How The IPL Teams Fared In The 2014 Edition In The UAE

The fans finally tasted some positive news regarding the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The initial beginning date of the IPL was the 29th of March before being postponed to the 15th of April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the situation only worsening, the BCCI had no choice but to defer it indefinitely. Nevertheless, as per the latest developments, the Indian cricket Board has set UAE as the venue for the whole tournament, slated to start from September.

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With the situation of the pandemic a lot more stable in the Arab nation, the BCCI saw it feasible to conduct there. Back in 2014 too, the first 20 matches of IPL took place in the UAE, which was nothing less than a success. It witnessed high-scoring games, one super-over, as well as low-scoring nail-biting finishes. Hence, apart from the safety factor, the fans can enjoy exciting games in the tournament too.

We take a look at how each team fared in the 2014 edition of the IPL:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Kolkata Knight Riders might have won the IPL in 2014; however, they did not have a promising start to their campaign. They played five games in the phase of the competition conducted in the UAE out of which, they won two and lost three.

Their last game in the nation, which was against the Rajasthan Royals resulted in a tie while chasing 153 to win. Gautam Gambhir’s men fluffed the match from being in a comfortable position. After 20 overs, the super over culminated in a tie as well. However, Rajasthan Royals won the clash due to the boundary-count rule.

Mumbai Indians:

Three-time champions Mumbai Indians probably had the worst possible campaign in the UAE. They were the defending champions that year and ended up losing all their five matches in the country. All those five games came against Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Delhi Daredevils.

Their fortunes began turning when they played their first match in India at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium. Despite losing the first five games, Mumbai made it to the playoffs, losing to Chennai in that stage.

Delhi Capitals:

Delhi Capitals, who were named Delhi Daredevils back then, endured an ordinary outing in the UAE. They lost their opening game to Bangalore and bounced back to beat Kolkata, clinching a victory by four wickets. Delhi tasted a heavy defeat to Chennai by 93 runs and another stiff loss to Hyderabad by four runs.

JP Duminy’s men ended the UAE campaign by beating Mumbai by four wickets. With 12 losses and only two triumphs, Delhi eventually finished last that year.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Similar to Delhi, Royal Challengers Bangalore also performed inconsistently in 2014. While they commenced with two convincing victories over Mumbai and Delhi by eight and seven wickets respectively, they lost the rest three games in UAE.

Perhaps their defeat against Kolkata was the most stinging of all, where they snatched loss from the jaws of victory. The openers stitched a 67-run opening stand despite which they fell two runs short of 150. With only five wins out of 14 games, Virat Kohli’s men finished second last in 2014.

Chennai Super Kings:

It is safe to say that Chennai Super Kings is one of the best and dangerous IPL teams of all time. The yellow army displayed the same amount of consistency in 2014 too. Barring their loss to Kings XI Punjab in their opening game, Chennai Super Kings won rest of the four games in UAE.

Perhaps their most tight victory in the UAE was against Rajasthan Royals where they defended 140 to win by seven runs. However, the edition was one of the few in which MS Dhoni’s men could not make it to the finals of the tournament. They lost in the playoffs game to Kings XI Punjab.

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Sunrisers Hyderabad was yet another side who put on a mediocre showing in the 2014 IPL edition in the UAE. With the likes of David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shikhar Dhawan, and KL Rahul, Hyderabad had one of the strongest batting line-ups.

Their bowling line-up was equally potent having Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dale Steyn, and Amit Mishra in their ranks. Despite that, they could only manage two out of five wins in the UAE. The Orange Army eventually finished 6th in the points table and clinched their first title two years later.

Rajasthan Royals:

The inaugural IPL champions commenced their UAE campaign with a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad but lost their next two games to Punjab and Chennai. They thundered back to beat Bangalore by six wickets and Kolkata using a boundary-count rule. Nevertheless, their season finished with seven wins from 14 games and ending fifth on the points table.

Kings XI Punjab:

Kings XI Punjab remained unbeatable in five games when a part of IPL took place in the UAE. Their success was mostly based upon Glenn Maxwell’s batting prowess, so much so that in the first three matches, he looked unstoppable. Maxwell’s scores in the first three games were 95, 89, and 95 against Chennai, Rajasthan, and Hyderabad.

That edition was also the first and the only time till date that Kings XI Punjab made it to the finals of the tournament. However, they lost by three wickets to the Kolkata Knight Riders. But for 552 runs in 16 games, Glenn Maxwell received the man of the tournament that edition.

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