The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most famous T20 league in world cricket. It started in 2008 with 8 teams, but currently it features 10 teams. Top cricketers around the world have featured in this cash-rich league over the years. It draws a lot of viewership from India and worldwide too. There have been a total of 16 seasons till now ,and all the seasons have offered the viewers top-notch matches and nail-biting finishes. In this article, we will have a look at the top 10 IPL finals played.
1. IPL Final 2018
After a ban of 2 years, the Chennai Super Kings made a comeback in the IPL this season and also qualified for the final. Against them was a solid Sunrisers Hyderabad side eager to win their 2nd title. Batting first, the Hyderabad franchise posted a very competitive total of 178 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. In the second innings, it was all about one man, Shane Watson. He was in the form of his life during that season, and he repeated the same in the final. He scored 117 runs, scoring 8 sixes and 11 boundaries and striking at an unbelievable rate of over 200. He batted so elegantly that the Super Kings chased down the total in just 18.1 overs, thus winning their 3rd IPL trophy.
2. Ipl Final 2016
The final of the 2016 season was played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore with the home team Royal Challengers a part of the mega finale. They were playing the Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by the Australian great David Warner. Winning the toss, SRH went off to a flying start with their skipper scoring a quick-fire 69 run off 38 balls. The others also contributed equally which helped the team post a mammoth total of 208 runs. The RCB chase began with their openers Gayle scoring 76 off 38 balls and their skipper Virat Kohli contributing 54 runs. The first wicket fell at 114 runs at halfway stage, while the second wicket of Kohli fell at 12.5 overs with 140 runs on the board. Just when the chase appeared like a cakewalk for the home side, the collapse started. They lost quick wickets of de Villiers, KL Rahul and Shane Watson in the blink of an eye and finally SRH emerged victorious. It was their maiden title and their player Ben Cutting was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round performance.
3. Ipl Final 2010
Having ended second-last in the points table in the previous season, the Mumbai Indians qualified for the final of the 2010 season. Against them were the mighty Chennai Super Kings who had been very consistent over the 3 seasons. Coming out to bat, the Chennai franchise posted a total of 168/5 with Suresh Raina top scoring with 57 runs off just 35 balls. The Mumbai chase began and they lost their opener Dhawan for a duck. However, the other batsmen took charge of the chase and was going quite smoothly. Their captain Sachin Tendulkar scored 48 runs but took 45 runs for that. Their required run rate started climbing slowly and ultimately got the better of them. The batsmen succumbed to the growing pressure and started losing regular wickets. The game went out of their hands soon enough and Chennai finally won their maiden title, beating Mumbai by 22 runs.
4. Ipl Final 2008
The first season of the IPL ended with a nail-biting finish. Played between the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, the former won the toss and put Chennai to bat first. CSK posted a total of 163 with Suresh Raina being the top scorer for his side, scoring 43 runs off 30 balls. Coming out to bat, the Royals didn’t get a perfect start as Kamran Akmal and Niraj Patel departed early. But a 28-run knock from each of Asnodkar and Watson and a half-century from star batter Yusuf Pathan steadied the ship. In the final ball, just one run was required. Balaji bowled a short ball to Sohail Tanvir, who took the single quite easily. Royals won the match and also won the title in their debut season. Pathan was awarded the Player of the Match award for his all-round performance.
5. Ipl Final 2009
This was the first time the IPL was played in South Africa due to the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections in India. The final was fought between the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wanderers, Johannesburg. Winning the toss, the RCB skipper Anil Kumble decided to field first. Kumble dismissed the opposition captain Gilchrist in the first over itself. Apart from Herschelle Gibbs, who scored 53 runs, other batsmen did not contribute significantly which resulted in Chargers posting 143 runs from their 20 overs. Coming out to bat, the Bangalore batsmen went off to a steady start. However, wickets began falling at regular intervals and soon they lost the momentum. They finished their 20 overs with a score of 137/9 and hence lost the match by 6 runs. The Chargers won their maiden title. However, the opposition captain Kumble was awarded the Player of the Match for his beautiful spell of 4 overs, conceding just 16 runs and picking up 4 vital wickets.
