3 captains who played the least matches to win an IPL trophy
It’s every captain’s dream to lift the trophy for his team in any particular format and in any particular tournament. A player and a skipper play the tournament with the aim of winning that series and the trophy. Some captains take time to settle down with the leadership duties while some just click and win instantly. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), there have been few leaders who took very few matches to take their side to the glory.
Let’s take a look at 3 players who took the least number of matches as skippers to win an IPL title:
3.Adam Gilchrist (24)
VVS Laxman captained the Deccan Chargers side in the first six matches of the inaugural season in 2008. The team suffered miserably as they lost five out of the six games. The Chargers then appointed Adam Gilchrist as their skipper for the remaining eight matches. Though Deccan Chargers finished bottom in that season, Gilchrist was back captaining the side in the 2009 season. They ended up fourth in the table after the completion of 14 league matches as he guided his side to victories in the semi-final and final to win the maiden IPL title for the Chargers. It took a total of 24 matches for the Australian to achieve the glory.
2.Shane Warne (15)
Late Shane Warne scripted a fairy tale story with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) side in the inaugural season in 2008. Written off by many, RR was considered the weakest team going into the maiden IPL tournament. But against all odds, Warne and his side proved their naysayers wrong to lift the trophy in the first season. RR played 14 league games with Shane Watson being the skipper for the last group match. Warne took 15 matches including the semis and the finals to achieve the feat.
1.Rohit Sharma (13)
Rohit Sharma has taken the least number of games as a leader to win an IPL title. He was declared as the Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper midway through the season in 2013. Ricky Ponting led the team in the first six matches. With three wins and three losses, Rohit was handed over the captaincy duties from the seventh game. He then donned the captaincy hat for the next 13 matches, which included the Qualifier games and also the big final. MI defeated the two-times champions then Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the summit clash to win their first-ever IPL title.
