IPL 2021: Preview and Predictions

It's that time of the year again, where eight teams compete among themselves; in the grandest T20 spectacle of them all, so as to etch their names in the history books. The stage where heroes are born, legends are made and Gods are immortalized. The majestic grandeur of the Indian Premier League still remains unparalleled since its inception back in 2008. This Friday marks the beginning of what is to be a two-month-long celebration of T20 franchise cricket in the form of the 14th Edition of the Vivo IPL. Here's a special look at where the teams stand and what is to be expected out of them.

 

Chennai Super Kings: 2020 was a year to forget for everyone and that's especially the case if you're a CSK fan. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in history and looked weak throughout the event. With vengeance in heart and motivation in mind, the Chennai lads will look to right their wrongs of the past. The team has great finishers and all-rounders of the game; namely, Dhoni, Curran, Jadeja, Ali, and Bravo who have what it takes for the Men in Yellow to finish strongly. The Thakur-Chahar duo has the knack to take wickets early and will be vital with the new ball. However, there may be a few things holding the Whistle-Podu Express back. The team has quite a lot of inactive players who haven't really played any Cricket for a while. CSK also is the oldest team in the tournament when it comes to the average age of the talent involved which may pose unforeseen threats as injuries. They need to find their best XI early and stick with them because that's what they failed to do last season.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - Faf Du Plessis

Highest Wicket-Taker - Shardul Thakur

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Despite having a promising start to last season, RCB lost a series of consecutive matches and was subsequently out of the tournament. This year, with a couple of over the top purchases in the IPL Auctions, the Royal Challengers are back in the race, being ever so popular again. Having T20 giants like ABD, Virat, Maxwell, etc RCB is no team to be taken lightly. They have a good Indian Core comprising talent like Padikkal, Virat, Washington, Chahal, Siraj, and Saini have proven to be assets to the franchise over the years. However, there are a few gray areas to be looked after as well. The lower middle-order lacks the star power so as to help Bangalore gain an advantage towards the later stage of the innings. Over-reliance on Virat-ABD has always been an issue as players often fail to step-up and deliver in the need of the hour. Bowling has never really been RCB's biggest strength as talents like Siraj, Saini, Jamieson, etc. don't really act as a cushion to the destructive death over batting the rest of the teams have.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - Virat Kohli

Highest Wicket-Taker - Yuzvendra Chahal

Sunrisers Hyderabad: The Sunrisers may be considered the Dark Horses going into the tournament. They had a solid season last year and bought a few key players in the Auctions as well. Dave Warner would like to see his team lift yet another trophy this season as the team looks stacked with world-class talent. With a solid top-4 comprising Warner, Bairstow, Kane, and Manish scoring a majority of the runs, SRH would like things to continue the same way. One of their biggest ups is the variety and quality of bowlers they possess. Talents like Bhuvneshwar, Natarajan, Rashid, Sandeep Sharma are all key to SRH being one of the best bowling units heading into the tournament. However, not all things are rosy for the Orange Army as SRH's foreign-stacked top order doesn't permit them from playing a well-established player in the lower middle order, and as a result of which, the team's death over batting may suffer. Their batting run rate usually dips in the middle overs as well which may haunt them in the slow turning pitches like those at MA Chidambaram  and as a result of which Pandey, Jadhav and Garg will have to step up.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - David Warner

Highest Wicket-Taker - Bhuvneshwar Kumar

 Delhi Capitals: The Delhi Capitals made it to their first-ever finals last year under Shreyas Iyer but their opponents proved to be just too good for them. They'd like to do the same this year with the result going in their favor this time because this time, there's a twist in the tale. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Shreyas Iyer suffered a shoulder injury and was ruled out of the IPL whereas Rishabh Pant was adjudged the franchise's new captain. As a team, Delhi looks slick; despite lacking Shreyas. The Capitals have a wide Indian Core seamlessly blend in with the right amount of experience and youth; comprising Ashwin, Mishra, Rahane, Umesh, Ishant, Shikhar along with youngsters like Pant, Axar, Shaw, and others. Delhi's bowling attack is bolstered by the presence of experienced vets like Rabada and Nortje who spelled fire with the ball last season. However, the vast amount of talent does pose a threat of finding the right balance in the team and playing the best XI, which they failed to do right throughout the tournament last year. There's also a risk of too many cooks spoiling the broth as the presence of leaders like Ashwin, Rahane, Shaw, Smith, and Shikhar may make things difficult for the newly appointed skipper.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - Shikhar Dhawan

