There was less IPL rivalry between teams and their players in the early seasons. The rivalry grew over time and deepened as more popular players around the globe joined the IPL in the upcoming years.
This rivalry started between legendary players such as Sachin Vs Shane Warne, Mike Hussey Vs Zaheer Khan, Laisth Malinga Vs Suresh Raina and Andrew Symonds Vs Harbhajan Singh. As time went on, this rivalry shifted from players to the teams.
Now, IPL fans are much more focused on rivalry between teams as compared to rivalry between players. Some fans called the rivalry between Mumbai and Chennai the El Clasico of IPL. El Clasico is used widely for the rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the Spanish league.
Data Trailers understand that Mumbai and Chennai’s IPL rivalry exists because of the IPL’s massive fan base. Due to the fact that both teams have won multiple IPL championships, there is an intense rivalry between them.
Is there any benefit of IPL rivalry? Yes, they benefit a lot in terms of brand and image building of any team. Young players and supporters are proud to be linked to the team because of its track record and popularity. This led to a lot of sensation and hype before the match. Moreover, it also increases the TV viewership of rival teams. These teams and franchises become the talk of the street and the media, and people thrill in their competition.
The number of rivals has recently grown with the introduction of IPL teams such as the Gurjarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.
Mumbai Indians Vs Chennai Super Kings (EL Clasico of IPL)
One of the most famous and widely talked IPL rivalries is between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. This rivalry is also known as El Clasico of IPL. Yes, CSK’s biggest rivalry is Mumbai, and in return, Mumbai Indian’s biggest rivalry is Chennai Super Kings.
Why is it so? Firstly, both teams have played the most finals in Indian Premier League.
Secondly, both teams have won most IPL titles. Thirdly, the presence of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma in CSK and MI, respectively, adds to the spice of this rivalry.
In the past, both teams had legends such as Suresh Raina, Mike Hussey, and Faf DuPlessis in Chennai, and Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga, and Kerion Pollard in Mumbai.
Every Mumbai and Chennai fan loves watching their star players playing in front of them. This is the reason why both CSK and MI play full house matches. Whether it is a home match for Chennai or a home match for Mumbai, both stadiums will be crowded. Now, we will look at head-to-head records of Mumbai and Chennai in IPL.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 38 |
| MI Won | 21 |
| MI Lost | 17 |
| CSK Won | 17 |
| CSK Lost | 21 |
Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Mumbai Indians
When the Chennai Super Kings were not a major rival for the Mumbai Indians, there was another rival in the form of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Hence, the rivalry between Kolkata and Mumbai is the second most recognized rivalry in the IPL arena.
Most of the KKR-MI matches are very highest scoring matches. Kolkata’s highest score in IPL against Mumbai Indians is 232, which is one of the highest in Indian Premier League.
So, we can imagine how thrilling have been matches between these two teams. Overall, Mumbai led the head to head table, winning 23 out of 32 matches. At the same time, CSK lost only 09 matches in head to head with KKR.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 32 |
| MI Won | 23 |
| MI Lost | 9 |
| KKR Won | 9 |
| KKR Lost | 23 |
Another reason for KKR and MI rivalry is the legendary players both have had in the past. Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Gautam Gambhir are some of the most famous who were part of KKR. Similarly, MI had players like Sachin Tendulkar and Lasith Malinga that contributed to this rivalry between KKR and MI.
KKR was not counted as a strong team but changed after Gautam Gambhir’s Captaincy. Under his captaincy, KKR won the title in 2012 and 2014.
Chennai Super Kings Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Chennai Super Kings have another biggest rivalry which is against Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have had exciting encounters in previous years, and Chennai has won more such contests. The presence of MS Dhoni in CSK and Virat Kohli in RCB will fill up the stadiums in CSK vs Bangalore matches. Millions of cricket fans tune in to watch matches between these teams on TV and through apps.
Another cause of rivalry is the South Indian influence. Because both teams represent the largest cities in South India, countless fans support them. Virat Kohli (RCB) and MS Dhoni (CSK) are the top scorers in CSK-RCB matches. In bowling, Ravindra Jadeja is the top wicket-taker in CSK-RCB matches, taking 17 wickets.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 32 |
| RCB Won | 10 |
| RCB Lost | 21 |
| CSK Won | 21 |
| CSK Lost | 10 |
Before 2011, RCB-CSK rivalry was not very much talked but things changed in 2011 final. Both teams were finalists in this season where CSK won that match by 58 runs. The main reason behind CSK’s win was the excellent performance of Michael Hussey. RCB’s fans take this defeat emotionally and since then, they have started taking CSK as their IPL rival.
Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore have one of the most hated rivalry in IPL. This rivalry does not involve on-field conflicts, but it has seen physical fights between players in the past. One of the most famous sledding encounters between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir contributed to the hated rivalry.
