The best and worst teams in IPL history

The eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is around the halfway stage with the scenario for the playoffs taking a clearer shape. For some teams, the IPL remains a stage for consistent success while for some, it is an occasion of perpetual disappointment. There are also sides that have experienced it as a roller coaster ride over the years, leaving their fans in a state of clashing emotions often.

Here we take a look at the teams that have done consistently well in the IPL since its inception in 2008 while at others who have struggled even to qualify for the semifinals/playoffs. It is not that the losing teams lacked players of skills but still they somehow found the tournament to be jinxed.

Teams that have consistently done poorly in the IPL:

Kings XI Punjab: Failed to reach last four 8 times

The team which has failed to qualify for the top four positions the most number of times (eight) in the IPL is Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The ‘team of Preity Zinta’ has never lacked the glamour factor and has also been led by some big names of Indian cricket but its best result so far has been to finish as the runners-up in the 2014 edition.

DD: Couldn’t make last four 7 times

The Kings are followed by another North Indian team Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the list of the most failed sides (failed to qualify for last four on seven occasions). DD started their IPL journey well by reaching the semifinals for the first two editions and then again in 2012 but haven’t qualified for the playoffs for consecutive five editions since 2013. This year, DD made the headlines after its much touted captain Gautam Gambhir ‘lost’ the captaincy midway and even failed to make the playing eleven.

KKR, RCB, RR: Fell short of semis/playoffs 5 times each

Three teams have failed to qualify for the semifinals/playoffs five times each and they are Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Of them, KKR failed consistently for the semifinals in the first three editions but after the arrival of Gambhir, they failed to make the last four only twice out of seven editions.

RCB, on the other hand, have been on and off. They failed to make the semis in 2008 but then did well for the next three seasons but again failed to qualify for the playoffs between 2012 and 2014. They did well in 2015 and 2016 but again did miserably in 2017 and things aren’t looking great for them this year either.

RR won the inaugural edition but then vanished from the top four positions from 2009 till 2012 and again in 2014. They came back to prominence in 2013 (third) and 2015 (fourth) – the last time they played before getting suspended for two seasons.

MI, PWI, DC: Couldn’t go beyond league stage 3 times each

Next in the list of most failures are Mumbai Indians (MI) and now-defunct Pune Warriors India (PWI) and Deccan Chargers (DC). MI had a disastrous beginning to their IPL journey by failing to qualify for the semifinals in 2008 and 2009 but then qualified for the top four slots for six consecutive editions before losing out again in 2016. This year, too, they seem out of place and might add to their negative record.

PWI, who played just three IPLs between 2011 and 2013, were one of the worst performers of the tournament – finishing ninth (out of 10); ninth (out of 9) and eighth (out of 9), respectively.

DC, who played between 2008 and 2012 and lifted one title in 2009, also finished below the top four positions on three occasions – in 2008, 2011 and 2012.

SRH: Stopped short of playoffs 2 times

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who replaced DC as the Hyderabad-based franchise in 2013, have also won the title once (2016) but qualified for the playoffs twice (2014 & 2015) after making an impressive debut in which they finished fourth. This year, SRH are also doing pretty good and are considered among the favourites to win their second trophy.

RPS, GL, KTK: Couldn’t make playoffs once each

Besides these, three now-defunct teams – Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS), Gujarat Lions (GL) and Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) failed to qualify for the playoffs once although they did not play much.

While KTK played only one edition (2011) in which they finished eighth out of 10 teams, RPS finished seventh out of eight in 2016 before losing the final to MI by just one run in the 2017 final. The third team, GL, also played in two editions (2016 & 2017) out of which they finished seventh out of eight in 2017.

The reverse story: Teams that have done consistently good in IPL

CSK have made last four 8 times, the most

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have the finest record in the IPL as they have made the last four in each edition that they have played. Lead by the evergreen Mahendra Singh Dhoni since the beginning, CSK reached the last four stage eight times (they played in as many IPLs); made the final six times and won the trophy twice. They have made a comeback this year after remaining suspended for two seasons along with RR and are looking ahead of the race to the last four yet again.

MI, KKR and RCB have made last four stage 5 times each

Both MI and KKR have been slow starters in the IPL, making their first last-four stage in their third and fourth attempts, respectively. But they have grown as formidable sides in the later editions, winning the title thrice and twice, respectively – both beating the favourites CSK in a number of finals between 2012 and 2015. MI under Rohit Sharma and KKR under Gambhir have proved to be forces to reckon. Although in 2018, defenders MI are struggling while KKR are yet to get things in order under their new skipper Dinesh Karthik.

RCB, on the other hand, have seen a roller coaster ride, reaching the semis/playoffs for three years between 2009 and 2011 with even losing the finals twice but then faded out to return to the dying stages of the tournament in 2015 and 2016 under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. But never could they lift the title which remains a major grief for the RCB supporters.

DD, RR, SRH qualified for last four positions 3 times

DD, as said earlier, had a good start to the IPL, reaching the semis/playoffs three between 2008 and 2012 but then they lost out to others, never making the top four again. RR, the inaugural champions, made the last four in 2008, 2013 and 2015 and two Australians – Shane Warne and Steve Smith – were in their charge on two of those occasions. Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid was in lead in 2013.

SRH, led by Kumara Sangakkara and David Warner till the latter was hit by the tampering scandal in South Africa, did a good job in taking SRH to the playoffs three times in their short IPL journey so far. They are also looking firm to make their fourth playoff this year.

DC & KXIP qualified for semifinals/playoffs 2 times

DC were a team of the pre-playoff era and in the five editions they played, the former franchise reached the knockout stages twice – in 2009 and 2010. They went on to win the championship in South Africa in 2009 and finished fourth the next year. Bashing former Australian wicket-keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist was the skipper of the DC on those occasions.

The Kings, as said above, have been the most unsuccessful team to qualify for the last-four stages (eight times). They reached the last four only twice – in the first edition in 2008 and years later in 2014. On the first occasion, they lost to CSK while on the second, they beat the same CSK to reach the final but lost to KKR in a high-scoring game.

GL & RPS made playoffs once each

Both teams cease to exist in the IPL but in their short duration in the tournament, they played some impressive cricket unlike some other short-lived teams. GL, led by Suresh Raina, reached the playoffs on their debut in 2016 but finished third after losing to the eventual champions SRH.

RPS, on the other hand, almost created history in only their second appearance in the IPL by reaching the final of the 2017 edition but lost the game to MI by just one run. Smith missed the chance to become the fourth Australian to lift the IPL (after Warne, Gilchrist and Warner) by a whisker.

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