IPL 2012 Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders | Cricket

Chennai Super Kings’ juggernaut and push for a hat-trick of IPL titles came to a screeching halt at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders, who went down to CSK in a tense encounter in the final. Under a new and dynamic leader in the form of Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s fortunes had completely turned around. That year, the number of teams reduced from 10 to 9 with the disbandment of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Chris Gayle became the first and only batsman to win the Orange Cap in consecutive years, with the Universe Boss crossing the 700-run mark with seven fifties and a century and Rahul Sharma hitting five sixes in an over. Morne Morkel won the Purple Cap with 25 wickets. This was also the year when Ajinkya Rahane became the first player to hit six fours in an over, a feat that has only been repeated once. The season also saw Brett Lee knocking Unmukt Chand’s off stump and blasting him off the first ball of the tournament.