The Indian Premier League (IPL) is, arguably, the most popular cricket tournament and one of the most popular sports events in the world. Every year the entire country takes on the festive mood to share their combined love for the game- be it as a player, or as someone associated with the matches in one way or another, or a viewer, or a sponsor, or the telecast partner, or media. The teams being owned by many celebrated personalities from all spheres of life makes it even more interesting to watch.
Frankly speaking, in IPL, cricket becomes more than just a sport, it becomes a part of life & culture. The festivities take up half the space of the tournament’s significance and the championship battles become a personal agenda for many. In the end, one team holds the championship trophy but the joy, pride and ownership of that belongs to the entire region the team represents. That’s how much an IPL trophy means in India. Therefore, it’s only natural to take a look back at those final matches with a bird’s eye view in the following list of IPL champions:
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Final Venue | Player of the Series |
| 2008 | Rajasthan Royals | Chennai Super Kings | Mumbai | Shane Watson |
| 2009 | Deccan Chargers | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Johannesburg | Adam Gilchrist |
| 2010 | Chennai Super Kings | Mumbai Indians | Mumbai | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 2011 | Chennai Super Kings | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Chennai | Chris Gayele |
| 2012 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Chennai Super Kings | Chennai | Sunil Narine |
| 2013 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata | Shane Watson |
| 2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kings XI Punjab | Bangalore | Glenn Maxwell |
| 2015 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata | Andre Russell |
| 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Bangalore | Virat Kohli |
| 2017 | Mumbai Indians | Rising Pune Supergiants | Hyderabad | Ben Stokes |
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Mumbai | Sunil Narine |
| 2019 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings | Hyderabad | Andre Russell |
| 2020 | Mumbai Indians | Delhi Capitals | Dubai | Jofra Archer |
| 2021 | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata Knight Riders | Dubai | Harshal Patel |
| 2022 | Gujarat Titans | Rajasthan Royals | Ahmedabad | Joss Buttler |
| 2023 | Chennai Super Kings | Gujarat Titans | Ahmedabad | Shubhman Gill |
Chennai Super Kings Played 10 IPL Finals
There have been 16 IPL seasons from 2008 to 2023, (yes, IPL was held even during the pandemic years!) and 8 teams participated in 11 of the 16 years, 9 teams participated in the years of 2012 & 2013 and 10 teams participated in the years of 2011, 2022 & 2023. In 2024, yet again, 10 teams are expected to participate. Among these teams, 2 teams shone so brightly that the others seem almost non-existent on the list above- Chennai Super Kings & Mumbai Indians- bagged the championship trophy in 5 seasons each!
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) even participated in 10 of the 16 final matches! Looks like the other teams are there to help them get the trophy. It will not be wrong to say that discussing & analyzing the strategies of CSK will be almost enough to learn about the IPL Champions, since they were present in the 10 of the 16 final matches. The team was banned for 2 years, due to betting charges against the owners, starting from July 2015 and resumed its victory in the comeback year of 2018.
2008: Rajasthan Royals Beat CSK by 3 Wickets
In the final match of the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League, CSK faced Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty owned & Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals (RR) in DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai with MS Dhoni at the helm. RR had seasoned batsmen like Graeme Smith and Shane Watson along with a match-winning bowler Yusuf Pathan who could double as a batsman in the middle-order. In the final against CSK, Yusuf played like a veteran all-rounder and scalped 3 wickets while making 56 runs off 39 balls.
2010: CSK Beat Mumbai Indians by 22 Runs
In the 3rd season of IPL, CSK became the champions for the first time beating the Ambani owned and the legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians (MI) in the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Dhoni, Mathew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan being in the same team means nothing else but victory in the match. And that’s what happened. Raina was Dhoni’s trump card in the tournament who played a brilliant innings of 57 runs not out off 35 balls that paved the way for CSK’s glory.
2011: CSK Beat Bangalore by 58 Runs
CSK became the IPL Champions for 2nd time in 2 consecutive tournaments making history and this time it was Vijay Malya owned & Daniel Vettori led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on the receiving end of the ‘almost there’ feelings in MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. ‘Mr Cricket’ titled Michael Hussey was CSK’s reply to RCB’s almost invincible Chris Gayle, though the difference was a little too much. Hussey opened the innings of the final match, along with Murali Vijay, with a partnership of 159 runs and this played the crucial role to defend CSK’s championship.
