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IPL 2023 Set to Begin on 31 March

Defending champions Gujarat Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings on 31 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad to start off the 2023 IPL season. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxCHN Copyright: xBCCIxBCCIx FIL-15269-0072

BCCI has announced the schedule of IPL 2023. The league tournament will begin on 31 March with a match between defending champions Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. GT will also feature in the last group game on 21 May versus RCB at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The competition will end with a final to be played on 28 May. Importantly, the IPL will return to the home-and-away format, last seen in the 2019 IPL season.

Teams Divided into Groups of Five Each

The 10 teams have been divided into two groups as under:

  1. Group A will comprise Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants.
  2. Group B will have Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Punjab Kings.

IPL Returns to Home and Away Format

Each team of a group will play one match against every other team of the same group. These matches will be in addition to two matches against each team of the other group. Consequently, every team will end up playing 14 group games. Thus, Gujarat Titans will play one match each against CSK, SRH, RCB, and PBKS, the other teams in Group B. GT will also play two (home and away) matches against Group A teams: MI, KKR, RR, DC, and LSG.

Home Teams enjoy Advantage

IPL 2019 was the last occasion when all teams hosted matches in their own backyard. That season saw eight teams in the fray. Five of those eight teams — CSK, MI, SRH, DC, and PBKS — won most of those home matches. Returning to the home-and-away format will make IPL 2023 much more closely contested than the 2022 competition. As we have seen, most teams are strong in their own backyards.

Will the New Format hurt Defending Champions GT?

In IPL 2022, GT lost a match each to MI, PBKS, SRH and RCB. Interestingly, they played only one match versus MI but two each against PBKS, SRH and RCB. GT tied the h2h comparison with RCB, SRH, and PBKS, at 1-1.

In IPL 2023, GT are set to play only away games versus RCB and PBKS. If they lost both those games and won all their home matches, GT could still qualify for the playoffs.

Will the New Format benefit Former Champions MI?

With five IPL titles in the bag, MI are the most successful team in the history of the T20 league. In 2019, MI lost only two home matches — to DC and RR. In 2023, Rohit Sharma’s wards are set to host RR. However, they do not have a home game against DC. If MI maintain their home record of 2019 in the upcoming season, they could end up winning six of seven home games. Usually, teams need to win only about eight group matches to be able to qualify for the knock out stage. Thus, the new format could benefit MI.

Will the Format benefit Former Champions CSK?

With four IPL titles won, CSK are second only to MI. In 2019, MI was the only team to beat CSK in CSK’s backyard – Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. In 2023, MI will be one of the seven teams that CSK will host in home games. If CSK win the remaining six home matches, they will have a bright chance of qualifying for the playoffs. They would then need to win two of the seven away games to aggregate eight wins. So, CSK are likely to benefit from the home-and-away format.

Which Team has the Best Home Record?

I have compiled statistics for the years in which the IPL had a home-and-away format. I have considered the home performances of eight of the current teams that played together between 2008 and 2019. As you can see, CSK have the best record of all. Of the rest, only DD have won fewer than half of their home matches considered for the compilation.

** My compilation does not include the IPL season 2009 when the competition was hosted in South Africa. I have also excluded stats for the years 2016 and 2017. During those years, CSK and RR did not take part as they were banned. SRH have only taken part from the 2013 season onwards.

FranchiseMatches PlayedMatches WonPercentage Success
CSK654772.30
DD652843.07
PBKS653553.84
KKR653756.92
MI654061.53
RR654264.61
RCB654264.61
SRH362261.11
Home Record of IPL Teams between 2008 and 2019 **

Conclusion

Most teams, if not all, will welcome the return of the home-and-away format. The backing of home supporters will encourage all franchises to play their best and try harder to win IPL 2023.

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