The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League recently reached its halfway mark as far as the group-stage is concerned. has seen a whole lot of adrenaline-charged action unfold up until now. The current edition has seen it all: remarkably high-scoring encounters, some low-scoring thrillers, loads of runs and wickets, and moments of brilliance on the field. Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals were the two sides that won five out of their first seven games.
Their run in the first half was marked with formidable all-round performances and clinical execution by almost all their members. Their outings evoked all sorts of comparisons on social media, with several commanding exploits at the midway point of past IPL seasons. The resemblance to previous IPL franchises and their outcomes has added a fresh layer of intrigue to this edition’s race to the knockout stage.
Historically speaking, teams that have registered six or more wins in their first seven league games (assuming a 14-game group-stage) often stake an early claim as being title contenders early on. Below, we analyse a few top performances from teams in the first half of their respective campaigns and how their tournament panned out.
Here are the three teams with best mid-season records in past IPL seasons:
3. Chennai Super Kings (2015)
The first seven games of CSK in 2015 marked a loss to the Rajasthan Royals on either side of three victories. The first and seventh games were absolute nail-biting contests, which the Men in Yellow won against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and Kolkata Knight Riders by one and two runs, respectively. Both games were played at Chepauk, with CSK managing to defend rather underwhelming totals (150/7 and 134/6, respectively). The most comprehensive victory of that edition’s group stage came in their sixth game against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
The visitors were restricted to 95/9 in their full quota of 20 overs after CSK amassed 192/3 in the first innings. CSK ended in first position with nine wins in 14 games that year. They lost to the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1. Qualifier 2 saw them clinch victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) via a narrow margin. CSK lost out to MI in the final once again, this time with a much more authoritative margin.
