Four unusual team facts in IPL history

The Indian summer is mainly known for the soaring temperatures and raining sixes. For the past ten years, the summer in Incredible India is all about the carnival called the Indian Premier League. The world's toughest T20 league never ceases to amaze the fans as they are kept at the edge of their seats in almost every match.

Thirteen franchises have so far played in the IPL in its decade-long history, of which, five are now defunct. Let us now look at the unusual team facts in the history of IPL.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore- Highest and lowest team total

The Royal Challengers Bangalore are undoubtedly the IPL's batting powerhouse. Their players have shattered the records with the bats in almost every IPL season, topping the batting charts on three occasions (Chris Gayle in 2011 and 2016, Virat Kohli in 2016), which is the most by any franchise in the first decade of the IPL. Thanks mainly to Gayle, Kohli, and AB de Villiers, the men from Bangalore have made most of their talking with the willow. It is no surprise that with such a batting line-up, they lead the charts for the highest team total in the history of the IPL.

They created this record on April 23, 2013 (sixth edition) at home against the now-defunct Pune Warriors India when they scored 263-5 in 20 overs. It was the Gayle storm all the way at the Chinnaswamy as he notched up the highest individual score (175* off 66) in the IPL history, surpassing Brendon McCullum's 158*(73), en-route to his team's historic total.

However, they also created an unwanted record last season against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. Chasing a modest 132 for victory, they were bundled out for just 49 runs in 9.4 overs, thus registering the lowest ever team total in the IPL history. One interesting thing is that they recorded the lowest ever IPL total on April 23, 2017, exactly four years from the day they created the highest ever total.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala- Featured in only one IPL season

Kochi Tuskers Kerala

The franchise from Kochi was owned by the Rendezvous Sports World and they played their home games at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi and the Holkar Stadium in Indore. They were one of the two new teams that were added for the 2011 edition of the IPL.

The team boasted of several star players like Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Steve Smith. Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene captained the side and the former Aussie speedster, Geoff Lawson, was their coach.

In the 14 matches they played in the 2011 season, they won six and lost eight matches thereby finishing eighth among the ten franchises after the league stages. In September 2011, the BCCI terminated the Kochi franchise as they failed to pay the total franchise fee that was due. So far, 13 franchises have played in the IPL of which five are now-defunct and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala remains to be the only franchise to have played in just one IPL season till date.

Delhi Daredevils- No IPL final appearance in eleven seasons

Delhi Daredevils

From Virender Sehwag to Kevin Pietersen, several big names of world cricket have donned the Daredevils jersey in the IPL. The franchise from the National capital has been one of the unluckiest, finishing low on the points table despite some memorable performances over the years. Though the Daredevils have reached the knockouts thrice in eleven seasons (2008, 2009 and 2012) they could not go one step further on those three occasions, thereby finishing as the semi-finalists.

In the inaugural edition, they lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winners, Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede stadium. In 2009, they lost to the Deccan Chargers led by the Aussie legend Adam Gilchrist at Centurion. In the fifth edition in 2012, in spite of being the table-toppers after the league stages, they failed to qualify for the finals after losing to the Kolkata Knight Riders (Qualifier-1) and Chennai Super Kings (Qualifier-2).

It seems that their fortunes haven't changed even after eleven IPL seasons, as they once again failed this season to book a playoff spot. The Delhi Daredevils are the only IPL side (excluding the defunct franchises) not to have made the IPL final at least once.

Deccan Chargers- Won the title after finishing at the bottom of the table in the previous season

Deccan Chargers

The Deccan Chargers were one of the strongest teams in the first edition of the IPL in 2008, comprising of players like Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, and Shahid Afridi. They produced some memorable performances that year but the results did not go their way as they won just two games in their fourteen league games. Thereby, the Hyderabad franchise finished at the bottom of the table amongst the eight teams.

However, in the second season in South Africa, they made a remarkable comeback under Adam Gilchrist, by winning the title in Johannesburg by defeating the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a tense final. They remain the only team till date to win the title after finishing at the bottom of the table in the previous season.