IPL 2023

The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League is upon us. The second in a row with 10 teams to feature. So, ahead of IPL 2023, we look at the moments that have made the league, every season since 2008.

2008: McCullum kicks it off in style, RR the surprise winners:It all started on 18th April 2008 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore as Brendon McCullum scored 158* off 73 deliveries for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first ever IPL match. It would remain the highest total in T20 history for over six years. Rajasthan Royals would go on to win the inaugural season under the captaincy of Shane Warne, beating MS Dhoni-led CSK in the final by three wickets in a last ball thriller.

2009: League shifts to South Africa:The second season of the IPL had to be moved out of India due to general assembly elections taking place in the country. South Africa hosted the tournament in eight venues across the country. Deccan Chargers, who were at the bottom of the points table in 2008, went on to win the season in 2009 under Adam Gilchrist.

2010: First Indian captain to win, Modi out:MS Dhoni had led CSK to the final in 2008 and the semifinal in 2009. In 2010, he took them all the way, beating Mumbai Indians in the final at the DY Patil Stadium. The league’s first commissioner, Lalit Modi was also removed from his position following accusations of misconduct, indiscipline and financial irregularities.

2011: 10 teams, Chennai win another:The fourth edition of the league saw two more teams introduced to the league. Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers. Having led India to the 2011 ODI World Cup triumph at home earlier, MS Dhoni captained CSK to a second successive IPL triumph, decimating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final. 2011 also marked the first IPL season that replaced semifinals with the playoffs system where the teams finishing first and second were rewarded with two chances to make their place in the final.

2012: KKR end CSK streak in Chennai: Under a new captain in Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders had already made it to their first IPL playoffs spot. A year later, they would win their first ever IPL trophy at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in another final over thriller. Sunil Narine picked 24 wickets and was named as the player of the tournament. The number of teams got reduced to nine. Kochi Tuskers were removed after just one season as the franchise failed to pay the 10% bank guarantee due to a dispute between the owners.

2013: Gayle storm takes over, Rohit turns Mumbai’s fate:Chris Gayle had already scored three centuries for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last two seasons when he added another in 2013. Against Pune Warriors India, the southpaw scored 175* off 66 deliveries, which to this date remains the highest score in the tournament’s history. Midway through the season, Mumbai turned from Ricky Ponting to Rohit Sharma as their captain. A call that took them all the way and won them a first IPL title. Amit Mishra grabbed a third hattrick in the league, the only bowler till this day to do so. The season also marked the notorious spot fixing scandal with Delhi Police arresting Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan of Rajasthan Royals.

2014: KKR add another title:The first half of the season was played in UAE, again owing to the general assembly elections in the country., Kolkata Knight Riders won a second IPL in three seasons, prevailing over Kings XI Punjab in a thrilling contest at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. While Robin Uthappa starred with the bat (660 runs), winning the orange cap for the Shahrukh Khan owned franchise, Sunil Narine was yet again the leading wicket taker for the team with 21 scalps. The number of teams went back to eight, with Sahara group’s Pune Warriors India being hit with the sword this time.

2015: Mumbai best Chennai again:Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians to a second title, yet again beating Chennai Super Kings in the final at Eden Gardens. Mumbai were now the third team to win the league twice after CSK and KKR. David Warner finished with most runs while Dwayne Bravo grabbed the most wickets.

2016: Kohli special, RCB miss in the summit clash:Virat Kohli scored four centuries and seven half centuries, accumulating 973 runs across the season to take Royal Challengers Bangalore through to a third IPL final. With the likes of Chris Gayle, Shane Watson and AB de Villiers also bolstering their batting lineup, RCB missed out on the chance to win the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad. With Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals being banned for two seasons, in stepped two new franchises for the time period, Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions.

2017: Mumbai’s odd year IPL hattrick:Rising Pune Supergiants shifted from MS Dhoni to Steve Smith in the captaincy department, a call that saw them reach the final against Mumbai Indians, who ended up as winners for the third straight off year (2013, 2015 and 2017), becoming the first team to win IPL thrice. The season also marked the lowest total in IPL history on display when KKR bundled out RCB for 49.

2018: CSK mark return with a win:Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals returned back to the league after a two-year ban following the 2013 IPL spot fixing scandal. CSK went on to lift the trophy and went level with Mumbai Indians on three overall titles. In the final, Shane Watson scored a century and would be remembered for his bashing of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s prolific spin wizard, Rashid Khan.

2019: Mumbai 4-3 Chennai:The big title rivalry in IPL continued and Mumbai took another step away, winning their fourth title in another closely contested final against Chennai Super Kings. The record in the IPL final now was 3-1. Alzarri Joseph of MI registered the best bowling figures in the league’s history, 6/12 in her 3.4 over quota.

2020: Covid takes IPL to UAE:With Covid-19 taking over, the whole season of IPL was played across the three venues in UAE at Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi behind closed doors. Mumbai Indians went on to win their fifth IPL title and second in a row. Chennai Super Kings missed out on making it to the playoffs/final four for the first time in their playing history.

2021: Two legged season:The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic halted the season midway through in May until it was resumed in September. Chennai Super Kings won their fourth IPL trophy under MS Dhoni beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final, who had went on from being bottom of the table in the first half all the way to the final under Eoin Morgan.

2022: Gujarat sprinkle a new era:Two new teams were added. Lucknow Super Giants. Gujarat Titans. Under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, at the world’s largest cricket ground, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat beat Rajasthan Royals in the final to lift their first trophy in their first season. In front of a record one lakh plus crowd in attendance.