Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the world’s greatest T20 cricket tournament. The tournament was started in 2008 and there have been eleven seasons of the tournament so far.
With 8 teams and 62 matches, the 12th season of IPL is scheduled to begin from March 23. With just 3 weeks to go, the countdown for the most awaited tournament of the year has begun.
The defending champion Chennai Super Kings will play against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai for the first match of the season. CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s performance has been brilliant in recent series against Australia and New Zealand.
Before getting too ahead, let’s look at the history of IPL:
2008:
- First IPL tournament.
- 18 April to 1 June 2008
- Final: Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings
- Winner: Rajasthan Royals (won by 3 wickets)
- Winning Captain: Shane Warne
- Man of the Series: Shane Watson (RR)
- Most runs: Shaun Marsh (KXIP) – 616 runs
- Most wickets: Sohail Tanvir (RR) – 22 wickets
2009:
- Due to 2009 Indian general elections, was held in South Africa.
- 18 April to 24 May 2009
- Final: Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Winner: Deccan Chargers (won by 6 runs)
- Winning Captain: Adam Gilchrist
- Man of the Series: Adam Gilchrist (DC)
- Most runs: Matthew Hayden (CSK) – 572 runs
- Most wickets: RP Singh (DC) – 23 wickets
2010:
- First ever cricket tournament that was broadcast live on YouTube.
- 12 March to 25 April 2010
- Final: Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians
- Winner: Chennai Super Kings (won by 22 runs)
- Winning Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
- Man of the Series: Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
- Most runs: Sachin Tendulkar (MI) – 618 runs
- Most wickets: Pragyan Ojha (DC) – 21 wickets
2011:
- The number of teams in the tournament went from eight to ten.
- 8 April to 28 May 2011
- Final: Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Winner: Chennai Super Kings (won by 58 runs)
- Winning Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
- Man of the Series: Chris Gayle (RCB)
- Most runs: Chris Gayle (RCB) – 608 runs
- Most wickets: Lasith Malinga (MI) – 28 wickets
2012:
- The number of teams reduced from ten to nine (Kochi Tuskers Kerala moved out).
- 4 April to 27 May 2012
- Final: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings
- Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders (won by 5 wickets)
- Winning Captain: Gautam Gambhir
- Man of the Series: Sunil Narine (KKR)
- Most runs: Chris Gayle (RCB) – 733 runs
- Most wickets: Morne Morkel (DD) – 25 wickets
2013:
- Spot-fixing case revealed, three cricketers from Rajasthan Royals arrested.
- 3 April to 26 May 2013
- Final: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
- Winner: Mumbai Indians (won by 23 runs)
- Winning Captain: Rohit Sharma
- Man of the Series: Shane Watson (RR)
- Most runs: Michael Hussey (CSK) – 733 runs
- Most wickets: Dwayne Bravo (CSK) – 32 wickets
2014:
- The number of teams went back to 8.
- 16 April to 1 June 2014
- Final: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab
- Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders (won by 3 wickets)
- Winning Captain: Gautam Gambhir
- Man of the Series: Glenn Maxwell (KXIP)
- Most runs: Robin Uthappa (KKR) – 660 runs
- Most wickets: Mohit Sharma (CSK) – 23 wickets
2015:
- 8 April to 24 May 2015
- Final: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
- Winner: Mumbai Indians (won by 41 runs)
- Winning Captain: Rohit Sharma
- Man of the Series: Andre Russell (KKR)
- Most runs: David Warner (SRH) – 562 runs
- Most wickets: Dwayne Bravo (CSK) – 26 wickets
2016:
- Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals suspended for two years over spot-fixing and betting scandal, Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants join IPL.
- 9 April to 29 May 2016
- Final: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Winner: Sunrisers Hyderabad (won by 8 runs)
- Winning Captain: David Warner
- Man of the Series: Virat Kohli (RCB)
- Most runs: Virat Kohli (RCB) – 973 runs
- Most wickets: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) – 23 wickets
2017:
- Last IPL for Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants.
- 5 April to 21 May 2017
- Final: Mumbai Indians vs Rising Pune Supergiant
- Winner: Mumbai Indians (won by 1 run)
- Winning Captain: Rohit Sharma
- Man of the Series: Ben Stokes (RPS)
- Most runs: David Warner (SRH) – 641 runs
- Most wickets: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) – 26 wickets
2018:
- Return of the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals after serving two years of suspension.
- 7 April to 27 May
- Final: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings
- Winner: Chennai Super Kings (won by 8 wickets)
- Winning Captain: M.S. Dhoni
- Man of the Series: Sunil Narine (KKR)
- Most runs: Kane Williamson (SRH) – 735 runs
- Most wickets: Andrew Tye (KXIP) – 24 wickets
