2015 marked the eighth season of the Indian Premier League, IPL 8 held across a variety of different cities in India. A total of 60 T20 cricket matches took place from 8 April until 24 May, providing plenty of betting opportunities for cricket fans.
The Indian Premier League is a Twenty20 cricket tournament which began back in 2008. The yearly tournament on this occasion visits a total of 12 locations, while 123 cricketers including 79 Indians and 44 Overseas players have been retained for the 2015 season.
Big names like Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen, David Hussey, Dinesh Karthik and Zaheer Khan were among those released during the trading window for the 2015 tournament. The teams that took part in the IPL following the Cricket World Cup were Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad and defending champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Defending Champions
Kolkata Knight Riders won their second IPL title in IPL 7, beating Kings XI Punjab in the final by a total of three wickets. The Knight Riders had finished second in the group stages overall to Punjab, but beat them in the Preliminary round of the Playoffs as well as in the final. Chennai Super Kings meanwhile were beaten in the Playoffs and missed out on a chance to play in the final.
The Knight Riders had in fact won two less than the 11 victories of Punjab in the group stages last year, while 2013 champions Mumbai Indians narrowly made it into the Playoffs ahead of Rajasthan Royals before failing to progress from the Eliminator.
Previous Winners Of The Tournament
The bookmakers predicted a close contest and put Chennai Super Kings as pre-tournament favourites, which wasn't far off the mark as they made it to the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. However, Mumbai Indians won the tournament by defeating Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs to win the IPL title for the second time.
Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 25 runs in the preliminary play-off stage, while Royal Challengers Bangalore eased there way past Rajasthan Royals by 71 runs. Then followed a cracking battle between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore for a place in the final, with Chennai winning by 3 wickets.
Past IPL Winners:
2008 - Rajasthan Royals
2009 - Deccan Chargers
2010 - Chennai Super Kings
2011 - Chennai Super Kings
2012 - Kolkata Knight Riders
2013 - Mumbai Indians
2014 - Kolkata Knight Riders
2015 - Mumbai Indians