6. Ipl Final 2014
The final of the 2014 IPL turned out to be yet another exciting match. Played between the Kings XI Punjab and the Kolkata Knight Riders at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Kings XI posted a huge total of 199 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, with the Bengal boy Wriddhiman Saha scoring a ton. Coming out to bat, KKR lost the important wicket of Uthappa in the first over itself. However, Manish Pandey played a brilliant innings of 94 off just 50 balls. Contributions from the other batsmen and finally Piyush Chawla helped reach the target with 3 balls to spare. KKR won their 2nd title and Pandey was adjudged the Man of the Match.
7. Ipl Final 2012
This match was yet another exciting final with the Chennai Super Kings hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders in their home ground Chepauk. Batting first, CSK posted a total of 190 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets, with Hussey, Vijay and Raina all contributing brilliantly with the bat. Coming out to chase this colossal target, KKR captain Gambhir got out early. However, a 69 run innings from Jacques Kallis and an excellent 89 runs from the not-so-popular Manvinder Bisla saw the Knights snatch victory from the home side. KKR won by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare, thus winning their maiden IPL title. Bisla was awarded the Man of the Match award for his brilliant knock.
8. Ipl Final 2023
This high-voltage match took place at the home of the Gujrat Titans, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad between the home team and the Chennai Super Kings. After the first day was called off due to excessive rain, the teams came back for the next reserve day with all to play for. Dhoni after winning the toss decided to field first. The home side went on to a blazing start, scoring at over 10 runs an over for the entire innings. They ended their 20 overs with a score of 214 for the loss of 4 wickets, with Sai Sudarshan scoring a magnificent 96 runs. However, during the innings break, it started to rain heavily once again. Once it stopped, the revised target for CSK was decided to be 171 runs in 15 overs. Ruturaj and Conway came out to bat with all guns blazing, scoring 26 off 16 and 47 off 25 balls respectively. Shivam Dube, Rahane and Rayudu also played their parts, striking at a rate of 152, 207 and 237 respectively. However, Mohit Sharma once again brought back the home team into the game, claiming 2 consecutive wickets, including the wicket of CSK skipper Dhoni. The game came down to the final 2 deliveries with CSK needing 10 runs to win. What followed after that was nothing less than a miracle. Jadeja hit a six and a boundary in the next 2 balls to propel CSK to their 5th IPL trophy. Conway was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-winning knock of 47 runs.
9. Ipl Final 2017
The 2017 IPL final was held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad between the Mumbai Indians and the Rising Pune Supergiants. This match also ended in a nail-biting finish in which the Mumbai Indians won the match by just 1 run. Batting first, they scored a meagre total of 129 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Coming out to bat, Ajinkya Rahane and the captain Steve Smith gave a pretty good start, scoring 44 and 51 runs respectively. However, wickets started to fall at regular intervals and Pune Supergiants simply lost the momentum. In the final ball, 4 runs were needed but the batsmen managed only 2 runs and were run out while attempting for the third. Thus Mumbai won the final by the barest of margin, winning their 3rd title.
10. Ipl Final 2019
The finale of 2019 was perhaps the most nail-biting final of all. Played between the 2 most successful teams of the IPL, the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, the former batted first and scored 149, losing 8 wickets. Chennai went off to a pretty good start but soon the Mumbai bowlers got their team back into the game. However, CSK opener Shane Watson kept Chennai in the game and scored an excellent knock of 80 off just 59 balls in spite of injuring his knee. Malinga was given the responsibility to bowl the final over. He bowled brilliantly and just 2 runs were needed off the last ball. Shardul Thakur was the man on strike. However he missed the yorker on the last ball and the ball hit his pads. Malinga appealed for an LBW and the finger of the umpire went up. There were no reviews left for Chennai, hence Mumbai won the match by a mere 1 win to claim their 4th IPL title. Jasprit Bumrah was adjudged the Man of the Match for his beautiful spell of 4 overs in which he conceded just 14 runs and took 2 important wickets of Rayudu and Bravo.
