IPL 2018

The Indian Premier League is a domestic T20 cricket league that is based in India, however has immense recognition and appreciation all over the world. Since its inception in 2008, the IPL has made quite a name for itself, attracting some of the biggest names in cricket who take part in one of the most action packed leagues. The league is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and was conceptualized by former commissioner Lalit Modi.

The 2018 IPL was the eleventh edition of the highly-fancied league (was also called IPL 11), and was held from 7th April to 27th May 2018. It saw the return of the two suspended franchises - Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, after they completed their two years of suspension following the involvement of their owners in the 2013 IPL betting case.

The final was held on 27th May between the Chennai Super Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Super Kings defeated the Sunrisers by 8 wickets to win their third title making them the most successful franchise in the league alongside Mumbai Indians.

Format

The league was played in the regular round-robin format where each team played every other team twice - one at home ground, the other away. The four teams which ranked the highest in the group tables based on points and then net run rate, qualified for the playoffs. The playoffs involved one qualifier and two eliminators. The top two teams of the table were directly entitled to the qualifier, in which the winner booked themselves a spot in the finals, while the losing team played the second eliminator with the winner of the first eliminator, which in turn was played between the third and the fourth placed team.

The league reserved its structure and schedule of matches played despite the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals returning, as the two temporary franchises Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants were removed altogether.

The 2018 edition saw the introduction of the Decision Review System (DRS) for the first time in IPL. A short five-day transfer window was also introduced which allowed mid-season transfers for uncapped players who had not played in more than two matches by the halfway mark of the tournament.

Broadcasting

The IPL holds the record for being the most attended cricket league in the world and was ranked sixth in the highest average attendance in all sport leagues in 2014. As a result, broadcasting deals were also expected to be huge and did not disappoint. Star Sports won the global media rights for a whopping amount of ₹16,347.5 crores ($2.55 billion) which runs until 2023. Star’s digital platform Hotstar held the online streaming rights in India, US and Canada.

In addition, the league also introduced a new initiative called the Fanparks, where the games were shown live on big screens in a stadia, across various cities in India which didn’t have the privilege of the matches being held in the cities.

Venues

All the franchises in the league had a singular home stadium in the city they were based in, except the Kings XI Punjab who played their home matches in two different cities alternatively - Mohali and Indore. However, the home games of the Chennai Super Kings were threatened by the ongoing Cauvery water dispute protests, and forced the league to shift the remaining six home games of the Chennai Super Kings to be shifted to Pune due to security concerns.

The ten venues across which the IPL matches were played are given below:-

IPL 2018 Points Table

Sunrisers Hyderabad topped the table despite Chennai Super Kings having the same number of points owing to net run rate, while Kolkata Knight Riders finished third with 16 points. Rajasthan Royals booked the final playoff spot with 14 points.

Playoffs

In the qualifiers, Chennai Super Kings booked themselves a spot in the finals after an extremely contested match where the bowlers prevailed over the batsmen. Super Kings won the match by 2 wickets as they reached the total of 140 set by the Sunrisers. While in the first eliminator, Kolkata Knight Riders prevailed over Rajasthan Royals as captain Dinesh Karthik led from the forefront with a knock of 52, to hand the Knight Riders a 25 run victory. However, they fell to Sunrisers in the second eliminator as Kane Williamson masterminded a 14 run victory, with Rashid Khan running the show with the ball in his hand.

Final

The Sunrisers earned themselves a rematch after their defeat to Chennai Super Kings in the qualifier match. The match was played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, similar to the previous edition. CSK won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Sunrisers started slow, however captain Williamson provided the base for the innings to be set upon scoring a steady 47 off 36 balls. Yusuf Pathan and Carlos Brathwaite provided some fireworks at the end of the innings to set the total of 178.

With 179 runs needed to win, Shane Watson played an absolute blinder of an innings scoring 117 not out from 57 balls, as he single-handedly won the Chennai Super Kings the final. The Sunrisers bowling department had no answers to Watson’s relentless hitting and Suresh Raina comfortably allowed him to do so, rotating the strike and scoring whenever he could.

Statistics

Orange Cap

The Orange Cap was awarded to the player who scored the most runs throughout the campaign. At the end of the 2018 season, Kane Williamson of Sunrisers won the award.

Purple Cap

The Purple cap was awarded to the bowler who took the most number of wickets. It was won by Andrew Tye of Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 campaign.

Special Awards

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