayed in the recent T20I series vs England.
Mumbai have actually been unbeaten in Chennai since 2011, winning 5 games in that period and they’ll be hoping to get off the blocks strong on the 9th of April with the core of their squad retained and a few smart signings added through the auction to only add strength to already what is a title-winning combination on paper yet again.
[Header Image Credit: Mumbai Indians]
Suhail Chandhok
Vertical Head - Sports