The twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) had its share of ups and downs. Still, it was the most competitive season in history, where the top and bottom-placed sides had a seven-point gap at the end of the league stage.
Delhi Daredevils changed their name to Delhi Capitals to turn the fortune in their favour. Their move worked. The trio of Shikhar Dhawan (521 runs at 135), Rishabh Pant (488 at 163) and captain Shreyas Iyer (463 at 120) were consistent throughout the season and helped Delhi to earn a Playoffs berth.
Delhi finished third in the points table, with nine wins. Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai also had the same number of wins after the league stage, but they topped played Qualifier 1 by virtue of better net run rate (NRR).
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pipped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) to fill the remaining Playoffs spot due to higher NRR. All three teams had six wins each. Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finished with 11.
Defending champions Chennai stuck to their experience-over-youth strategy. It worked, for they became the first team to qualify for the Playoffs. Skipper MS Dhoni led from the front, scoring 416 runs at 135 with an astounding average of just over 83.
Ardent Dhoni fans went nostalgic when he hit an unbeaten 46-ball 75 against Rajasthan. Coming at bat first, Chennai lost three wickets inside the opening five overs. Dhoni waited until the 38th ball for his first six. Then, in the 20th over, he smashed three massive ones off Jaydev Unadkat. Chennai scored 60 runs in the final three overs to pile up 175/5. Rajasthan fell 8 runs short.
For Chennai, 40-year-old Imran Tahir won the Purple Cap for his 26 wickets at 6.69, while Deepak Chahar (22) finished third. Delhi’s Kagiso Rabada came second, with 25 scalps.
Captain David Warner and the then IPL debutant Jonny Bairstow acquired over 50 percent of Hyderabad’s total runs in the season. Warner and Bairstow became the first pair in the tournament’s history to score 100-plus runs in three successive matches. While Warner won the Orange Cap for the third time with 692 runs in just 12 innings, Bairstow had 445 runs (10 games) under his belt at 157.
Despite traditionally being a slow starter, three-time champions Mumbai began the season with four wins in their first six matches. They stumbled in the midway stage, but eventually managed to regain the top spot. Quinton de Kock, with 529 runs at 133, top-scored for Mumbai and ended third in the top run-getters list, behind Warner and Punjab’s KL Rahul (593 at 133).
Kolkata picked up only 56 wickets in the season, the fewest ever by any team until that point. Despite that, Andre Russell bagged his second MVP trophy, after 2015.
Russell amassed 510 runs at 205, and also had 11 wickets. His best knock came against Bangalore in their first face-off of the season. Chasing 206, Kolkata needed 67 in 26 balls. Russell 48 not out in 13 balls to take Kolkata past the finishing line with five balls to spare.
In Qualifier 1, Mumbai cruised past Chennai for the third time in the season to book a slot in the final. Riding on Suryakumar Yadav’s 59 and Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 8-ball 25 not out, Mumbai piled up 170/5. Chennai, never really in the contest, ended at 133/8.
Delhi edged past Hyderabad in the Eliminator by two runs to face Chennai in Qualifier 2. However, fifties from Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson and a complete performance by Chennai bowlers in the Qualifier 2 shattered their dreams.
The Mumbai versus Chennai final was a nail-biting thriller at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Mumbai posted a reasonable 149/8 after Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. Deepak Chahar returned excellent figures of 4-1-26-3, while Shardul Thakur and Tahir had two wickets each. For Mumbai, Kieron Pollard top-scored with a 25-ball 41 not out.
Chennai began impressively. They needed nine runs off the last over with a well-set Shane Watson at the crease. Rohit threw the ball to Lasith Malinga, who had conceded 42 in his first three overs.
Watson and Jadeja ran two singles, followed by a two from the first three balls to reduce the equation to 5 off 3. Watson (80 off 59) then got run out while attempting a second run.
Shardul kept Chennai in the game by taking two runs off from the next. With two runs to defend off the last ball, Malinga had the last laugh by trapping Shardul LBW off the final delivery of the match.
Despite Malinga’s brilliance at the late stage, Jasprit Bumrah claimed the Player of the Match award for his impressive figures of 4-0-14-2. With this one-run win, Mumbai became the most successful IPL franchise by bagging their fourth title.