Chennai, Delhi Or Bangalore? Sunil Gavaskar Names Team That looked Like 'Champion' In IPL 2021

Winning games in the early phase of the tournament was a major confidence booster for the franchise as last year, for the first time in the history of IPL, Chennai had failed to even qualify for the playoffs.

Photo: AFP

The 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 has been postponed indefinitely after positive cases of Coronavirus were detected in four IPL franchises. Before the postponement, 29 IPL matches were successfully played and 31 matches are yet to be played for the tournament to be completed.

In the first 29 matches, Delhi Capitals led by Rishabh Pant, Chennai Super Kings led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Royal Challengers Bangalore led by Virat Kohli emerged as the top teams of the tournament. Indian cricketing icon Sunil Gavaskar in an interview answered which of these three teams can become the winner of IPL 14.

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“All the other teams were in top form with last year’s disappointing team, Chennai Super Kings, looking like the champion it usually had been all these years. There was a renewed energy about the team this time, though there were no major changes to its squad,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

“The promotion of Moeen Ali to the top of the order at No. 3 turned out to be a masterstroke as the left-handed batsman produced some blistering innings. The seasoned Faf du Plessis was in cracking form, too, and, along with the promising Ruturaj Gaekwad, gave the team some top starts."

The ex-India skipper hailed MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings for their exemplary performance in IPL 2021.  In the IPL 2021 Points table, CSK was placed at second spot before the league was postponed. Chennai Super Kings, under MS Dhoni's captaincy, had won five off its 7 matches this year.

Winning games in the early phase of the tournament was a major confidence booster for the franchise as last year, for the first time in the history of IPL, Chennai had failed to even qualify for the playoffs. Despite last year's heart-breaking failure, three-time IPL champion CSK made a solid comeback in IPL 2021.