As far as T20 cricket leagues go, it is safe to that IPL is heads and shoulders above the rest (sorry PSL!). First introduced to the world in 2008, the Indian Premier League has gone onto become a franchise with astronomical brand value. The IPL provides entertainment to the Indian public like no other cricketing event can.
It has created the league with teams from all over India the same way that the English Premier League or Spanish League has done in football. Fans all over the country are highly possessive about who they support which is great news for IPL as this means high revenues via match attendance and merchandise.
Coming once a year, the event is watched by a billion people giving statisticians tons of data and stats to ogle over. Some facts such as the dominance of the Chennai Super Kings or Mumbai Indians are easy to acknowledge. However, there are tons of tid bits that even the most eagle eyed viewers would have missed. Naturally some of these facts might change in future IPL seasons and do let us if we have missed any facts.
Interesting IPL facts (Updated)
1. Better Luck Next Time
Delhi Capitals is the only IPL team to have never features in the final. Could 2020 be the year of the Capitals?
2. Mr Dot Ball
Praveen Kumar bowled the first ever delivery in IPL and also has the distinction of bowling the highest number of dot balls in IPL history. To put this into perspective, he has bowled 1075 (about 180 overs) in 119 IPL matches.
Out of the 180 overs bowled, 14 went for no runs which is the most number of maiden overs in the history of IPL.
Dale Steyn has a knack for bowling dot balls as well. He also the record for the most number of dot balls in one IPL season. In a total of 17 matches that he has played, Steyn has bowled 212 dot balls (about 35 overs) out of a total of 407 balls in IPL 2013.
3. Unstoppable
One of the most dominant teams in IPL history, the Super Kings is the only team to have qualified for the playoffs in every season. They have also reached the IPL final, a record 6 times. The stats become even more impressive when you consider the two year ban the team faced.
Given their tendency to reach the IPL finals, they have also lost the number of finals in IPL history. One more IPL fact to related to Chennai Super Kings is that they have stuck with the same captain since the beginning. MS Dhoni has now led the Super Kings in 11 IPL seasons, the most by any captain.
4. Hat-tricks
One of the most underrated Indian bowlers, Lakshmipathy Balaji was the first to take a hat-trick in IPL. Balaji took a hat-trick bowling against the Kings XI Punjab in the augural season of the Indian Premier League.
Amit Mishra holds the record of highest number of hat-tricks (3) in the history of IPL.
5. Go Green
Royal Challengers Bangalore in a bid to encourage recycling, wear a green jersey made out of recycled plastic in the IPL. As a tradition, the RCB captain gives the opposition captain a plant on the day of the initiative
6. Highs & Lows
Speaking of RCB, they also hold the record for the most amount of runs scored in an IPL innings. The team scored a mammoth 263 runs in just 120 deliveries against the Pune Warriors in IPL 2013. Chris Gayle aka ‘Boss of the Universe’ was in menacing form, scoring 175 runs off 66 deliveries.
RCB also hold the record of scoring the least amount of runs in an innings, slumping to an embarrassing 49 rungs against the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2017. No points for guessing if they successfully defended that total.
7. Orange Cap
Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar was the first Indian player to win the orange cap. An orange cap is awarded to a player who has scored the most amount of runs in one IPL season. Tendulkar made 618 runs in 15 matches in IPL 2010.
Shaun Marsh was the first player to ever receive an orange cap. Marsh made 616 runs in 11 matches in the inaugural season of the IPL.
Both Chris Gayle and David Warner have been awarded the orange cap twice in IPL history.
Gayle has the honour of winning back to back orange caps in 2011 and 2012. Warner received his first cap in 2015 and then in 2017.
8. Purple Cap
Pakistani bowler, Sohail Tanvir was the first to win the purple cap in IPL. A left arm bowler with an unorthodox action, Tanvir picked up 22 wickets in 11 matches.
9. Young Buck
At just 16 years of age, Mujeeb Ur Rahman from Afghanistan is the youngest player in IPL history. Rahman was bought by Kings XI Punjab in 2018 for 4 crore.
Brad Hogg is the oldest player in IPL. He was 45 old when he last played for KKR in IPL 2016.
10. From Start to Finish
Indian pacer, Zaheer Khan is the only player to feature in the very first game of the IPL and also the 500th. His first game was played with RCB while the 500th was played with the Delhi Daredevils. The icing on the cake would have been wins in both games which unfortunately his teams did not manage to achieve.
11. Going Global
IPL’s appeal has been its ability to attract players from all over the globe. Sandeep Lamichhane is the first and only Nepalese cricketer to play in IPL. He was bought in the 2018 auction by Delhi Capitals for 20 lakh rupees.
Manzoor Dar is the only player from Jammu and Kashmir to play in IPL 2018. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab for a similar amount as Lamichhane when he was just 24 years of age.
12. Bollywood Ending
Generally regarded as the strongest team in the IPL and the one with the most brand value, the Mumbai Indians hold the record for the biggest ever win in IPL history. The Indians defeated the Delhi Capitals by a margin of 146 runs in IPL 2017.
Mumbai Indians had scored 212 runs for the loss of just three wickets while the Capitals could only muster 66 runs. The Capitals were bowled out in just 13.4 overs.
13. KaaChing!
Star India Network were able to bag the rights of the IPL for a staggering ?16347.5 crore. To put it simple terms, it would cost the Star India Network 21 Lakh Rupees to broadcast a single delivery of IPL.
We hope you enjoyed some of these quirky IPL facts. Don’t forget to get in touch if you feel we have missed out some more obscure ones. As always you can head over to the cricket betting section to see which bookmakers are offering the best odds for your favourite IPL matches.