Nobody wishes to end up at the bottom of the table, but every season, one season has to wear the crown of embarrassment
In continuation to the first part, here is the second part where we take a look at the Indian Premier League teams who have finished at the bottom of the table from 2015 to 2024.
2015 witnessed Kings XI Punjab at the bottom of the table. Punjab only won three matches out of 14 whereas the rest of the 11 lost, earning only six points. On the other hand, the 2015 champions were Mumbai Indians.
After Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab became the second team in Indian Premier League’s history to finish at the bottom thrice. In 2016, the team lost ten matches and won only four out of 14, accumulating only eight points. In terms of winning the tournament, Sunrisers Hyderabad became the champions.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) finished at the bottom of the 2016 table with seven points on the card. Out 14 matches, the team won lost ten and won only three whereas one game ended without any result. 2017 witnessed Mumbai Indians lifting the IPL trophy.
A visually distraught Virat Kohli who had an impeccable IPL season, scoring 973 runs
In 2018, Delhi Daredevils officially changed its name to Delhi Capitals but their poor form did not change. The team became IPL’s first team to hit bottom for the fourth time since 2008. Capitals collected ten points, winning only five matches out of 14, whereas nine games were lost. Moving on to winners, the 2018 edition was won by Chennai Super Kings.
In 2019, Royal Challengers Bangalore once again finished at the bottom with 11 points, five wins and eight losses in 14 matches, whereas one match ended in a tie. Rajasthan Royals also shared the exact statistics, but their run rate was -0.449 compared to Bangalore’s -0.607. That year, Mumbai Indians once again became the IPL champions.
Former champions of the IPL, the Rajasthan Royals had their worse season in 2020. The team collected 12 points by winning six matches but losing eight games out of 14. In terms of winning the trophy, Mumbai Indians lifted defended the 2019 title and lifted a consecutive title.
In 2021, it was the Sunrisers Hyderabad who finished at the bottom of the table. In 14 matches, Hyderabad won only three games whereas lost eleven and scored only six points. Moving on to champions, Chennai Super Kings once again lifted the trophy.
Mumbai Indians worst ever performance was in 2022 when the team ended the bottom of the table with eight points from 14 matches with only four wins in their name. On the other end, debutant team Gujarat Titans lifted the title.
Sunrisers Hyderabad once again hit the bottom low, scoring only eight points from 14 games in 2023. Moving on to champions, Chennai Super Kings lifted its fifth IPL trophy, equalising the record of Mumbai Indians.
In 2024, Mumbai Indians found itself at the bottom, scoring only eight points in 14 matches – Mumbai’s new captain Hardik Pandya was heavily blamed for its poor captaincy. Moving on to champions, the final is a week away but the four teams to have reached the qualifiers are Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
