IPL 2018: This is how IPL got its previous 10 champions
Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on April 7, 2018, and all the preparations are in full swing. The teams have begun their practice and who will emerge victorious would be difficult to guess at this point. So, let’s recap our memories and look at winners of the past 10 seasons.
1. Rajasthan Royals (2008):
The very first season of IPL was spectacular on and off the field. Who would have thought a team led by a foreigner (Aussie great Shane Warne), least amount of resources, no high profile players would win? But Warne gave his all and his team did the improbable. Rajasthan Royals proved that if you work hard things will fall in place and when Pakistani cricketer Sohail Tanvir (ironical, isn’t it?) hit the winning runs, Royals did the unthinkable and put their name in the history books by becoming the first team to win the IPL trophy.
2. Deccan Chargers (2009):
When Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers played the final of 2009 IPL, life had come full circle for both the teams. RCB were No 7 and DC were No 8 in the inaugural IPL and when Adam Gilchrist led Chargers stunned RCB in the final and clinched the title, cricket was the real winner. Deccan Chargers throughout the season played like a unit and it once again showed that T20 is very fickle and anything could happen.
3. Chennai Super Kings (2010):
Chennai Super Kings is the only team in the history of IPL to have reached the knock out stage in every season (barring 2016, 2017). So it was fitting when they were crowned champions in 2010 and defeated mighty Mumbai Indians at Wankhede against a very partisan crowd. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a born winner and the team played the tournament brilliantly and won their much-awaited title.
4. Chennai Super Kings (2011):
Another piece of trivia is that CSK is the only team to retain their title in the IPL history. Chennai again gelled well as a unit and crushed RCB in the finals and proved that even in T20 cricket method works and fortune favours the brave. Dhoni once again focused on processes and with players such as Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay reaching their peak, the title was deserving and CSK became two-time champions.
5. Kolkata Knight Riders (2012):
What Sourav Ganguly (Prince of Bengal), John Buchanan (master Aussie coach) couldn’t do in the first four years, a Delhi lad by the name of Gautam Gambhir achieved — KKR’s first silverware. Gambhir nailed the basics and team played without any fear and got the better of CSK in the finals. IPL also got a star in West Indian Sunil Narine and Shah Rukh Khan finally could shout ‘Korbo, Lodbo, Jeetbo Re!
6. Mumbai Indians (2013):
IPL’s richest team owned by India’s richest man i.e. Mukesh Ambani finally ended their trophy drought and bagged their maiden title in 2013. Mumbai Indians, like its Ranji side, played hard and uncompromising cricket and were led by inexperienced Rohit Sharma. This was also the last IPL for Sachin Tendulkar and Nita Ambani’s team defeated Chennai Super Kings (again CSK, getting annoying, isn’t it?) in the final and Mumbai became the fifth side to win the silverware.
7. Kolkata Knight Riders (2014):
This was the least exciting IPL, but Gautam Gambhir once again led KKR to title against a resurgent Kings XI Punjab. KKR scraped their way to the finals and won the match in the last over. Shah Rukh Khan-owned team did the basics right and won their second title in three years.
8. Mumbai Indians (2015):
IPL was in its eighth year and Mumbai Indians once again crashed the party of CSK and became champions for the second time. Rohit Sharma was now joined by Aussie legend Ricky Ponting as coach and team even after a disastrous start didn’t lose belief and proved their critics wrong. This was also the season where unheralded Hardik Pandya announced himself on the biggest stage and MI were starting to build their legacy.
9. Sunrisers Hyderabad (2016):
Cricket is so unpredictable that now-disgraced Australian David Warner led an Indian franchise to the title and was an icon in Hyderabad. Warner’s team played with utmost sincerity (in the current context sounds dubious, right?) and defeated much fancied and popular RCB in the finals. The match did go down to the wire and SRH pulled one over Virat Kohli (973 runs, four hundreds) and became the second Hyderabad side (read: now defunct Deccan Chargers) to taste success.
10. Mumbai Indians (2017):
Do Mumbai Indians believe in astrology? Because it was the third alternate year in which they emerged victorious and in the 10-year history of IPL became the most successful side. Mumbai again played their brand of cricket and beat Rising Pune Supergiant at Hyderabad. Sharma might have had an ordinary season with the bat but led the team brilliantly and won the title in the last over. Australian Steven Smith couldn’t tamper with the result (pun intended) and could not help RPS stop Mumbai’s winning march!