The 10 Best IPL Finals
#10: 2018 IPL Final — Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Score: Chennai Super Kings (181/2 in 18.3 overs) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (178/6) by eight wickets.
Sunrisers posted a competitive 178/6, and on paper this appeared capable of producing a tense chase.Shane Watson had other ideas. After failing to score from his first ten deliveries, he shifted gears dramatically and produced one of the greatest knocks by a player among the most runs in IPL finals.Watson finished unbeaten on 117 off 57 balls, hitting 11 fours and eight sixes. His innings remains the highest individual score in an IPL final. Chennai completed the chase with nine balls remaining, and the contest never became as close as the original target suggested it might. This final is remembered primarily for one extraordinary innings rather than a tight finish.
Why it ranks here: A century of this quality earns its place, but a comfortable eight-wicket win with nine balls remaining keeps it near the bottom of this list.
#9: 2009 IPL Final — Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Score: Deccan Chargers (143/6) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (137/9) by six runs.
Played in Johannesburg during the tournament’s relocated second season, this final did not produce a large total, but it remained competitive because Deccan’s bowlers kept taking wickets during RCB’s chase.
Anil Kumble delivered an outstanding spell of 4/16 after opening the bowling, dismissing Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao. His performance restricted Deccan to 143/6 and earned him the Player-of-the-Match award despite finishing on the losing side.RCB were then restricted to 137/9, with Pragyan Ojha taking 3/28 and Andrew Symonds claiming 2/18. Deccan held on by six runs to win their first IPL title.
Why it ranks here: A genuinely tight low-scoring final featuring one of the best bowling spells in IPL-final history, but the absence of a defining last-ball moment keeps it outside the middle of this list.
#8: 2025 IPL Final — Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings
Score: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (190/9) beat Punjab Kings (184/7) by six runs.
RCB posted 190/9 through a series of useful contributions rather than one dominant innings, with Virat Kohli top-scoring with 43. Punjab Kings began their chase positively, but RCB repeatedly struck whenever a partnership appeared to be developing.
Krunal Pandya was named Player of the Match for his decisive spell of 2/17 from four overs. He dismissed the set Prabhsimran Singh and Josh Inglis during the middle overs, while RCB’s seamers prevented Punjab from rebuilding momentum.Shashank Singh finished unbeaten on 61 off 30 balls, but his late assault could only carry Punjab to 184/7. RCB won by six runs to lift their maiden trophy in their 18th IPL season, ending a run of 17 previous campaigns without a title.
Why it ranks here: RCB’s first title carried enormous historical and emotional significance, but a six-run victory without a major final-ball twist places it below the more dramatic finishes.
#7: 2012 IPL Final — Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Score: Kolkata Knight Riders (192/5 in 19.4 overs) beat Chennai Super Kings (190/3) by five wickets.
Chasing 191 at Chennai’s home ground, Kolkata lost captain Gautam Gambhir for two in the first over. Manvinder Bisla responded with one of the most important innings in KKR history.
Bisla smashed 89 off 48 balls, hitting eight fours and five sixes. He added 136 for the second wicket with Jacques Kallis, who contributed 69 off 49. After both set batters were dismissed, Manoj Tiwary hit consecutive fours in the final over to complete the chase with two balls remaining.The victory gave Kolkata Knight Riders their first IPL title and added another major chapter to Gautam Gambhir’s leadership legacy, which is why he is always discussed among the best captains in IPL history.
Why it ranks here: A maiden title secured by chasing 191 against the two-time defending champions earns major credit, although the finish did not depend on the final delivery.
#6: 2014 IPL Final — Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Score: Kolkata Knight Riders (200/7 in 19.3 overs) beat Kings XI Punjab (199/4) by three wickets.
Kings XI Punjab, now known as Punjab Kings, posted 199/4 through Wriddhiman Saha’s unbeaten 115 off 55 balls. It was the first century scored in an IPL final and appeared to have put Punjab in a commanding position.
Kolkata’s chase was led by Manish Pandey, who scored 94 off 50 balls with seven fours and six sixes. He received useful support from Yusuf Pathan’s 36 off 22 and Gautam Gambhir’s 23 before Piyush Chawla finished the match with an unbeaten 13 off five balls.KKR reached 200/7 in 19.3 overs, winning with three wickets and three deliveries remaining. Pandey was named Player of the Match as Kolkata secured their second IPL title.
Why it ranks here: A 115 not out followed by a successful chase of 200, driven by Pandey’s 94, makes this one of the strongest batting contests in IPL-final history.
#5: 2016 IPL Final — Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Score: Sunrisers Hyderabad (208/7) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (200/7) by eight runs.
David Warner’s 69 and Ben Cutting’s unbeaten 39 off 15 balls pushed Hyderabad to 208/7. Cutting then completed a match-winning all-round performance by taking 2/35, including the important wicket of Chris Gayle.
