Over the years in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), we have seen some dramatic and action-filled matches and stories. Some of the teams didn’t fare well in the initial stages of the tournament but rose to fame just like a phoenix rises from the ashes.
As they say that slow and steady wins the race, some of the teams started off slowly in the IPL but managed to win a lot of matches and eventually titles in the future. These stories brim with resilience and are one for the history books.
That is essentially the beauty of IPL. When we witness such amazing stories, we tend to get inspired ourselves. Even when the odds are stacked against them, they manage to rise above the danger waters.
In this article, we take a look at 3 IPL teams who went from the last place to being the champions:
1. Deccan Chargers
The now-defunct IPL team, Deccan Chargers’ story is a heart-warming and beautiful one. In the first season of IPL, the Hyderabad-based team finished with the wooden spoon. But the Adam Gilchrist led side etched history and conjured magic in the next game as they won the game in a beautiful fashion.
Right when the odds were against them and their backs were against the walls, Deccan Chargers proved everyone wrong. The team went through a complete overhaul as their team management, CEO and their sponsors were removed. Deccan Chargers also changed their jersey colour.
Held in South Africa, IPL 2009 witnessed the rise of Deccan Chargers. Under their new primary sponsor Deccan Chronicle and their astute captain Adam Gilchrist, Deccan Chargers embodied resilience and grit, determination.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders
Despite having a star-studded team in the initial 3 years of the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders failed to qualify for the playoffs even once. The likes of Sourav Ganguly, Chris Gayle, Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum and David Hussey couldn’t perform well and the team management decided to change everything in IPL 2011
They roped in fresh faces and appointed Gautam Gambhir as the skipper of the unit. And the rest is history. Under the leadership of Gambhir, KKR lifted the title twice; first in 2012 and then in 2014.
3. Delhi Capitals (formerly, Delhi Daredevils)
Despite not being able to win the IPL trophy yet, Delhi Capitals’ story is a very inspiring one. They were one of the most unsuccessful teams in the history of IPL as from 2008-2019, they never managed to even reach the IPL finals.
They always struggled in IPL as they had young players and their position in the table was always towards the bottom. However, when they changed their name from Delhi Daredevils to Delhi Capitals and tweaked their team, things started going their way.
Shreyas Iyer was appointed as the Delhi captain in IPL 2018 and he took the team to the playoffs in IPL 2019 and also to the finals in IPL 2020.
Delhi have become a force to reckon with in the IPL now and it is safe to say that they could well win the IPL title, very soon.
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