IPL 2019 : 3 surprising facts from the tournament's history 

The Indian Premier League has been entertaining cricket fans all over the world since its inception. The excitement among fans for the league is so much that they are always eagerly waiting for it. It has become an integral part of the sport over the last decade. The league is not only about entertainment and glamour but it is also a great platform for cricketers from all over the globe to show their talent to the world.

The wait is almost over for fans as a brand new season is set to commence on 23rd March. The very first match of the season will see defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Banglore taking on each other in Chennai.

Over the past 11 editions, IPL has witnessed some incidents that most of the fans are bound to not know about. With a new season set to begin, we take a look at three incidents that will catch most by surprise.

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#3 No KKR batsman has scored a ton since Brendon McCullum's 158

Brendon McCullum smashed 158 in the very first match of IPL

It is hard to believe but quite astonishingly, no Kolkata Knight Rider's batsmen have scored a century in the IPL since Brendon McCullum's 158 in the opening match of the first season.

In that inning, McCullum smashed 158 runs off just 73 balls with the help of 10 fours and 13 mammoth sixes against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their own backyard. It was the highest individual score in IPL till 2013. This was the performance that laid the platform for the success of the tournament.

However, since McCullum's effort, six KKR batsmen have crossed the 90-run mark in the league but none of them managed to convert it into a ton. Since that day, the highest score by a KKR batsman is of 94 by Manish Pandey against Kings XI Punjab in 2014.

It will be interesting to see if the drought of hundreds will end for KKR in the upcoming season.

#2 Oldest player to make IPL debut - Pravin Tambe (41 years)

Pravin Tambe is the oldest IPL debutant

At the age of 41 when most of the cricketers look to retire, leg-spinner Pravin Tambe made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals in 2013. When Tambe was picked by RR for IPL 2013, he had not even played any first-class match but was a regular performer in club cricket. He did not perform well in his debut IPL season as he took just one wicket from 3 matches at a very poor average of 88.0.

It was Champions League that year where the leg-spinner announced his arrival to the world cricket. He picked up 12 wickets from just 5 matches in the tournament at an astonishing average of 6.50 and an economy rate of 4.10 with best figures of 4/15.

Later, Tambe took a hat-trick in IPL 2014 against KKR. He has been a part of three IPL franchises - Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Lions, and Sunrisers Hyderabad. He played a total of 33 matches in IPL and taken 28 wickets in them.

Tambe was recently seen playing in T10 league where he became the first to take a hat-trick and a five-wicket haul. He picked 8 wickets from 4 matches in the tournament.

#3 Player to have lost the most IPL finals - MS Dhoni

MSD has lost the most number of IPL finals

MS Dhoni is arguably one of the most successful finishers in the history of PL. He led his team to three titles which also makes him one of the most successful captains in the tournament. However, Dhoni holds an unwanted achievement of losing the most number of IPL finals.

Till date, the former Indian captain has been a part of eight IPL finals with Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants. He led CSK to the finals seven times and won on three occasions but ended up on the losing side four times. He has also played a final for RSP in 2017 and unfortunately even on that day he was on the wrong side of the result.

Ultimately, Dhoni has lost 5 out of 8 IPL finals he has played which is most by any player.

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