Highest Wicket-Taker - Kagiso Rabada

Kolkata Knight Riders: The Knight Riders were knocked out last season on account of net run-rate as their newly appointed captain Eoin Morgan failed to take their team to the playoffs. However, a fresh new season with a few old faces back in the side and with 14 matches ahead of them, KKR has a lot to look forward to. All in all, they have a stacked batting roster ranging from power hitters like Morgan, Narine, and Russell to anchors like Gill and Rana. The inclusion of Ben Cutting, Harbhajan, and Shakib adds to their credibility as well. They're one of the stronger teams on paper but it's what they do on the field counts. The performances of Narine and Russell are of the grave importance for the Knights because the duo didn't really set the stage on fire last season which hampered their momentum. The fitness concerns of players like the aforementioned duo and Varun Chakravarthy is unnecessary baggage the team would like to get rid of. The team's only down-sight is its bowling line-up which is slightly less experienced compared to the rest of the teams.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - Shubman Gill

Highest Wicket-Taker - Pat Cummins

Rajasthan Royals: Under the leadership of their own groomed talent comes the dawn of a new era for the Royals from Rajasthan. Skipper Sanju will look to pull the curtain down and bring back the glory days of RR. Making a bunch of grand purchases in the Auctions gave a hint of what is to be expected out of the Men in Pink. With quality talent like Buttler, Stokes, Samson, and Miller at the top, RR has one of the best top 4 in the tournament. They also possess good all-rounders and quality finishers like Riyan Parag, Tewatia, Dubey, Stokes, etc which is a luxury for any team. The Royals have proven to be over-relied on their foreign players over the years and the absence of Jofra Archer makes them one of the weakest bowling sides heading into the tournament. Unadkat, Morris, and young Kartik Tyagi have a lot of responsibility upon them and have to step up otherwise it all can go horribly wrong for the Royals.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - Jos Buttler

Highest Wicket-Taker - Chris Morris

 

Mumbai Indians: While the rest of the teams are busy chasing success, MI is determined to look for greatness. Without a doubt the strongest team on paper heading into the tournament, the Mumbai Indians will look to do what no other team has done in the history of the IPL, ie, to win the Trophy for record 3 consecutive times. The defending champions have got everything it takes to be the champions once again; be it good openers, confident middle order, aggressive finishers, adequate bowling options, and some of the world's finest bowlers. They have the strongest Indian Core (Rohit, Pandyas, SKY, Ishan, Bumrah, Rahul) and have some quality backup and foreign talent as well. Having arguably no weakness, the Mumbai lads would look forward to minimizing possible threats like controlling the run-rate in the middle overs and the effectiveness of their spin department. The Skipper hasn't really delivered with the bat in recent memory and changing that for someone of his caliber and class would surely be instrumental for the Men in Blue's success.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - Suryakumar Yadav

Highest Wicket-Taker - Jasprit Bumrah

Punjab Kings: Punjab was one of the most entertaining teams last season living through everything from super overs to upsets to phenomenal moments and a series of ups and downs. They were also perhaps the unluckiest team in the tournament, missing out on sure-shot wins on more than one occasion. With a brand-new name and a brand-new spirit, the Kings from Punjab are back after having a blockbuster of an Auction. They tried to right the wrongs from last season and invested in talent that could finish the game for them by batting in the lower middle order (Henriques, Allen, Shahrukh, etc) and some prolific quicks as well (Meredith, Richardson, etc). Punjab has unarguably the best top 4 in the IPL and the inclusion of the no. 1 iT20 batsman in the world, Dawid Malan makes the batting core even stronger. However, their main issue remains the contribution of their lower-middle order in case the top order fails and the bowling department. The team looks perfect on paper but quite a few of them lack the experience playing in such a huge stage. The team lacks bowlers who can bat at numbers 7-8 and batsmen who can bowl which can be a burden on batting heavens like the Chinnaswamy and the Eden Gardens.

 Predictions :

Highest Run-Scorer - KL RahulHighest Wicket-Taker - Mohammad Shami

Which team are you looking forward to see the most? Tell me about it in the comments!