Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will play in the El Clasico of IPL tonight (Image courtesy: iplt20.com)
The first El Clasico match of IPL 2022 is scheduled to take place tonight at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns with five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians (MI) in a blockbuster match.
MI and CSK have won a total of nine IPL trophies and four Champions League T20 titles in the last 14 years. In the previous five IPL seasons, the winner has been either Mumbai Indians or Chennai Super Kings, highlighting the dominance of the two teams.
The two franchises are not only the most successful IPL teams but they are also the fiercest rivals. Hence, their face-off is known as El Clasico, which is Spanish for The Classic. In Spanish football, that term is used for the matches of the two bitterest rivals – FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
While tonight’s IPL 2022 match is expected to be a blockbuster, there is a twist in the tale. Generally, MI and CSK are in the race to the playoffs, but this year, both franchises are at the bottom of the points table.
El Clasico’s result will decide Mumbai Indians’ fate in IPL 2022
Ishan Kishan will be the player to watch out for in tonight’s battle (Image courtesy: iplt20.com)
Chennai Super Kings are ninth in the points table with one win from six matches. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians are 10th with zero points from the same number of games, being winless so far.
If MI lose tonight’s match, their campaign will virtually come to an end. On the other hand, CSK’s hopes of qualifying for the IPL 2022 playoffs will diminish further if they suffer a defeat tonight.
Thus, it is a high-stakes match, and it will be interesting to see which franchise comes out on top.
