DUBAI
\nMore than four months after the COVID-19 outbreak halted the world\u2019s richest Twenty20 tournament, the Indian Premier League resumes in Dubai on Sunday with a mouth-watering clash between the IPL\u2019s two most successful franchises — Mumbai and Chennai.
\nWith India grappling with a surge of COVID-19 cases, the eight-team league was suspended near its halfway stage in May after two franchises reported several positive cases.
\nThe rest of the league was subsequently shifted to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which also hosts this year\u2019s Twenty20 World Cup in October-November.
\nThe action begins with five-time champions Mumbai Indians resuming their bid for a third successive title against three-time winners Chennai Super Kings led by former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
\nWhile some of the franchises might struggle for momentum after the disruption, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said it would not be the case with his team, who are third in the points table sandwiched between Chennai and Mumbai.
\n\u201cWhether you are seven wins in a row… or no wins out of five or six games, which we have experienced as a team, you still have to find motivation and that passion inside you,\u201d Kohli told a virtual news conference on Saturday.
\nBangalore, still chasing their maiden title, began strongly this year and Kohli attributed it to the team culture.
\n\u201cYou should not be disheartened by losses and definitely not take wins for granted,\u201d the India captain said.
\n\u201cThe focus was on the culture of the team — enjoyment and keeping up that atmosphere.\u201d
\n\u201cYesterday at my first practice, I just felt like we never went away. I felt the same happiness, the same joy.\u201d
\nTable-toppers Delhi have announced that Rishabh Pant will continue as captain for the rest of the tournament even after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer\u2019s return from a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI More than four months after the COVID-19 outbreak halted the world\u2019s richest Twenty20 tournament, the Indian Premier League resumes in Dubai on Sunday with a mouth-watering clash between the IPL\u2019s two most successful franchises — Mumbai and Chennai. With India grappling with a surge of COVID-19 cases, the eight-team league was suspended near its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n