2012 Indian Premier League
The 2012 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 5 or the IPL 2012 or the DLF IPL 2012 (owing to title sponsorship reasons), was the fifth season of the Indian Premier League, initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007 with the first season played in 2008. The tournament began on 4 April and ended on 27 May 2012. Kolkata Knight Riders were the winning team, beating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the final. This season the number of teams in the league went from ten to nine with the termination of Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
| Dates | 4 April 2012 – 27 May 2012 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Board of Control for Cricket in India |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double round-robin and playoffs |
| Host(s) | India |
| Champions | Kolkata Knight Riders (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Chennai Super Kings |
| Participants | 9 |
| Matches | 76 |
| Player of the series | Sunil Narine (KKR) |
| Most runs | Chris Gayle (RCB) (733) |
| Most wickets | Morne Morkel (DD) (25) |
| Official website | www |
Despite a slow start, IPL 5 earned a higher cumulative viewership than any previous edition of the IPL. The cumulative reach for 74 IPL 5 matches was recorded at 163 million against 162 million for 73 matches in IPL 4, and the final match had a higher reach than any previous final. The IPL 2012 edition was the most competitive season of which produced many nail biting finishes. In the 2012 season, there were 19 matches which produced results in the last over, and a couple of them produced results in the last ball. There were also 6 matches in which team won by a margin of less than 10 runs. Near the end of the season, the season faced various hurdles including a spot fixing case, which allegedly included 5 players caught on a sting operation carried on by a local news channel.
The top four teams of the tournament (Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians) represented India in the 2012 Champions League Twenty20. The Fair Play Award was won by Rajasthan Royals, while Kings XI Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh was named the tournament's "Rising Star" and Kolkata Knight Riders bowler Sunil Narine was Player of the Season. This along with 2009, 2016, and 2021 are the only editions where a team topping the table at the end of league stage did not appear in the final.