RCB responded through a 114-run opening partnership between Gayle and Virat Kohli. Gayle scored 76 off 38 balls, while Kohli made 54 off 35, putting RCB in a strong position before a sequence of middle-order wickets changed the match.Hyderabad eventually restricted RCB to 200/7 and won by eight runs. The two teams produced 408 combined runs, which remains the highest match aggregate in an IPL final.
Why it ranks here: A major shift in momentum, from RCB’s dominant opening stand to Hyderabad’s bowling recovery, combined with the record run aggregate, earns this final a place in the upper half.
#4: 2008 IPL Final — Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals
Score: Rajasthan Royals (164/7) beat Chennai Super Kings (163/5) by three wickets, winning off the final ball.
The first IPL final required the final delivery to determine the champion. Rajasthan chased 164 after losing seven wickets, completing the victory from the last ball of the tournament’s inaugural season.
Yusuf Pathan shaped the match in both innings. He took 3/22 from four overs to help restrict Chennai to 163/5 before scoring 56 off 39 balls during Rajasthan’s chase. Although he was run out with Rajasthan still requiring 21 runs, the lower order completed the job.The victory made Rajasthan Royals the IPL’s first champions, while Pathan was named Player of the Match for one of the competition’s greatest all-round final performances.
Why it ranks here: A last-ball finish in the league’s first final, combined with Yusuf Pathan’s match-winning contribution with both bat and ball, secures its place near the top.
#3: 2017 IPL Final — Mumbai Indians vs Rising Pune Supergiant
Score: Mumbai Indians (129/8) beat Rising Pune Supergiant (128/6) by one run.
Mumbai’s total looked inadequate after they slipped to 65/5 and then 79/7. Krunal Pandya rescued the innings with 47 off 38 balls, helping MI reach 129/8. His contribution proved decisive and earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.Rising Pune Supergiant appeared in control for much of the chase, with Ajinkya Rahane making 44 and Steve Smith scoring 51. However, Mumbai’s bowlers forced the required rate upward during the closing overs.
Pune needed four runs to win from the final delivery. Daniel Christian hit the ball into the deep and completed two runs, but Washington Sundar was run out attempting a third. RPS finished on 128/6, leaving Mumbai champions by one run.
Why it ranks here: Defending 129 in a final remains one of the best bowling performances in IPL history, as Mumbai Indians held Rising Pune Supergiant to 128/6 and won the 2017 title by one run.
#2: 2023 IPL Final — Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings
Score: Chennai Super Kings (171/5 from a rain-revised 15 overs) beat Gujarat Titans (214/4) by five wickets under the DLS method.
Gujarat Titans posted 214/4, the highest team total in an IPL final, with Sai Sudharsan scoring 96 off 47 balls. Rain interrupted Chennai’s chase after three deliveries, and the target was revised to 171 from 15 overs.Devon Conway scored 47 off 25 balls, while Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu all made important contributions. The match still came down to an extraordinary final over.
Chennai needed 13 from the last six balls. Mohit Sharma conceded only three runs from his first four deliveries, leaving ten required from two. Ravindra Jadeja hit the penultimate ball for six and then struck the final delivery for four to win the title.
Why it ranks here: Scoring ten runs from the final two balls of an IPL final, including the winning boundary off the last delivery, is about as dramatic as a successful chase can become.
#1: 2019 IPL Final — Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
Score: Mumbai Indians (149/8) beat Chennai Super Kings (148/7) by one run.
Mumbai’s 149/8 appeared vulnerable against Chennai’s experienced batting line-up. Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 41 off 25 balls provided most of the late acceleration and gave MI a total they could defend.
Shane Watson kept Chennai in the chase with 80 off 59 balls, despite receiving limited support. Jasprit Bumrah produced the outstanding bowling performance of the match, taking 2/14 from four overs and earning the Player-of-the-Match award.Chennai entered the final over needing nine runs. Malinga conceded seven from the first five deliveries, which left CSK needing two runs to win from the last ball. He then delivered a disguised slower ball that trapped Shardul Thakur lbw.Mumbai won by one run and secured their fourth IPL title.
Why it ranks here: No other IPL final has combined a one-run margin, a title-deciding wicket off the last ball and a rivalry of this scale in one match.
Honorable Mention: 2026 IPL Final — Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans were restricted to 155/8, setting Royal Challengers Bengaluru a target of 156. RCB completed the chase comfortably, reaching 161/5 in 18 overs to win by five wickets with 12 balls remaining.The result made RCB only the third franchise, after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, to win consecutive IPL titles. It was a major achievement for a team that had waited until 2025 for its first championship.However, the match itself never reached the level of tension seen in the finals ranked above it. RCB took control early in the chase, with Virat Kohli finishing unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls. It is a final of enormous historical significance for the franchise without the closing drama required to enter this top ten.
