IPL 2019: Top 5 teams with the highest single-season NRR in the tournament's history

IPL 2019 has begun, and we can't stop ourselves from talking about intriguing statistics and unique insights from the mega event. The 12th edition of the tournament has already been set on fire with close games and last over finishes.

Andre Russell's innings against the SRH and Rishabh Pant’s against Mumbai Indians have been the highlights so far.

In IPL, net run-rate is one of the most important statistical figures, and often comes into play every year to separate the teams in the points table that are tied on the same points. Though NRR might seem to be a big mathematical model that is difficult to comprehend, it is actually quite simple and can be calculated by anyone, as explained here.

NRR is important not just for separating the sides with equal points; a higher NRR also indicates how the team has fared as a whole in the season, and to what extent has the team played well or been dominated against.

In most of the cases, the top teams have the highest NRR for obvious reasons. Here, we look at 5 such teams who have obtained the highest NRR in the history of IPL, highlighting the level of their dominance in that particular season.

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#5 Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016: +0.932

Indian Captain Virat Kohli scored a king-sized 973 runs in 2016 edition

The RCB side ended up being the table toppers in the 9th edition of the IPL and amassed a massive net run rate of +0.932.

Usually, any kind of positive NRR in a tournament signifies that the team has scored at a rate more than what has been scored against them. So an NRR of +0.932 signifies the kind of success the Bengaluru side enjoyed in IPL 9.

2016 was also the season where the Indian captain Virat Kohli scored a king-sized 973 runs in a single edition of the tournament. This record of highest runs in a single IPL is still held by the RCB captain; he leads the others by a fair distance.

The Bengaluru side lost the final to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016.

#4 Chennai Super Kings in 2009: +0.951

CSK extended their dominance even in South Africa

The 2009 edition of the IPL was shifted to South Africa due to the general elections in India. But not much changed from the inaugural edition as the fans witnessed the Chennai Super Kings extendi their dominance even in the Rainbow Nation.

The Chennai based side finished with an NRR of +0.951 in the tournament while sitting at the number 2 position on the points table. MS Dhoni led his side to some amazing wins as CSK dominated all opposition teams with great authority. They had a lead of 0.6 in comparison to the table-toppers Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals).

Unfortunately for them though, CSK lost against the Anil-Kumble lead Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-finals.

In the tournament, Chennai Super Kings scored a total of 2086 runs in 255.3 overs whereas only 1855 runs were scored against them in 257.1 overs.

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#3 Kings XI Punjab in 2014: +0.968

The Punjab side literally dominated every opposition in 2014 edition

Kings XI Punjab had one of the most memorable outings during the 2014 edition of IPL. The Punjab side dominated every opposition in the tournament, and their NRR of +0.968 is a testament to the same.

No team had enjoyed success of this stature since the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition of the IPL. 11 wins in a single edition of IPL in the group stages is the highest for any team; Punjab and Rajasthan are the only teams to have achieved this feat in the 12-year-old tournament.

Unfortunately, the dream run ended for Punjab in the final against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite scoring 199 in the final, the Kings suffered defeat as Manish Pandey single-handedly won the game for the Knight Riders.

Glenn Maxwell from Punjab was adjudged as the “Most Valuable Player” of the season.

Note: Delhi Daredevils (2012), Chennai Super Kings (2013) and the Mumbai Indians (2013) recorded 11 wins in the tournament, but those two editions saw each team playing a total of 16 games in the Group Stages.

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#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015: +1.037

ABD scored a monstrous 133* at Mumbai in the 2015 edition

Royal Challengers Bangalore make it to the list once again. The Bengaluru side stockpiled a humongous NRR of +1.037 in the 2015 edition of the IPL.

It was a season when RCB's top 3 of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers fired on all cylinders in unison. The trio scored a massive 1509 runs among themselves.

Though the Bangalore side finished 3rd in the tournament, they dominated most opposition teams. One of the highlights of the tournament was when RCB pinned down the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium, scoring a gigantic 235 - courtesy splendid innings from ABD and Kohli.

RCB lost to their neighboring rivals Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 2 of the 2015 edition of IPL.

Trivia: RCB is also the only team to feature twice in the list of “Top 5 teams with the lowest NRR in the history”. RCB achieved -1.16 in 2008 and -1.2 in 2017.

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#1 Mumbai Indians in 2010: +1.084

Sachin Tendulkar won the "Most Valuable Player” award in 2010 season

Mumbai Indians had a dream run in the 3rd edition of the IPL. The Mumbai fans largely remember that as the season of Sachin Tendulkar. The 3rd edition saw the cricketing legend score a colossal 618 runs at an average of 47.

Sachin Tendulkar won the "Most Valuable Player” award of the tournament and till now is only the second Indian apart from Virat Kohli (2016) to win the prestigious award.

Mumbai Indians topped the points table in 2010 with 10 wins to their name. But they lost against Chennai Super Kings in the final, held at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Suresh Raina was the man of the match in the all-important final.

Throughout the course of the tournament, Mumbai Indians scored a total of 2408 runs in 277 overs as opposed to 2100 runs scored against them in 276 overs.