IPL 2025: Teams with best mid-season records compared to past IPL seasons

Chennai Super Kings Huddle (Source: Chennai Super Kings)

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) IPL 2015: CSK (Source: X)

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.

2. Kings XI Punjab (2014) IPL 2014: KXIP (Source: X)

In 2014, KXIP had their first five games lined up within an 11-day timeframe. They managed to win all those games quite convincingly. Their first game in May, the clash against MI, was lost by five wickets. However, the minor hiccup did not prevent the then-George Bailey-led outfit from overpowering CSK by 44 runs in the very next game. KXIP had won their eighth match too, a five-wicket victory against RCB. They ended up with a joint-highest tally of 22 points at the end of the round-robin stage.

A 28-run loss to KKR in Qualifier 1 meant they had to take on CSK in Qualifier 2. The 24-run win in a run-fest at the Wankhede Stadium was the third time KXIP got the better of CSK that season. KXIP suffered a heartbreaking loss to KKR at the Chinnaswamy in the summit clash. Setting a target of 200, it seemed as if it was their game to lose during the mid-innings break. However, KKR seemed to be ahead during the run chase during large portions, eventually claiming a three-wicket triumph with as many balls to spare.

1. Rajasthan Royals (2024) IPL 2024: RR (Photo source: X)

The initial segment of RR's season last year was characterised by tight finishes. Be it winning after batting first or defending totals, all barring one (six-wicket win with 27 balls remaining) win were games which went right down till the wire. Their loss to GT was a classic illustration of the same. The visitors got past the finish line on the last ball of the game to clinch an iconic win in Jaipur. RR's eighth and nine games in IPL 2024 were much more comfortable wins.

However, it was a completely contrasting business end for the runners-up of the 2022 edition. From making it seem as if they would most definitely emerge as the leaders by a mile to ending up on third place, their campaign took a dramatic U-turn. Although they won the Eliminator against RCB, they failed to get close to SRH's total in Qualifier 2 in Chennai. It was quite an anticlimatic end to a blistering start to a season which promised so much more.