Cricket fans from all around the world, and especially the ones in India, have all the reasons to celebrate. IPL’s 13th edition is ready to commence after it was delayed close to six months. The most-watch and also the largest T20 franchise has grown considerably since 2008 and is now an event that cricket followers around the planet are looking forward to.

The celebration is double for cricket aficionados that also like to place wagers on their favorite teams because 1xBet comes with an outstanding list of services that considerably boost your winning chances. Supporting your favorite team at 1xBet means you get the great odds and the wide action line. Not sure what to be on? Don’t worry, check out this preview to get up to speed with the 13th season of the IPL.

When Does the Tournament Start?

The competition will take place between the 19th of September and the 10th of November, opposed to the 2019 edition that was played between the 23rd of March and 12th of May.

Where Will the IPL 2020 be Played?

For the first time since 2014, the competition will be played outside of India due to the current international situation. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah are the three hosts of the tournament for this year and all the 60 games will be held with no crowd. The three venues, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, and Sharjah Cricket Stadium will give fans 53 full days of cricket.

Who’s Playing?

Just like last year, the IPL will see 8 teams competing for the trophy. Mumbai Indians grabbed the title in 2019 with Chennai Super Kings taking second place. Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Royals Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals are the other 6 teams completing the roster.

How is the Winner Determined?

The tournament format hasn’t received any modifications for 2020. The group stage contains all teams and it looks like a league in which every team plays with all others twice. Since the stadiums are located outside India, both matches will now take place on neutral ground. Based on the group stage results, the best four teams go into the playoff stage – 3 matches and a final.

The first match of the three in the playoff is the 1st Qualifier in which 1st place plays against 2nd and the winner advances into the final. The losing team, however, doesn’t get disqualified but gets another shot in Qualifier 2.

The Eliminator match is played between 3rd and 4th place from the group stage with the winner going to Qualifier 2 and the loser being kicked out. Finally, the Qualifier 2 match is played against the losing team in Qualifier 1 and the winning team of the Eliminator. Whoever wins this match, advances into the final to play against the winners of Qualifier 1.

Who’s the Favorite?

Since the conditions are so radically different compared to last year, this IPL season is one of the most contended ever. However, looking at the odds for the opening match that perfectly reenacts last year’s final, we see that Mumbai Indians have a 1,69 odd making them favorites compared to the 2,04 for CSK. Applying the same logic and using 1xBet’s statistics and odds, Rajasthan Royals are seen as the outsiders of this competition.

Star Players to Watch

It’s a lot easier to mention the players that won’t be starting in the 2020 IPL season. All teams have their stars, however, there’s nobody doing it better than CSK. Cricket titan MS Dhoni recently retired from the national team, Dwayne Bravo or Imran Tahir are the biggest names. It’s too bad that Suresh Raina won’t be able to play in this dream team after receiving devastating news about family members.

With the kick-off scheduled for Saturday, it’s time to make the final preparations for 53 days filled with top-quality cricket. Create an account at 1xBet if you don’t have one already to take advantage of awesome odds and the most extensive conversion rates.

Joyce Laroche