2012: Kolkata Beat Chennai by 5 Wickets
CSK landed themselves in the final match of IPL for the 3rd time in a row in the same venue as the previous year, and this time they faced Bollywood King Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who were in a desperate situation to win the IPL championship. CSK gave the challenge to chase down 190 runs which was built upon the brilliant innings of 73 runs off 38 balls by Suresh Raina; however, it was just not enough this time as Manvinder Bisla took upon the charge of chasing on himself scoring 89 runs off 48 balls.
2013: Mumbai Beat Chennai by 23 Runs
CSK found itself in the final yet again, for the 4th time in a row, but this time they faced a different MI led by the current Indian captain Rohit Sharma in the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Rohit really had it in him to lead the team to victory, more often than not, for Dhoni’s CSK lost 3 of the 4 times these two teams faced each other in the final of IPL. Kieron Pollard, Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga were the regular players of the MI throughout the tournament and their combined efforts led the team to the victory.
2015: Mumbai Beat Chennai by 41 Runs
CSK lost it again to the MI for the 2nd time and this time too it happened in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Looks like, Dhoni has been out of luck for some time now. Lasith ‘Slinga’ Malinga picked 24 wickets in the tournament which pretty much was Rohit’s trump card in the victory; however, Dawyne Bravo beat him with 2 more wickets in the way to the ‘Purple Cap’. With this victory, Mumbai Indians were the 3rd team to bag 2 IPL Championships after CSK and KKR. And, from this very year, CSK faced the 2-year ban as a punishment to its owners for being involved in betting controversy.
2018: CSK Beat Hyderabad by 8 Wickets
Chennai Super Kings not only returned to the IPL after the ban but also returned to the final match as well as resumed their championship for the 3rd time in the tournament. They beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. While Shane Watson and Amabati Rayadu led the batting front for the CSKs, there was bowling surprise by Captain Dhoni along with the veteran Dawyne Bravo. This is how Dhoni’s unique leadership works out in the most unconventional way. With this victory, CSK became the second team after Mumbai to win 3 IPL Championships.
2019: Mumbai Beat Chennai by 1 Run
The IPL final of 2019 was, perhaps, one of the most nail-biting matches in the history of the tournament, layed in the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, aka the Uppal Stadium. In fact, it was led to the super-over where Shardul Thakur failed to take the most important 1 run as Malinga’s off-cutter was a tad too tricky for him. This was Mumbai’s 4th IPL Championship and with this, an unspoken, completely different competition to win the most IPL Championships began between CSK & MI.
2021: Chennai Beat Kolkata by 27 Runs
The cricket lovers were not denied their entertainment even in the 2nd year of pandemic and lockdown. Dubai International Cricket Stadium was yet again the venue for IPL final for the two years of pandemic. In this second year, CSK bagged the championship home beating KKR who were looking forward to their 3rd championship victory. It was the 4th time when the Chennai Super Kings became the IPL Champions. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Harshal Patel took the ‘Purple Cap’ with 38 wickets in this year’s IPL.
2023: Chennai Beat Gujarat by 5 Wickets
Chennai Super Kings became the IPL Champions for the 5th time and also became the current defending champions, beating the previous defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. At this point, both Mumbai and Chennai became the proud holders of the IPL Championship for 5 times each. However, the tournament was a little extra special for the GT players as Shubman Gill became the ‘Player of the Tournament’ with 890 runs in 17 innings and Mohammed Shami took the ‘Purple Cap’ by scalping 28 wickets.
Mumbai Indians & Other IPL Champions
Although Mumbai Indians (MI) did not rule almost all over the IPL as CSK did, they too won 5 championships. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bagged the trophy twice. We have already learnt about how RR took the inaugural championship home and about KKR’s 1st and MI’s 3 championship victories against CSK. The other 3 champions are Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans. Let’s take a look at those 6 final matches where CSK was not a participant.
2009: Deccan Chargers Beat Bangalore by 6 Runs
This was the second year of the Indian Premier League. Neither Chennai nor Mumbai became the dominating teams of the tournament yet. The expectations of RR to defend their championship was immense, whereas KKR was still fighting to find a place. But both these teams failed to live up to the expectations.
