IPL: Fewest defeats for a team in an edition
Winning matches consistently in a T20 tournament takes special effort from a team. Such is the nature of the format that a team is bound to lose games here and there in a long competition. Suffering a few losses throughout the campaign shows the character and mentality of a particular side. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), some teams have managed to lose a lesser number of encounters and that helped them in achieving a special feat in the form of the trophy. These teams didn’t start the tournament as favorites but ended up clinching the title by proving each and everyone wrong.
Let’s look at the fewest defeats for a team in an IPL campaign:
Rajasthan Royals (3 in 2008)
The IPL was introduced in the year 2008 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and it was a completely new experience for the cricketers and the viewers. The T20 format had already become a huge hit with the success of the T20 World Cup in the preceding year. Rajasthan Royals (RR) was considered the weakest of the eight teams and were tipped to finish rock bottom as Deccan Chargers were counted the favorites. But what happened then is history as against all the odds, Shane Warne led hisside brilliantly to the title. His team lost only three out of the 16 matches as a fairytale story was completed. The Royals became the first team to lift the IPL trophy by winning 13 clashes including the semi-final and the final.
Gujarat Titans (4 in 2022)
The 15th edition of the IPL witnessed two new franchises making their debut in the form of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT). The tournament extended from eight teams to ten as the T20 carnival of India began with a bang. Nobody gave the GT a chance as they weren’t considered the best side after the mega auction. But skipper Hardik Pandya and his men defied all the odds to win the title in their first season itself by defeating inaugural season champions RR in the final. The Titans lost only four out of the 16 matches in the competition. They topped the table with ten wins and then won the Qualifier one match and the big final to script their history.
