15th edition of IPL begins in Mumbai today

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), begins in Mumbai today. The lucrative Cricket league gets underway with Defending Champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai this evening. The match will begin at 7:30 PM (Indian time).

Sources reports, Indian cricket's crown jewel, the IPL, is back home: bigger, better and longer. Ardent cricket fans are all set to witness nail-biting matches, cheering for their favourite players at the most anticipated cricket tournament of all time.

The first match will be between the defending champion Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai this evening. With the COVID situation under control in the country, IPL is being held in India in its entirety after a gap of two year with at least 25 percent capacity of crowd allowed in stadiums this season.

With the addition of two new teams  Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans -- the IPL will have 10 teams this time fighting it out for the most coveted T20 trophy in world of cricket. The number of games have been increased to 74 from 60 with the addition of new teams, extending the IPL window to over two months.

70 league matches will be played across stadiums at Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra. 55 games will be held at three venues of Mumbai and the remaining 15 in Pune.

The venues for the play-off matches are yet to be announced. The teams have been divided into two groups of five, based on their previous IPL records.

Group A comprises Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Supergiants while Group B will have Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans. Looking back at 14 seasons so far, the most successful team in the league has been Mumbai Indians, who have lifted the IPL trophy on five occasions.

The second best has been Chennai Super Kings, who have now won four IPL trophies. No other side comes close to these two IPL giants' successes.