The Indian Premier League (IPL) is unarguably the biggest T20 tournament of the world.
Since the inaugural edition in 2008, IPL has adhered to a round-robin format, called the league stage, followed by the knockouts.
Along with the bragging rights, the team that finishes on top of the points table in the league stage now gets two chances to qualify for the finals.
Here, we take a look at the IPL league leaders of each season.
2008 – Rajasthan Royals
The inaugural champions of IPL, Rajasthan Royals, were in phenomenal form right from the beginning. Led by the late Shane Warne, the Royals won 11 of the 14 matches in the league stage to end on top of the table with 22 points.
2009 – Delhi Daredevils
Although Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) have never won the Indian Premier League title, they were on top of the points table in 2009. They won 10 matches and lost four, amassing 20 points. Delhi, however, lost to Deccan Chargers in the semi-finals.
2010 – Mumbai Indians
Led by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai Indians were first in the league stage of IPL 2010, winning 10 of the 14 matches with 20 points. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in the final.
2011 – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore reached their second final in 2011 after topping the points table, collecting 19 points through nine wins and four losses. While one match fetched no result.
2012 – Delhi Daredevils
The play-offs were introduced in IPL for the first time in 2012. Delhi Daredevils topped the charts again with 22 points in 16 matches, winning 11 and losing five. But they lost to CSK in Qualifier 2.
2013 – Chennai Super Kings
The most successful team of IPL at that time, Chennai Super Kings were first in the league stage of IPL 2013. The MS Dhoni-led team had won 11 of the 16 matches with 22 points.
2014 – Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) topped the table for the first time in IPL 2014, taking full points from 11 out of 14 matches. They reached the finals as well but lost to Kolkata Knight Riders.
2015 – Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni led CSK to their sixth IPL final in 2015 after ending the league stage on top position. The Men in Yellow amassed 18 points, winning nine of the 14 matches. They lost to Mumbai Indians in the summit clash.
2016 – Gujarat Lions
Making their debut in the Indian Premier League, Gujarat Lions, led by Suresh Raina, finished first on the points table with 18 points. They won nine out of 14 games but lost to eventual champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2.
2017 – Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma guided Mumbai Indians to their third IPL title in 2017 after topping the league stage with 10 wins from 14 matches, totalling 20 points.
2018 – Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad had an almost perfect campaign in IPL 2018 when they secured the top position in the league stage with 18 points, winning nine of the 14 games. They lost the final to CSK.
2019 – Mumbai Indians
In a repeat of 2017, Mumbai Indians topped the league stage and went to claim the title as well. The league stage saw them pick up nine wins in 14 matches with 18 points.
2020 – Mumbai Indians
Just like 2017 and 2019, Mumbai Indians were first in the league stage in IPL 2020 and later became the champions, beating Delhi Capitals in the final. MI once again won nine matches out of 14 to end with 18 points.
2021 – Delhi Capitals
Led by Rishabh Pant, Delhi Capitals claimed the top spot in the league stage after winning 10 of their 14 matches. However, the title remained elusive to them as Delhi was knocked out in the Eliminator by RCB.
2022 – Gujarat Giants
Debutants Gujarat Giants took IPL 2022 by storm, topping the league stage with ease. Led by Hardik Pandya, the Ahmedabad outfit was the first team to confirm its play-offs spot in the season.