The 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is in its business end, and it's been one hell of a season so far. As you get ready to enjoy the play-offs, here is a list of five astonishing facts at the end of the league stage of IPL 2022.
Fact #1: Trophy Holders Sink Lowest in IPL 2022
That's right, 12 out of the 14 titles so far have been won by the bottom four of 2022. And Mumbai with the most number of titles is last, while Chennai with the second-highest number of IPL trophies is second-last!
So, who won the other two editions of the IPL, which aren't listed in the graphic above?
Deccan Chargers were crowned champions in the 2009 edition. However, the team was dissolved after the 2012 edition, and in 2013, the Hyderabad franchise returned as Sunrisers Hyderabad.
And the only title-winner out of the four teams to have qualified to the 2022 play-offs is Rajasthan Royals, who won the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 under the leadership of Aussie spin wizard Shane Warne.
Fact #2: KKR's Century Jinx Continues
On 18 April 2008, the night the IPL came to life, Brendon McCullum had set the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on fire with a knock of 158 not out that anyone who saw it is unlikely to forget.
Yet, ironically enough, the team that started the IPL off with a blistering century in the first match of the league, has not had a player score another century ever since, in 15 editions!
As of the end of the league stage in 2022, there have been 72 centuries in the IPL since McCullum's knock in 2008. And none of them have been scored by a batter in KKR colours.
Fact #3: No Raina, No Play-Offs
Chennai Super Kings qualified for the play-offs every single year from 2008 to 2015. Then, due to a two-year suspension in relation to a betting controversy, the team in yellow missed out on the 2016 and 2017 editions.
They clinched the title on their comeback in 2018, and qualified for the play-offs in 2019 too.
It was in 2020, in their 11th edition of the IPL, that the Chennai Super Kings failed to qualify to the top four for the first time, finishing second-last out of eight teams. The anomaly wasn't repeated in 2021, when they won the title again. But in 2022, CSK came second-last yet again, finishing ninth in a league of 10 teams.
It's quite an incredible feat though, that a team has failed to reach the top four in only two seasons out of 13. But that's a well-known part of the IPL legend.
What's interesting is that in both the seasons in which CSK fell short, the one player missing from their squad was Suresh Raina, the CSK star who has played in every other season for the team since 2008!
Fact #4: Never Last
At the end of this year's league stage, with the Mumbai Indians finishing in the last place, the Chennai Super Kings became the recipients of this particular statistic – of being the only team that's been around for more than three seasons of the IPL to never have finished last!
Delhi, on the other hand, have the unpleasant record of having finished last in the most number of seasons – 4 (2011, 2013, 2014, and 2018).
Punjab are second on the list, having finished last in three seasons (2010, 2015, and 2016).
Fact #5: The Only Five Constants
The 2022 edition is the 15th season of the IPL, and there are only five teams which have played each of the 15 seasons.
Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi (Daredevils/Capitals), Punjab (Kings XI Punjab/Punjab Kings), and Royal Challengers Bangalore are the five constants. Among them, only MI and KKR have laid their hands on the IPL silverware, with Delhi, Punjab, and RCB yet to win their first IPL title.
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