IPL teams and their international twins

The Indian Premier League is a tournament that has been every fan's favourite over the years. The quality of cricket on display is nothing less than what we get to see at the international level. Hence, there are quite a few similarities between international teams and the IPL teams. Let's find which IPL and international team form a 'twin' pair.

Chennai Super Kings - Australia

CSK have been the most consistent side

The Chennai Super Kings resemble Australia in many ways apart from just the yellow jersey. After winning the tournament for the first time in 2010 and again in 2011, the Super Kings became the first team to win consecutive crowns and embarked on their domination era, much like the Australia after the 1999 World Cup. Both the teams are very similar in their playing style, the will to fight for every single run flows through their veins. Also, both were fortunate enough to be led by two of the greatest captains of the modern era, Ponting and Dhoni.

Mumbai Indians - India

MI have the most IPL tourney wins

The Blue-Yellow rivalry is one of the fiercest, be it in international cricket in the form of Australia-India or the IPL with Chennai Super Kings-Mumbai Indians. Apart from just having the word 'Indians' in their name, the Mumbai Indians truly embody the way India play in international cricket- ruthlessly. Both teams always had great batsmen in their ranks (Tendulkar being the similarity) and always start as favourites to win the tournament. Just like India have taken a step ahead and leapfrogged Australia in international cricket in recent times, so have the Mumbai Indians with their third IPL title in 2017.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - South Africa

Despite a mighty team, RCB always seem to falter

The word 'choking' binds the Royal Challengers Bangalore and South Africa together. Both the RCB and South Africa have shown the tendency to falter in the knockouts of tournaments and have been caught in this eternal loop. It has become a mental block which they are not able to get over. During any tournament, RCB as well as South Africa start as odds-on favourites but manage to underwhelm and crash at crucial stages.

Kolkata Knight Riders - England

KKR faltered initially but recovered brilliantly in later years

The Kolkata Knight Riders are similar to England in a way that it took a while for both to come at par with other teams. England were an average ODI team for long, not having won a World Cup. Similarly, it took a while for the KKR to make their first entry into the IPL playoffs. However restructuring has proved to be mighty effective for both, England after the 2015 World Cup and KKR after their 2012 success. Now, both the teams have reliable and consistent players and are front runners in the tournaments they play.

Rajasthan Royals - New Zealand

RR were the surprise winners of the first IPL

The Rajasthan Royals and New Zealand are teams which don't have a lot of superstars and bank on low-key players to get the job done. In every tournament, both teams enter as the underdogs but manage to pull off a surprise more often than not. Also, both teams thrive on all-rounders. New Zealand has had a history of successful all-rounders like Scott Styris, Jacob Oram and Chris Cairns. The Royals too had the privilege of having good all-rounders like Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson and their have added to their arsenal with the capture of Ben Stokes.

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Pakistan

SRH have been ever-consistent and deserved their 2016 crown

The Sunrisers resemble Pakistan in terms of team composition. Both teams have a lethal bowling attack and are unpredictable with the bat. Just like Pakistan are known to be good defenders of totals, the Sunrisers too have shown great ability to defend low totals. They are renowned for making shrewd investments in players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan. Much like Pakistan who are dependent on a couple of batsmen in their side, the Sunrisers too, depend heavily on their star players, skipper David Warner and ex-skipper Shikhar Dhawan.

Delhi Daredevils - West Indies

Somehow DD always underwhelm in the IPL

The Delhi Daredevils and the West Indies have one thing in common- inconsistency. When the going gets tough, both the teams resort to chopping and changing. And hence neither of the teams has been able to build a core, which has been the reason for their downfall. The West Indies have won a couple of WT20 titles but overall have had a torrid time in international cricket. The Daredevils have reached the playoffs only twice in IPL history- in 2008 and 2012. They have shown promise at various stages over the years but have fallen apart eventually.

Kings XI Punjab - Sri Lanka

A strong start in 2008 eventually proved to be just a false alarm for KXIP

Arguably considered 'minnows', the tempo of both the Kings XI Punjab and Sri Lanka has gone down a few notches down in recent years. Both teams are in need of a serious resurrection. The Sri Lankan team surpassed Zimbabwe to record most defeats in a calendar year in 2017 whereas the Kings XI Punjab have been a regular fixture in the bottom half of the points table, their last good season being in 2014. It is not like they don't have the potential, but they have been unable to translate that into performances in the field.