The Indian Premier League (IPL) has become the most highly-anticipated cricket tournament for fans worldwide since its inception in 2008, and it has only grown in competitiveness over time. Each match in the twenty-20 league offers a thrilling and entertaining rollercoaster ride.
Throughout the years, many IPL franchises have emerged, declined, or undergone rebranding, with only a select few remaining unchanged. In the previous season, the Gujarat Titans won their first IPL title in their debut season under the leadership of former Mumbai Indians player Hardik Pandya.
In every tournament, there are two sides of the coin: one team wins the silverware, while another finishes in the last spot. Although fans remember the winners of all past IPL seasons, they frequently forget about the teams that finish at the bottom of the table.
Therefore, let’s examine the top 5 teams with the lowest points in a single IPL season together.
#5 Sunrisers Hyderabad: 6 Points (IPL 2021)
The first team on the list is Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had a terrible run during the 2021 season. Despite having a star-studded line-up including Kane Williamson, David Warner, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, and T Natarajan, the team failed to deliver on all fronts.
Out of their initial six matches, they could only manage to win one, leading to a leadership change where Kane Williamson took over the captaincy from David Warner for the remaining matches. The second leg of the IPL was played overseas, and Warner was left out of the side for the whole period, which led to backlash from fans on social media.
During the season, Warner also publicly announced his intention to leave the side, citing a lack of opportunities. Sunrisers Hyderabad could only win three matches in the entire season, and Manish Panday was their top scorer with 292 runs. Rashid Khan was the team’s leading wicket-taker with 18 wickets.
#4 Kings XI Punjab: 6 Points (IPL 2015)
Kings XI Punjab has had a run of bad luck in the Indian Premier League. They made it to the tournament final in 2014 but lost to Kolkata Knight Riders. The following season, the team made few changes and hoped to replicate their success under the captaincy of Australian batsman, George Bailey.
However, things did not go according to plan in 2015. Unlike the previous year’s IPL where the initial matches were played in the UAE, the 2015 edition was held entirely in India. The grounds of Sharjah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, which had favored overseas batters in the previous season, were not utilized this time.
Coming back to the 2015 season, Kings XI Punjab managed to win only three matches, and from April 25 to May 11, they suffered seven consecutive defeats. The team had a strong squad comprising of Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Mitchell Johnson, and others, but unfortunately, they were all out of form.
#3 Delhi Daredevils: 6 Points (IPL 2013)
Delhi Daredevils, which was later renamed to Delhi Capitals in 2018, had a bad reputation in the IPL before the rebranding. However, their performance in the 2013 season was particularly disappointing. After finishing in the first spot the previous year, they won only three out of 16 matches and ended up in the last place on the league table in 2013.
Despite the best efforts of their coach, Eric Simons, Delhi Daredevils struggled throughout the season. They lost their first six matches before finally securing a win against Mumbai Indians. They then went on to win two more matches against Pune Warriors India and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Delhi’s top order batsmen, including Sehwag, Jaywardhane, and Pietersen, who had been instrumental in winning several matches the previous season, were completely out of form in 2013. This resulted in a poor run for Mahela Jaywardhane’s side as they lost their last six matches too.
#2 Deccan Chargers: 4 Points (IPL 2008)
Deccan Chargers had an incredible victory in the 2009 IPL season, but their debut in the Indian Super League was far from perfect. They were considered to be one of the front-runners in the competition, with one of the most expensive squads, led by VVS Laxman. The team consisted of notable names such as Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Herschelle Gibbs, RP Singh, Chaminda Vaas, and Scott Styris.
However, the Chargers got off to a bad start in their first season. They lost against Kolkata Knight Riders after scoring only 110 runs. They continued to lose until their fourth match, where Adam Gilchrist’s brilliant century turned the game around against Mumbai Indians.
But their luck soon ran out as Andrew Symonds withdrew from the tournament due to his international duties, and VVS Laxman suffered a wrist injury, ending his season early. Gilchrist was then named as the new captain. With only two victories against Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers finished the season in last place.
#1 Delhi Daredevils: 4 Points (IPL 2014)
At the top of the list of the worst IPL performances is Delhi Daredevils’ miserable run in 2014 under the captaincy of Kevin Pietersen. After a disappointing season, the Daredevils went into the auction with a full purse and managed to capture many big names from different nations, including JP Duminy, Ross Taylor, and Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Despite looking unbeatable on paper, the team failed to deliver on the field. They started their campaign under the captaincy of Dinesh Karthik due to Pietersen’s finger injury, but suffered a loss in the first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The team won their next match and showed some promise, but it didn’t last long. Pietersen returned to captain the side, but the team lost all of their last nine fixtures, and Pietersen’s captaincy and batting both failed.
JP Duminy emerged as the highest scorer for the side with 410 runs, while Imran Tahir was the most successful bowler for the team with 9 wickets.
Also Read: Top 10 forgotten IPL stars
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