IPL is undoubtedly the best franchise completion in the world. There is no space for mediocrity in the league. Teams have to be right on the money from the very first game to qualify for the playoffs. There have been many instances where teams Best Comebacks In IPL have immediately given up on playoff chances owing to their bad start. But there have been instances when teams have managed to turn around their fortunes and how!
StumpsandBails brings to you the 5 best comebacks of all-time in IPL:
#5 Deccan Chargers, 2010
Deccan Chargers were the defending champions in 2010. But they an indifferent start to their season in 2010. They ended up losing 6 out of the first 9 matches they played. They had to win all the remaining 5 matches to qualify for the semis and the Chargers did exactly that. Deccan Chargers got on a roll, won 5 on the bounce, and qualified for the semis. They eventually lost to Mumbai Indians in the semi-finals.
#4 Mumbai Indians, 2015
Mumbai Indians once again made a terrible start to their IPL campaign. They lost their first 4 games and had won just 1 out of their first 6. But the MI team gathered steam and won 7 out of their last 8 league games to qualify for the playoffs. They defeated the Chennai Super Kings convincingly on both occasions (qualifier 1 and finals) to be crowned champions. It was MI’s 2nd IPL title win.
#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2009
Royal Challengers Bangalore found themselves in a hole in the first half of IPL 2009. Their newly appointed Kevin Pietersen couldn’t change the team’s fortunes as they lost 4 out of their first 5 games. Pietersen soon left after the 6th match leaving RCB in the doldrums. The RCB management in an inspired move appointed Anil Kumble as captain. RCB won 3 out of their next 4 games but they still needed to win 4 games consecutively to make it to the knockouts. Anil Kumble-led side won not just 4 but 5 games in a row to qualify for the finals. They lost to a spirited Deccan Chargers side in the finals of IPL 2009.
#2 Mumbai Indians, 2014
Mumbai Indians are habitual slow starters in the IPL. But even by their standards IPL 2014 was worse. They had a nightmarish start where they lost all 5 games on the trot. They managed to win the next 3 games out of 5. But it was eventually their final dash that saw them winning all their last 4 league games. The highlight of their campaign was their last league match (that they needed to win) wherein they ended up chasing 190 in 14.4 overs against Rajasthan Royals. MI were eventually knocked over in the eliminator against the Chennai Super Kings.
#1 Kolkata Knight Riders, 2014
Kolkata Knight Riders were languishing at the bottom of the points table at the halfway stage in 2014. KKR managed to win just 2 out of their first 7 games. But then they made an epic turnaround winning 9 games on the trot to emerge champions. It was KKR’s second IPL title in 3 years. Gautam Gambhir’s team etched its name in gold for staging such a heroic comeback.