And, in the final match held in the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg cricket lovers witnessed two completely different teams than the previous year- Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrsit led Deccan Chargers (DC) and Kevin Pietersen led Royal Challengers Bangalore. Including a young Rohit Sharma, DC had a few more hard-hitter batsmen like Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, and Gilchrist himself who led the team to the victory.
2014: Kolkata Beat Punjab by 3 Wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders took their 2nd IPL championship home this year playing the final against Punjab Kings (previously known as Kings XI Punjab) in the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. KKR seems to be enjoying challenges of chasing down a humongous total of 190+ runs for they chased down the target of 199 runs to take their second championship, after beating CSK chasing down 190 runs in 2012. This time Manish Pandey took the charge of the chasing and scored a brilliant innings of 94 runs off 50 balls only. KKR’s Robin Uthappa bagged the ‘Orange Cap’ for scoring 660 runs in 16 innings in this tournament.
2016: Hyderabad Beat Bangalore by 8 Runs
Royal Challengers Bangalore saw itself in the receiving end of ‘almost there’ for a second time in the tournament and this time they lost the IPL championship against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Most of the credit goes to the team’s magnificent captain David Warner who masterfully led the team to the victory. Although RCB didn’t make it to the final victory, the tournament will always be known for the unforgettable partnership between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiars in the RCB matches.
Virat Kohli had the time of his life, like in many other tournaments he has played in his career till date, in this IPL season of 2016. He played 16 innings in the tournament and scored 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries in those innings! He scored a total of 973 runs which is, till date, the highest by a batsman in one single IPL season. The man made sure no one was near him in the competition to win the ‘Orange Cap’ that year.
2017: Mumbai Beat Pune by 1 Run
Mumbai Indians’ 3rd IPL championship came against the Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. With this victory they created history in the tournament for being the first team to become the IPL Champions for 3 times, after 2013 & 2015; well, no one knew back then that it was just the beginning of history to be re-written in every new season of the IPL. Captain Rohit Sharma was the most successful player of the team as well as the brilliant captain to lead it to the victory.
2020: Mumbai Beat Delhi by 5 Wickets
The entire world was put under lockdown and naturally the fate of 2020’s IPL was also decided by that pandemic. But the love for cricket got the humans associated with it a way to not only surpass the lockdown and organize the tournament, but also provide the cricket lovers around the world with the much-needed thrill & entertainment that can anytime work better than any medicine.
In that cursed year when life took many shocking turns for most people in the world, the final match was held in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. Rohit Sharma led MI not only became the IPL Champions of that year, but also received the ‘Paytm Fairplay Award’. But this was yet another history made by the Mumbai Indians for this was their 5th IPL Championship victory. By this time, only CSK was close to them with 3 victories, although they caught up soon enough.
2022: Gujarat Beat Rajasthan by 7 Wickets
With life returning to its normal rhythm, IPL too got back its regular festivities. And the newly emerged team- Gujarat Titans led by Hardik Pandya- on the map of IPL took the championship home this year. Rajasthan Royals made it to the final of the IPL for the second time in history after 2008, but this time they failed to take the championship home.
Although many RR players shone very brightly, their performance did not add up to what was required to win the final match. Yuzvendra Chahal was the highest wicket-taker. Joss Buttler scored 863 runs in 17 innings which was the highest of this year’s season and that too had 4 centuries & 4 half-centuries. He also received the award for the most valued player of the season. Gujarat Titan was the first team of this season to qualify for the playoffs.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) sees the most intense competition of T20 cricket. Here, the international geographical boundaries get blurred and the teams select the best affordable players from all over the cricket-playing nations. This tournament is also the best opportunity for any young cricketer to show their potential against the international experienced and legendary players. It has also been a very helpful platform for the senior players to get back their lost form or even improve their cricketing craft.
Ironically, the captain of CSK, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, never managed to make it to the title of ‘Player of the Series’ despite taking the team to the final 10 times. On the other hand, RCB failed to win the championship ever in these 16 years despite having the monstrous batsman Chris Gayle who even scored 175* in one of the RCB matches and the arguably best batsman of the world, Virat Kohli in the team. Even KKR suffered more often than not in the tournament where multiple times ‘World’s Best All-Rounder’ title holder Shakib Al Hasan was included in the playing XI. Will 2024 be any different for them? Only time can tell.
