Spain’s top-tier Football league La Liga has built a huge reputation all around the world. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the most successful Spanish football clubs. Whenever both teams meet in any match it is known as El Clasico. Both clubs have a long history and their rivalry is considered as biggest in football. But what is the biggest rivalry in cricket? Which is the match which is known as El Clasico of IPL? Here is all you need to know.
EL Clasico of IPL
MI vs CSK is known as El Clasico of IPL. But what is the reason behind the hype of the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings match? Like Barcelona and Real Madrid, both IPL teams are the most successful in their league. So far, the Rohit Sharma-led side has won the most titles (5) in the history of the league. Dhoni’s CSK follows Mumbai with 3 IPL titles.
The clash between the two teams is also famous for individual rivalries. As Rohit has surpassed Dhoni in the list of IPL trophies as captain, fans have started hailing him as the best captain in T20s. Nowadays, the meaning of El Clasico in IPL is Dhoni vs Rohit.
In past, Dhoni shared a good rivalry with the great Sachin Tendulkar. However, in the past couple of seasons, men in blue and golden have outperformed the yellow brigade. In the previous two seasons, both sides have faced each other 6 times, out of which the Dhoni-led side could win only one match.
Records of Biggest rivalry in IPL
- Total Matches: 30
- Mumbai Indians won: 18
- Chennai Super Kings won: 12
- MI’s highest score vs CSK: 208
- CSK’s highest score vs MI: 202
- MI’s lowest score vs CSK: 141
- CSK’s lowest score vs MI: 79
- Biggest winning streak: MI beat CSK in 5 consecutive matches
- Most runs: Suresh Raina – 730
- Most wickets: Lasith Malinga – 37
El Clasico of international cricket
India vs Pakistan is certainly the biggest rivalry in international cricket. Due to political tensions between the two countries, both teams rarely face each other now, which is the main reason behind hype before an India-Pakistan cricket match. The excitement that builds among fans ahead of even a group match between both countries is equivalent to the World Cup final.
ALSO READ: Who is The King of IPL? Which cricketer deserves this Title?
Pak and India last met in a bilateral series in 2013. Since then, both sides have met only during World Cup and Asia Cup matches. However, India has always had an upper hand on the Pakistani side whenever they met in World Cups. In 2019, it was the seventh time when men in blue beat the green army in ODI World Cup.
As far as Test cricket is concerned, El Clasico of the longest format will probably be the Ashes series. England and Australia playing the historic series since 1882. The series between two English-speaking nations is considered as the greatest rivalry in test cricket.