And finally, the curtains fell on the 2024 Indian Premier League season, leaving an indelible mark in the cricket world and fans who passionately followed the drama unfold across 74 matches. Kolkata Knight Riders lifted the trophy (their third title), while the SunRisers Hyderabad bid adios empty-handed, but in the same style they started the season with - creating a record (for the lowest target in the summit clash). (More Cricket News)
Now that the storm's dust has settled down, let's sit and find out what are the lessons to learn from the 2024 IPL season.
Just 1 Percent Hope Is Enough!
They say 'one percent chance is still a chance' and Royal Challengers Bengaluru exemplified its truth. It was not possible for anyone to imagine that after 6 consecutive defeats, any team with only 2 points from 7 matches could ever enter the playoffs! But the team led by Faf Du Plessis featuring the talisman Virat Kohli made it possible! Against all odds, they did it, winning the next six matches with huge margins (+0.495 NNR) surpassing the Chennai Super Kings (+0.392 NNR) with 14 points.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru may have lost their eliminator match against Rajasthan Royals, but they teach us the lesson of hope. RCB's berth in the playoffs came on the back of the biggest comeback in the history of the Indian Premier League.
Age Is Just Numbers
Chennai Super Kings' IPL 2024 campaign ended with the last group stage match but till today no one can forget the fact that MS Dhoni is 42 years old, and yet he did that 'lion catch' like a young 22-year-old. In match number 7 against Gujarat Titans, the 'Thala' leaped 2.7 meters to his right to pluck a stunning one-handed diving catch and dismissed Vijay Shankar.
It was not just who proved that age is nothing but a number. The captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Faf Du Plessis at age 39, achieved nearly miraculous in the high-stakes encounter (match no.68) against CSK at M Chidambaram. He jumped higher defying gravity and single-handedly plucked the ball out of thin air to dismiss Mitchell Santner.
Journey Is More Beautiful Than Destination
SunRisers Hyderabad, the team who make records, illustrated that no matter what the destination is, your journey is more beautiful. They embarked upon this campaign like a force to be reckoned with, creating records, breaking them, and making other ones, drama, action, thriller, total cinematic! With Pat Cummins 'silence' trend, Travis Head's madness, and Abhishek Sharma's super sixes, the team resided on the minds of millions rent-free.
SunRisers Hyderabad ended as the runner-up in the IPL final, where the match bore witness to the lowest team in the tournament's history. They only managed to score 113/10 in 18.2 overs, which was chased down by Shreyas Iyer's side in just 10.1 overs. Interestingly, this was the second-fastest successful chase of the season. And what's ironic is that the SRH is the team who had set the record for the fastest chase earlier in the season, overtaking 166 runs against Lucknow Super Giants in just 9.4 overs.
