In IPL 2013, Chennai Super Kings had the season's leading run-scorer, its leading wicket-taker and the most dominant playoff win, and they still lost the final. Mike Hussey made 733 runs, Dwayne Bravo took 32 wickets (a single-season record at the time), and on 21 May 2013 Chennai beat Mumbai Indians by 48 runs in Qualifier 1 at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Five days later, at Eden Gardens on 26 May 2013, Mumbai beat them by 23 runs and won their first IPL title.
The sixth season was the longest IPL to that point: nine teams, 76 matches, 681 sixes and a season run rate of 7.69. It produced the highest score in T20 history, Chris Gayle's 175 not out, and the highest IPL team total, 263/5. It was also the season the spot-fixing scandal broke in mid-May, which led two years later to the suspension of the two franchises that met in the 2013 playoffs. This is the story of IPL 2013, built from Cricsheet's ball-by-ball record of all 76 matches.
The Season Chennai Ran and Mumbai Won
A nine-team league with no easy fixtures
The 2013 league stage ran from 3 April to 19 May 2013, and every team played 16 matches. Sunrisers Hyderabad took the Hyderabad slot left by the defunct Deccan Chargers, and Pune Warriors played what turned out to be their last season. The opening match on 3 April 2013 set the tone: Sunil Narine took 4/13 as Kolkata Knight Riders began their title defence by beating the Delhi Daredevils.
That was the high point of Kolkata's season. The 2012 champions won only six of 16 matches. Delhi, the 2012 league leaders, won three and finished last. Chennai and Mumbai both finished on 22 points, with Chennai first on net run rate. Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers both reached 20 points, which left Royal Challengers Bangalore out on 18, despite having Gayle and Virat Kohli at the top of the order.
Mumbai change captains mid-season
Mumbai began 2013 under Ricky Ponting, signed in the auction as captain at 38. A few weeks into the season Ponting stood down and handed the captaincy to Rohit Sharma, then 25. Rohit scored 538 runs that season at a strike rate of 131.5, and Dinesh Karthik added 510. The decision shaped the franchise for a decade: Rohit would lead Mumbai to five titles between 2013 and 2020.
Mumbai's 2013 side was built on bowling. Harbhajan Singh took 24 wickets at an economy of 6.51, Mitchell Johnson took 24, and Lasith Malinga took 20. When the batting failed, as it did on 17 April 2013 when Rajasthan bowled Mumbai out for 92 in Jaipur, the attack usually won the game anyway. Mumbai also bowled Chennai out for 79 at the Wankhede on 5 May 2013, the lowest all-out total of the season.
Chennai's best side, on paper
Dhoni's 2013 Chennai side was arguably the best of the franchise's first era. Mike Hussey made 733 runs in 17 innings at 129.5 to win the Orange Cap. Suresh Raina added 548 runs at 150.1, including 100 not out against Kings XI Punjab on 2 May 2013 and 99 not out against Sunrisers on 8 May 2013. MS Dhoni hit 25 sixes. On 8 May 2013 Chennai made 223/3 against Sunrisers, the second-highest total of the season.
The bowling was led by Dwayne Bravo, whose slower balls and cutters at the death brought him 32 wickets in 18 matches. No bowler had taken more in a single IPL season, and nobody passed him until Harshal Patel matched the 32 in 2021. Mohit Sharma, in his first IPL season, and Ravindra Jadeja gave Dhoni the control in the middle overs that made Bravo's death bowling count.
The Gayle storm of 23 April 2013
The season's best-known innings came from a side that missed the playoffs. On 23 April 2013 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Chris Gayle scored 175 not out from 66 balls against Pune Warriors. He reached his hundred in 30 balls and hit 17 sixes. Bangalore made 263/5, which stood as the highest IPL total for 11 years until Sunrisers made 277/3 in 2024. Gayle finished the season with 720 runs at a strike rate of 156.9 and 52 sixes, the most of anyone in 2013.
He was not the only batter to hit a century off fewer than 40 balls. On 6 May 2013 in Mohali, David Miller made 101 not out from 38 balls as Kings XI Punjab chased down Bangalore's 190. Shane Watson's 101 against Chennai on 22 April 2013 was the season's other hundred. There were only four centuries in all, against 103 scores of fifty or more.
