The Indian Premier League is the most prestigious T20 league in the world. The quality of cricket in the league is quite high as top players from all cricketing nations assemble yearly to produce a fantastic spectacle for the crowd.
The IPL started in 2008 and produced some thrilling cricket right from its inaugural season. The competition in the IPL has always been pretty intense and the teams that have won the IPL, have all displayed some tremendous fighting spirit and skills. The competition and the quality have also increased with each passing year and with two more teams added in the 2022 season, things are only going to get tighter from hereon.
However, despite the cut-throat competition and little to choose between teams, some of the teams have won the title multiple times while others have failed to lift the trophy even a single time.
Mumbai Indians have been the most successful side with five IPL titles to their name while Chennai Super Kings have won it four times. Mumbai has won all their titles under Rohit Sharma while Chennai has won it under the charismatic leadership of MS Dhoni.
Kolkata Knight Riders have also been the champions of the IPL two times under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. In the inaugural season of the IPL, Rajasthan Royals were the champions while Deccan Chargers lifted the trophy in the second season. Sunrisers Hyderabad who replaced Deccan Chargers in 2013 also lifted the trophy in the 2016 season. In the latest 2022 season, Gujarat Titans won it in their maiden season beating the other more fancied teams with finesse and style.
List of all IPL winners from the year 2008 to 2022
| Year | Winner |
| 2008 | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2009 | Deccan Chargers |
| 2010 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2011 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2012 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2013 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2015 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 2017 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2019 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2020 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2021 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2022 | Gujarat Titans |
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Mumbai Indians – 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020
Mumbai Indians are the five-time champions and are one of the most popular teams in the IPL with a huge fanbase. They have won all their titles under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. They have developed themselves as one of the most professional franchises with a star-studded coaching unit along with star-studded players.
Mumbai Indians started their IPL journey on a poor note but picked up the pace in the 2010 season when they were the runners-up. However, they won their first title only in the 2013 season when Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy of the side from Ricky Ponting.
Their first title win lifted their spirit and Mumbai Indians went on to win titles four more times. Traditionally, Mumbai Indians have been slow starters and are known to bring their A-game on the table in the latter stages and business end of the season. In the 2020 edition though, Mumbai dominated the whole season and lost only five games as they were crowned the champions for the fifth time.
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Chennai Super Kings – 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021
Chennai Super Kings have been the most consistent team in the IPL. They have qualified for the playoffs in 11 of the 13 seasons they have played and have lifted the trophy on four occasions. MS Dhoni has been the leader of the pack since the inaugural season and his calm persona and brilliant tactics have served the team quite well.
Chennai Super Kings was the finalist of the first season but managed to get their hands on the trophy only in the third season. They followed it up with another title win in the 2011 season. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina were the pillars of the side. Dwayne Bravo also emerged as one of the top performers for Chennai Super Kings and after getting banned for two seasons, Chennai came back strongly to lift the title in 2018.
The 2020 season was the first one when Chennai Super Kings could not qualify for the playoffs but that disappointment was put aside in the next season as Chennai emerged as champions for the fourth time in the history of the IPL.
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Kolkata Knight Riders – 2012, 2014
Kolkata Knight Riders have won the IPL two times and both their wins came under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir. It was in 2011 that KKR reached the playoffs for the first time after some dismal results in the first three seasons. In the next season, KKR beat Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling final and then managed to win another trophy in 2014 by beating Kings XI Punjab in the final.
Since then, KKR has not been able to clinch another IPL trophy but has played some excellent consistent cricket. They came close to winning another title in the 2021 season but failed to cross the final hurdle under the leadership of Eoin Morgan.
Sunil Narine has been one of the biggest match-winners for KKR along with Andre Russell over the years. Their former skipper, Gautam Gambhir was also consistent with his willow and amassed 3345 runs for his side during his tenure for KKR.
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Rajasthan Royals – 2008
Rajasthan Royals started their IPL journey with a bang as they were crowned the champions in the inaugural season of the IPL. The victory came under the charismatic leadership of Shane Warne as young players like Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan delivered some eye-catching performances.
Rajasthan Royals, however, have not been able to reach those heights again. They came close in the 2022 season but were outplayed by Gujarat Titans in the final and the Royals would be hoping that Sanju Samson and his boys will achieve what Shane Warne and his young brigade achieved some 15 years back.
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Deccan Chargers – 2009
Deccan Chargers were the champions of the 2009 IPL which was played in South Africa. The chargers made a disappointing start to their IPL campaign in the 2008 season but returned strongly to win the IPL in the second season.
Adam Gilchrist was the leader of the pack and he led from the front throughout the season, scoring 495 runs on the way. Deccan Chargers played three more seasons in the IPL but were terminated from the tournament after the 2012 season for financial breaches by the BCCI.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad – 2016
Sunrisers Hyderabad replaced Deccan Chargers in 2013 and immediately made an impact by qualifying for the playoffs in their first season. They won the IPL title in 2016 under David Warner by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final. The skipper David Warner led from the front in that title win and has been the most prolific batter for the franchise.
Bowling has been traditionally a stronger suit for Sunrisers Hyderabad. They had Rashid Khan at their disposal till the 2021 season while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been one of their top players. Sunrisers have reached the playoffs six times but have lifted the trophy only once, which is something they would like to improve on.
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Gujarat Titans – 2022
Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants were the two new teams that made their debut in IPL 2022. On paper, Lucknow Super Giants had a more balanced unit but Gujarat Titans were the ones who delivered on the field and managed to do the unthinkable by lifting the trophy in their maiden season.
Hardik Pandya was fantastic as a leader and led from the front throughout the season including in the final against Rajasthan Royals. The likes of David Miller, Rashid Khan along with Shubman Gill all stood up at crucial junctures to take Gujarat Titans to a memorable title win.
Conclusion
All the editions of the Indian Premier League so far have been full of thrills and excitement. Though we have seen Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians taking honors most of the time, the action on the group stage has always been intense. All the teams in the IPL are well-balanced and every team can potentially beat another on their day. So, expect the Indian Premier League to dish out some great memories and exciting cricket in years to come.
