IPL: Looking back at all finals since 2008

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 has just one game left now and it is the all-important final. The top two teams of the tournament – Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – will take each other on at the winner-decider at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, May 27.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s CSK will be playing their seventh final in nine editions (Dhoni himself will be playing his eighth final) while for Kane Williamson-led SRH, it will be the second final after 2016. CSK have won the title twice while lost the final four times while SRH has a hundred percent win record in the final so far.

This year, CSK reached the final after defeating SRH by 3 wickets in the first qualifier but the latter came back strongly from their four-loss stretch in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier, winning it by 14 runs.

Here, we take a look at the brief results of all the past finals since 2008 when the tournament started:

2008: Rajasthan Royals captained by Shane Warne defeated Dhoni’s CSK by 3 wickets at DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai.

Scores: CSK 163/5 in 20 overs; RR 164/7 in 20 overs. Toss: RR; Man of the Match (MoM): Yousuf Pathan (RR) 3 wickets for 22 runs and 56 off 39 balls. The RR was not among the favourites but yet under the inspiring captaincy of 39-year-old Warne, went on to win the maiden title by winning a thrilling final decided in the last ball of the match.

2009: Deccan Chargers (DC) led by Adam Gilchrist beat Anil Kumble’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Scores: DC 143/6 in 20 overs; RCB 137/9 in 20 overs. Toss: RCB; MoM: Anil Kumble (RCB) 4 wickets for 16 runs. It was yet another close final and the first of the Royal Challengers’ three defeats in IPL final. It was also the only time that the man of the match award in the final went to a player of the losing side.

2010: CSK captained by Dhoni defeated Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians (MI) by 22 runs at DY Patil Sports Academy.

Scores: CSK 168/5 in 20 overs; MI 146/9 in 20 overs. Toss: CSK; MoM: Suresh Raina (CSK) 57 not out off 35 balls and 1 wicket for 21 runs. This was the first time the CSK won their first title and also an Indian captain lifted the trophy. Tendulkar was adjudged the man of the series in this edition.

2011: CSK led by Dhoni defeated RCB led by Daniel Vettori at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Scores: CSK 205/5 in 20 overs; RCB 147/8 in 20 overs. Toss: CSK; MoM: Murali Vijay (CSK) 95 off 52 balls. CSK became the first and till now are the only team to have won the IPL title on two consecutive occasions. It was also the first time that a team won the title at the home ground. RCB lost their second IPL final and 2011 final was one of the most one-sided in the history of the tournament.

2012: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captained by Gautam Gambhir defeated Dhoni’s CSK by 5 wickets at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Scores: CSK 190/3 in 20 overs; KKR 192/5 in 19.4 overs. Toss: CSK; MoM: Manvinder Bisla (KKR) 89 off 48 balls. This was KKR’s first title and Gambhir ruined Dhoni’s chances of making a hat-trick of IPL crowns (something Kapil Dev had done with Clive Lloyd’s West Indies in the cricket world cup in 1983). It was also the highest chase in the IPL final till 2014 when KKR bettered their own record.

2013: Rohit Sharma’s MI beat Dhoni’s CSK by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Scores: MI 148/9 in 20 overs; CSK 125/9 in 20 overs. Toss: MI; MoM: Kieron Pollard (MI) 60 not out off 32 balls and 1 wicket for 34 runs. Rohit Sharma’s magic started as MI’s first of the three titles came this year. The final saw CSK’s batting falling like nine pins with Dhoni scoring more than 50 percent of their low total. The Super Kings played their fourth consecutive final but couldn’t somehow regain the touch of winning the cup again.

2014: KKR led by Gambhir beat George Bailey’s Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 3 wickets at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

Scores: KXIP 199/4 in 20 overs; KKR 200/7 in 19.3 overs. Toss: KKR; MoM: Manish Pandey (KKR) 94 off 50 balls. This is the only time that a team won the trophy by chasing 200 runs in the IPL final. Gambhir’s second title made him the second captain after Dhoni to achieve this feat. For the Kings, it is the only time when they made the final of the annual gala. The only century in the final of the IPL also came this season through the bat of KXIP’s Wriddhiman Saha (115 not out off 55 balls).

2015: Rohit Sharma’s MI defeated Dhoni’s CSK by 41 runs at the Eden Gardens
Scores: MI 202/5 in 20 overs; CSK 161/8 in 20 overs. Toss: CSK; MoM: Rohit Sharma (MI) 50 off 26 balls. In a repeat of 2013 final, Rohit Sharma’s side beat Dhoni’s team again at the Eden Gardens to win their second trophy. Sharma hence became the third captain to win two IPL titles after Dhoni and Gambhir.

2016: David Warner’s SRH defeated Virat Kohli’s RCB by 8 runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Scores: SRH 208/7 in 20 overs; RCB 200/7 in 20 overs. Toss: SRH; Mom: Ben Cutting (SRH) 39 not out off 15 balls. In the only final which saw both sides scoring 200 runs or score, the SRH had the last laugh as they tamed a resurgent RCB closely. For the Royal Challengers, it was a case of third time unlucky and they are yet to taste their first major success in the IPL.

2017: Rohit Sharma’s MI defeated Steven Smith’s Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad.

Scores:  MI 129/8 in 20 overs; RPS 128/6 in 20 overs. Toss: MI; MoM: Krunal Pandya (MI) 47 off 38 balls. Rohit Sharma became the first captain to win three IPL titles and it came after his side successfully defended the lowest total in the IPL final. Pune defeated Mumbai on all three occasions before they met in the final but it was the latter’s day in the final.