The Playoffs: Twelve Days in Delhi and Kolkata
Qualifier 1 — Chennai at their peak (21 May 2013)
At the Feroz Shah Kotla, Chennai batted first and lost one wicket in 20 overs. Hussey made 86 not out from 58 balls, Raina 82 not out from 42, and Chennai reached 192/1. Mumbai replied with 144 all out, Dwayne Smith making 68 from 28 balls before the innings fell away. Bravo took 3/9 and Jadeja 3/31. Chennai won by 48 runs and went straight to the final. It looked like a fourth successive final appearance that would end in a third title.
Eliminator and Qualifier 2 — Mumbai's second chance
The next day, also in Delhi, Rajasthan beat Sunrisers by four wickets in the Eliminator. Sunrisers made only 132/7, and Brad Hodge's 54 not out from 29 balls took Rajasthan home with three balls left. That sent Rajasthan, under Rahul Dravid in his last IPL season, to Eden Gardens for Qualifier 2 on 24 May 2013.
Rajasthan made 165/6, with Dravid scoring 43. Mumbai chased it down with four wickets in hand: Smith made 62 from 44 balls at the top, and Harbhajan, whose 3/23 had kept the target down, was named player of the match. Mumbai had lost Qualifier 1 by 48 runs and still reached the final.
The final — Pollard's 32 balls (26 May 2013)
Mumbai won the toss at Eden Gardens and batted. Mohit Sharma and Albie Morkel removed Dwayne Smith, Aditya Tare and Rohit inside the first four overs, and the innings was saved by Kieron Pollard, who made 60 not out from 32 balls. Ambati Rayudu made 37. Mumbai finished on 148/9, a below-par total against a Chennai side that had made 192/1 against them five days earlier.
Chennai never got close. Malinga dismissed Hussey and Raina in the first over of the chase, Johnson removed Subramaniam Badrinath in the second, and Dhoni's 63 not out from 45 balls came with too few partners. Harbhajan took 2/14 and Johnson 2/19, Chennai finished on 125/9, and Mumbai won by 23 runs. Bravo's 4/42 in the final took his season total to 32, but Pollard was named player of the match, and Mumbai had their first title after five seasons of trying.
Data Deep-Dive: IPL 2013 by the Numbers
League table (16 matches each)
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CSK | 11 | 5 | 22 |
| 2 | MI | 11 | 5 | 22 |
| 3 | RR | 10 | 6 | 20 |
| 4 | SRH | 10 | 6 | 20 |
| 5 | RCB | 9 | 7 | 18 |
| 6 | Kings XI Punjab | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| 7 | KKR | 6 | 10 | 12 |
| 8 | Pune Warriors | 4 | 12 | 8 |
| 9 | Delhi Daredevils | 3 | 13 | 6 |
Two league matches were decided by Super Overs: Sunrisers beat Bangalore on 7 April 2013, and Bangalore beat Delhi on 16 April 2013. They are counted as wins above.
Top run-scorers
| Batter | Team | Runs | Strike rate | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Hussey | CSK | 733 | 129.5 | 17 |
| Chris Gayle | RCB | 720 | 156.9 | 52 |
| Virat Kohli | RCB | 639 | 139.2 | 22 |
| Suresh Raina | CSK | 548 | 150.1 | 18 |
| Shane Watson | RR | 543 | 142.9 | 22 |
| Rohit Sharma | MI | 538 | 131.5 | 28 |
Top wicket-takers
| Bowler | Team | Matches | Wkts | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwayne Bravo | CSK | 18 | 32 | 7.95 |
| James Faulkner | RR | 16 | 28 | 6.76 |
| Mitchell Johnson | MI | 17 | 24 | 7.17 |
| Harbhajan Singh | MI | 19 | 24 | 6.51 |
| Vinay Kumar | RCB | 16 | 23 | 8.39 |
| Sunil Narine | KKR | 16 | 22 | 5.47 |
Economy figures here are runs conceded per six legal balls, wides and no-balls included, calculated from Cricsheet deliveries.
James Faulkner took both of the season's best figures, and both came against Sunrisers: 5/20 in Jaipur on 27 April 2013 and 5/16 in Hyderabad on 17 May 2013. Jaydev Unadkat, then playing for Bangalore, took 5/25 against Delhi on 10 May 2013. Amit Mishra took a hat-trick on 17 April 2013 and finished with 4/19 as Sunrisers defended 119 against Pune Warriors.
Narine's economy of 5.47 over 64 overs was the best of any bowler who sent down 40 overs or more in 2013, ahead of Dale Steyn's 5.80 for Sunrisers. Kolkata's batting rarely gave him enough runs to defend.