Fans and supporters of both teams took this rivalry seriously and still wait for their next match. Whether it is a home match for KKR at Eden Gardens or for RCB at Chinaswamy Stadium, you will find one thing common on the field. This common thing is a filled stadium with fans, a large number of flags with much more excitement between fans.
Most people think that RCB-KKR rivalry started after Gambhir and Kohli’s fight.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 33 |
| KKR Won | 19 |
| KKR Lost | 14 |
| RCB Won | 14 |
| RCB Lost | 19 |
But the reality is totally different because it started from the beginning when the first-ever match was played between RCB and KKR in 2008. In that match, Brendon McCullum scored the highest individual score of 158 not out, which was later surpassed by Chris Gayle.
Mumbai Indians Vs Delhi Capitals
Mumbai and Delhi are one of the two biggest teams in IPL that represents two big cities in India: Mumbai and Delhi. Therefore, we may argue that there isn’t much rivalry between these teams, but because they are from India’s most populated cities, their match is eagerly awaited.
Another reason for this rivalry is the involvement of some of the legendary players of Indian cricket. Virender Sehwag, Shikhar Dahwan has been part of Delhi Capitals. Similarly, the presence of Rohit Sharma in Mumbai Indians is another factor for this rivalry. So, this type of combination also attracts a lot of fans which result in the creation of the rivalry.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 33 |
| MI Won | 18 |
| MI Lost | 15 |
| DC Won | 15 |
| DC Lost | 18 |
In MI-DC matches, Rohit Sharma has scored the highest runs (792). Virender Sehwag scored 375 runs against Mumbai Indians, which is highest among Capitals batters. On paper, MI is a very stronger team than DC because they have some of the best talents in IPL arena.
Gujarat Titans Vs Chennai Super Kings
Gujarat Titans started its IPL journey in 2022. In its very first season, Gujarat impressed every IPL fan to attract maximum attention. They reached the final and won IPL 2022. Winning the first title in the first season was not easy, but Gujarat did it with the help of batting and bowling talent.
Ruturaj Gaikwad from Chennai and David Miller from Gujarat are the top scorer in this rivalry. They performed very well to give fans a large amount of excitement on the field. There are not very many encounters between these teams, but Gujarat is ahead in head to head race. Gujrat has won all of GT-CSK matches Since 2022.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 3 |
| GT Won | 3 |
| GT Lost | 0 |
| CSK Won | 0 |
| CSK Lost | 3 |
As Gujarat and Chennai have top legend players in their squads. Therefore, this rivalry will continue to rise, and both team’s fans will get entertainment from this rivalry.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Vs Hyderabad rivalry is another rivalry in IPL. One of the major reasons for this rivalry is the presence of players such as MS Dhoni, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina from CSK and, Kane Williamson, David Warner in SRH. These players have their separate fan following that contribute to this rivalry.
In this rivalry, Suresh Raina was the top scorer for CSK by scoring 434 runs, While Kane Williamson scored the most runs for SRH. Dwayne Bravo (CSK) and Rashid Khan (SRH) are the top wicket-taker in this rivalry.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 20 |
| SRH Won | 5 |
| SRH Lost | 15 |
| CSK Won | 15 |
| CSK Lost | 5 |
Lucknow Super Giants Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Lucknow Supergiants started their IPL journey in 2022. In a very short time, they build a rivalry against RCB. Why is RCB a rival team to Lucknow Super Giants? It’s actually not a team but a rivalry between players. Lucknow has had Gautam Gambhir as its mentor since 2022. In the past, Gambhir has been seen fighting and abusing Virat Kohli and other RCB players.
He is carrying the same tradition of aggression against Bangalore. It happened in IPL 2022 when Gambhir was seen abusing RCB players in LSG-RCB match. In IPL 2023, history repeated when Gambhir, along with Naveen ul Haq started a fight with Virat Kohli.
Kohli-Gambhir fight made headlines all around the globe, and RCB’s fans felt very bad about this rude behavior from Lucknow.
| Total Played (Head 2 Head) | 4 |
| RCB Won | 2 |
| RCB Lost | 2 |
| LSG Won | 2 |
| LSG Lost | 2 |
If we see the overall head to head stats of LSG-RCB, then we can see that RCB is ahead of LSG in winning most of the matches. So, on the field, RCB proved itself to be a strong team against LSG. It is actually Gambhir Vs Kohli fight that is the main reason for the rivalry between the two teams.
FAQ’s
The biggest team rivalry in IPL is between CSK and MI. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings own the most IPL titles. At the same time, they defeated each other in crucial games such as the IPL playoffs and finals.
Virat Kohli and Gautam Ghambir’s rivalry is one of the oldest in IPL. It started back in 2013 when Ghambir was playing for Kolkata Knight Riders.
RCB is the biggest Rivalry of KKR. Both teams are from the same region, and there have been some angry exchanges among their fans in the stadium.
RCB has several rivals in the IPL, but their biggest competition until last season was KKR. This season, they have a rivalry with LSG. As we have witnessed, there have been heated arguments between Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, and Naveen ul Haq.
