A Mumbai’s stylish young opener, 17, hailing from Virar, scored 240 runs in seven games striking at 188.98 for CSK, emerging as one of the finds of the tournament
B New Zealand pacer Trent Boult took 22 wickets in 16 matches to emerge Mumbai Indians’s leading wicket-taker
C Five-time champions had their worst season ever, finishing last for the first time with just 4 wins in 14 games
D Debutant leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi excelled for Lucknow Super Giants, claiming 14 wickets in 13 games, and broke the internet with his controversial notebook celebration
E Champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru literally made a statement with their now famous slogan Ee Sala Cup Namde
F South African Faf Du Plessis came up with one of his worst shows at this IPL. The DC batter, who even led the team for two matches, scored just 202 runs in 9 games at an average of just 22.44
G Shubman Gill scored an impressive 650 runs in 15 matches, ranking fourth overall
H Skipper , who was jeered by fans in 2024 when MI finished last, did well to score 224 runs and pick 14 wickets while leading the team to third place this time
I The Impact Substitute continues to be a debatable concept though some teams have figured out how to use it to their advantage, MI’s Rohit Sharma being an apt example
J MI pace ace Jasprit Bumrah was at his vicious best, claiming 18 wickets in 12 matches
K RCB’s Virat Kohli was as consistent as ever, scoring 657 runs in 15 games, and finally deservingly winning his maiden IPL title after 17 years
L The Lucknow Super Giants had one of the most up-and-down seasons, before finishing seventh due to an injury-marred bowling line-up
M The five-time champions began in classic Mumbai Indians fashion, winning just once in their first five games before turning it around with a six-match winning streak
N New Chandigarh’s PCA Stadium, the latest edition to the IPL, played perfect host to not just the league matches, but also the thrilling Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator
O Political tensions between India and Pakistan saw the IPL suspended for a week (May 9-16) before Operation Sindoor ensured that the league’s resumption was safe for all involved
P The IPL’s most expensive player (Rs 27 crore) and LSG skipper Rishabh Pant suffered his worst season, scoring just 269 runs in 14 matches at a poor average of 24.45.
Q Kolkata Knight Riders opener Quinton de Kock was a pale shadow of his explosive self, managing just 152 runs in 8 games at an average of 21.71
R DC’s top-order batter KL Rahul impressed with his aggressive batting, scoring 539 runs in 13 games, including one brilliant century and three half-centuries
S Gujarat Titans opener Sai Sudharsan deservingly won the Orange Cap for his excellent consistency, scoring 759 runs in 15 games with one century and six half-tons
T England pacer Reece Topley, played just one match for MI, the Qualifier 2 vs Punjab Kings, where his three overs cost 40 runs, but more importantly the 13th over, bowled by him, saw PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer hit a hat-trick of sixes and snatch the match away from Mumbai
U Umpires continued to be under scrutiny with both fans and experts questioning some of their calls pertaining to the DRS, wides and even no-balls
V Rajasthan Royals’s 14-year-old left-handed batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi was so impressive, scoring 252 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 206.6 that he earned the nickname Baby Boss from fans, taking off from Universe Boss Chris Gayle
W GT’s Washington Sundar didn’t do much with both bat and ball (133 runs, 2 wickets in 6 matches) but will be remembered for his dramatic fall while unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a stunning Jasprit Bumrah yorker during the higly exciting Eliminator
X The X-factor is the unique trait that players like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and a few others possess which transcends their cricketing expertise but is equally impactful on the field
Y Wily leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took an impressive 16 wickets in 14 games, including two four-wicket hauls, to ensure PBKS finished the league phase as
table-toppers
Z Sunrisers Hyderabad’s leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari made a brilliant IPL debut, taking 3-42 in a losing cause against DC, but did well to he dismiss their top-order batters Jake-Fraser McGurk, Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul. Later though he fizzled out, managing just 3 more wickets in the remaining nine matches