Brace yourselves ladies and gentlemen!!!!! We’re all set to witness the Indian El Clasico today! For those who don’t know, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are all set to face each other today. Both of them have had one of the biggest rivalries of all time. Thus, it would be safe to call their clash the Indian version of El Clasico. CSK vs MI is always percieved as the mother of all battles. While the team which loses among the two struggles to move on from their defeat, the team that beats the other cherishes their victory for generations. However, what makes this rivalry so special? Is this rivalry overrated? Is CSK vs MI the greatest rivalry of all time or not? Today we shall be taking a look at why the CSK vs MI is regarded as the mother of all battles in IPL Cricket?
First things first, both of them have the most number of fans. People just seem to love CSK and MI. The battle of superiority automatically arises due to the fans of both teams and thus the rivalry between the two teams tend to accelerate. CSK have been widely regarded as the most consistent side in IPL history. They have made it to the top 4 the most number of times and have a better record against almost all the teams. The only team which has a better record than CSK is MI. They are the only team to have beats CSK more times than they have lost to them. Both of the teams have faces each other 32 times. MI have won 19 out of 32 games (IPL:18 & CLT20:1) whereas CSK have won 13 out of the 32 games (IPL:12 & CLT20:1). When it comes to the number of titles, CSK and MI are the only two teams to have won the IPL title three or more times. While CSK has won three titles, MI have won the title 5 times. Both teams are known for having a fierce winning mentality and matches between MI and CSK are usually a treat to watch. In all the CSK vs MI encounters, Suresh Raina has been the batsman. He has scored 730 runs. Having said this, Lasith Malinga has taken the most number of wickets in all the encounters featuring CSK and MI. Another major reason why this battle is the mother of all battles is the fact that both teams have faced each other three times in the finals and eight times in the playoffs. While MI have won four times including two finals, CSK have won four times including a final. The captains of Csk and MI, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are really good friends and both of them have been team mates for a very long time. This makes it even more personal.
To conclude, the CSK vs MI is one of the greatest rivalries any sport has ever seen. It is the biggest derby of the IPL. Each time the two teams have played each other 30 times in IPL and twice in now defunct CLT20, there has always been a different kind of enthusiasm and frenzy among everyone. They have also played the most number of times any two IPL teams have faced off against each other, another reason why the whole world eagerly waits for this encounter is that both teams have won a combined eight titles out of the thirteen IPL seasons. Mumbai and Chennai also represent the capital cities of the two largest states of India by GDP, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu respectively. In addition, the two largest film industries in India, the Hindi film industry (Bollywood) and the Tamil film industry (Kollywood) are based in Mumbai and Chennai respectively and thus the pop culture references keep coming in and we see various memes and jokes everywhere on the internet. To add a little spice. IPL-2020 saw CSK and MI win one encounter each. So who is going to get the better of whom this time? Which team is going to emerge as the winner this time around? Only time will tell.