Although there were many obstacles, the 2020 Indian Premier League organisers managed to find both a new location and date for the tournament to take place. The 13th rendition of the IPL took place in the United Arab Emirates instead of India, much later than usual — from September 19 to November 10.
As many fans looked forward to following regular IPL updates on Sportsadda, the tournament did not disappoint. IPL 2020 was a much-needed breath of fresh air and an overall success as all matches finished smoothly.
What this year’s IPL will be remembered for is its competitiveness as Mumbai Indians defended their championship title for the second time in a row, winning their fifth title altogether. Let's check out how this IPL season stood out from the rest.
Most Competitive Season So Far
IPL 2020 was the most competitive season so far, and we have the statistics to prove it. Even the lowest ranking team this year, Rajasthan Royals, finished with six wins and 12 points overall — something that has never happened before. To be more specific, the teams that placed sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively, Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, and Rajasthan Royals, all had 12 points and were only separated by their NRR.
The race for the top four was equally exciting this season. Even so, the Mumbai Indians were untouchable once they reached 18 points because no other team had a chance to equal that. However, the race for the second, third, and fourth playoff spot kept fans on their toes.
Delhi Capitals managed to collect 16 points meaning their second playoff spot was well deserved. On the other hand, we had to wait until the last match of the stage (round 56) to find out who the other two teams for the playoffs would be. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore were the lucky two in the end, as Hyderabad’s ten-wicket win helped them jump over both KKR and RCB for the third spot.
Delhi Capitals Strong Again
Although the DC did not manage to snatch the championship title from the Mumbai Indians, they have once again shown their strength. The team had trouble reaching the IPL playoffs six years in a row, finally managing to do so in 2019. 2020 brought their first IPL final with Ricky Ponting as their head coach and under the careful and smart captaincy of Shreyas Iyer.
Breaking MI’s streak proved too challenging in the end, but there’s always next year.
Young Indian Players Dominate
A highlight of the IPL 2020 was how well young Indian cricketers played. This is not surprising at all as there are dozens of prosperous and skilled youngsters in each IPL team. Some players that caught both the media’s and the fans’ eyes were Ishan Kishan, Devdutt Padikal, T Natarajan, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi.
An interesting fact is that Natarajan was added as one of the four net bowlers for India for their Australian tour. His inclusion in the T20 squad was thanks to Varun Chakravarthy’s shoulder injury.
Karthik’s Surprising Decision
What came as one of the biggest surprises this IPL season was Dinesh Karthik renouncing captaincy mid-season — some claim not voluntarily. To be fair, it’s not a situation that either players or the fans come into often. However, Karthik decided to relinquish his Kolkata Knight Riders captaincy after being under the spotlight due to his leadership since the season started.
At the time when KKR was fourth on the points table, with four wins out of the seven played matches, Karthik turned over the reins to Eoin Morgan. However, KKR was not successful under new guidance as the team did not manage to enter playoffs with seven wins and seven losses.