The Scandal That Followed the Season
On 16 May 2013, with three days of the league stage left, Delhi Police arrested three Rajasthan Royals players, S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, on spot-fixing charges. Later that month Gurunath Meiyappan, a Chennai team official, was arrested in a separate betting investigation. The playoffs went ahead, and both franchises played in them.
The consequences came later. In July 2015, the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha committee suspended Chennai and Rajasthan for two seasons. The 2016 and 2017 IPLs were played without them, with Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions taking their places. Chennai returned in 2018 and won the title in their first season back. Two of the four 2013 playoff teams were suspended as a result, which is part of why the season's cricket is often remembered less clearly than its off-field story.
Legacy Impact — What 2013 Means Today
The 2013 final began the run that made Mumbai the IPL's most successful franchise alongside Chennai. Rohit took over a few weeks into the season, and Mumbai won again in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Each of those campaigns used the 2013 formula: a strong bowling attack, a finisher in Pollard, and an Indian captain who stayed calm in knockout games. Pollard's 60 not out in the 2013 final was the first of his many decisive late innings in IPL knockouts.
The season also shows how much the scoring rate has changed. The 2013 run rate was 7.69 and only four batters made centuries. Gayle's 263/5 stood as the highest IPL total for 11 years, until the high-scoring seasons of 2024 and 2025 brought several totals above 250. A score of 148/9 won the 2013 final. In the modern game, a total of 148 in a final would be well below par in most conditions.
For the CricMind Oracle, 2013 is a useful warning about knockout matches. A pre-match model built on that season's numbers would have strongly favoured Chennai in the final: they had the Orange Cap, the Purple Cap, a 48-run win over the same opponent five days earlier and the top league position. They still lost. The Oracle reports a confidence score with every call because single T20 matches are noisy, and the calibration page shows how often favourites at each probability level actually win.
Several players from the 2013 season are still in IPL 2026 squads. Virat Kohli, who made 639 runs in 2013, is still at Bangalore. MS Dhoni, who captained Chennai in that final, remains at the franchise. Rohit Sharma is still at Mumbai, Sunil Narine at Kolkata and Ajinkya Rahane, who opened for Rajasthan in 2013 and made 488 runs, now captains Kolkata.
Three Takeaways
- The best league side does not always win the title. Chennai had the top run-scorer, the top wicket-taker and a 48-run win in Qualifier 1, and Mumbai still beat them by 23 runs in the final at Eden Gardens on 26 May 2013.
- Mumbai's first title was won by its bowlers. Harbhajan, Johnson and Malinga took 68 wickets between them in 2013, and the attack defended 148 in the final when the batting had not done enough.
- 2013 set records that lasted a decade. Gayle's 175 not out is still the highest individual IPL score, Bangalore's 263/5 stood as the highest total until 2024, and Bravo's 32 wickets were not matched until 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won IPL 2013?
Mumbai Indians won IPL 2013, beating Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs in the final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on 26 May 2013. It was Mumbai's first IPL title, and Kieron Pollard was player of the match for his 60 not out from 32 balls.
Who won the Orange Cap and Purple Cap in IPL 2013?
Mike Hussey of Chennai won the Orange Cap with 733 runs. Dwayne Bravo, also of Chennai, won the Purple Cap with 32 wickets, which was a single-season record at the time and was later matched by Harshal Patel in 2021.
What was the highest score in IPL 2013?
Chris Gayle's 175 not out from 66 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors on 23 April 2013. It remains the highest individual score in IPL history. Bangalore's total that day, 263/5, was also the highest team total of the season.
Who captained Mumbai Indians to the 2013 title?
Rohit Sharma. Ricky Ponting began the season as captain but stepped down a few weeks in, and Rohit led Mumbai for the rest of 2013, including the playoffs and the final.
How many teams played in IPL 2013?
Nine: Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils. Each played 16 league matches, and there were 76 matches in all, including four playoffs.
What happened to Chennai and Rajasthan after IPL 2013?
After the 2013 spot-fixing and betting investigations, the Lodha committee suspended both franchises for two seasons in July 2015. They missed IPL 2016 and 2017 and returned in 2018, when Chennai won the title.
Was IPL 2013 Rahul Dravid's last IPL season?
Yes. Dravid captained Rajasthan Royals to the 2013 playoffs, where they lost Qualifier 2 to Mumbai at Eden Gardens on 24 May 2013, and he did not play in the IPL again. It was also Sachin Tendulkar's last IPL season with Mumbai.
Source note: match results, scorecards and season aggregates in this piece are calculated from Cricsheet's ball-by-ball data for all 76 IPL 2013 matches.