Matches are made in heaven and rivalries created on earth, but an Indian Premier League toss up becomes all the more exciting when old foes look for reiteration, revenge, and redemption to decide who tops who in the current season of bat & ball rivalry. And like previous years IPL 2024 has set aside a full week, April 8th to April 14th, to poke some extra conflict into the eager mix.
With 21 matches out of the way and the teams looking at some form of predictability the rivalry week promises more than pride at stake but a chance to even change fortunes. Out of the 10 teams, 4 of the previous IPL title winners are languishing at the bottom of the table with the remaining 3 champions of previous seasons right on top.
The week kick starts on 8th April with 5-time champion Chennai Super Kings Vs 2-time winner Kolkata Knight Riders meeting in Chennai and ends with the two 5-time winners Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings clashing, in Mumbai, on 14th April.
Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have historically engaged in some of the most iconic clashes in the IPL, including four times in the final. For MI, scraping the bottom of the points table and struggling under the selection of a controversial new captain in Hardik Pandya, every match is now a rivalry. The question remains about MI’s rivalry with their own fans. Will the fans have stopped booing their new captain when both the MI matches during rivalry week, they meet RCB on 11th April, get played out on their home ground.
Delhi Capitals is another team not living up to promise will square off with the Lucknow Super Giants in a north Indian clash of rivals on 12th April. The north-south rivalry will get to see Punjab Kings take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on 9th April.
Rivalry is the focus of one of the biggest advertising campaigns of IPL 2024. The Dream 11 campaign has 11 cricket stars and ten celebrities in a series with a humorous twist centred around team loyalty being paramount, over and above even friend and filial ties. It is a fact that every controversy helps a good and healthy sports rivalry and IPL organisers and broadcasters would be looking at the coming week to boost their viewership numbers.
The timing of the annual fixture of a rivalry week on IPL is such that theoretically all teams are still within reach of the playoffs spot. This makes the upcoming 8 matches turn into a week of not just rivalry but hope and redemption as well.
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