Greatest Indian Premier League comebacks

"It's not how you start that's important, but how you finish!"

The iconic adage applies to the seasons of several Indian Premier League sides since the inaugural tournament in 2008.

After witnessing teams fight back from ominous beginnings to crowning glory, we've taken a look at some of the greatest comebacks in IPL history.

Chennai Super Kings (2010)

Chennai Super Kings endured a difficult start to the third edition of the IPL after suffering five defeats from their opening seven matches, including an excruciating Super Over loss to Kings XI Punjab in their fourth contest of the season.

Murali Vijay then stepped to the fore with match-winnings knocks of 78 and 127 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals respectively, setting the Super Kings on the path to the play-offs.

Chennai won three of their remaining five matches to finish third by virtue of net run rate and setup a semi-final clash against the defending champions Deccan Chargers.

An inspired display from Doug Bollinger saw the Australian left-arm fast take four wickets and seal Chennai's passage to a first IPL final where Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians awaited them.

Fortunately for the Super Kings they had MS Dhoni steering the ship and the legendary captain reignited Chennai's innings alongside Suresh Reina, powering the team to a total of 168.

Chennai's spin department ensured they limited Mumbai to scraps and the Indians finished 23 runs shy of victory, handing the Super Kings their maiden IPL title.

Kolkata Knight Riders (2014)

Kolkata Knight Riders' start mirrored Chennai's with five defeats from their opening seven matches, but a batting order rearrangement soon arrested their slump.

Gautam Gambhir's consecutive 60+ knocks helped the team to comprehensive victories over Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab.

Before you knew it, Kolkata's new opener Robin Uthappa was powering in the runs, helping the Knight Riders to a second-placed finish following seven successive triumphs.

A meeting with the table-topping Kings XI Punjab awaited in the Qualifier but with Uthappa and Gambhir in formidable form, Kolkata's presence in the final was inevitable.

Umesh Yudav claimed three wickets, including the crucial removals of Wriddhiman Saha and Glenn Maxwell to seal Kolkata's eight win in a row.

They would reacquaint with Kings XI Punjab in the final three days later and the IPL's showpiece was an intense occasion.

After the Kings XI had set a mammoth total of 199 from their 20 overs, Manish Pandey ensured Kolkata were always on course to complete the highest successful run chase in a T20 final as he produced 94 off 50 balls.

His stunning performance ensured the Knight Riders reached their 200 target with three deliveries to spare and Kolkata were crowned champions for a second time.

Mumbai Indians (2015)

Mumbai Indians commenced their 2015 IPL season with four successive defeats to leave them rooted to the bottom of the standings.

A win away at Royal Challengers Bengaluru eventually got them off the mark but the subsequent round of fixtures saw them defeated by Delhi Capitals. Very few could have imagined the Indians contesting the play-offs, let alone winning the whole thing.

Conquering Sunrisers Hyderabad by 20 runs got their wheels motoring and by the end of the regular season, Mumbai had won seven of their final eight matches to seal second place, despite finishing with a negative net run rate.

With momentum on their side, Mumbai were powered to victory over Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier by Kieron Pollard's 17-ball 41 and Harbhajan Singh's removal of Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni in successive balls.

The Indians would need to get the better of the Super Kings again in the final, but Mumbai were ruthless at the Eden Gardens.

An unbridled onslaught from Rohit Sharma and Lendl Simmons set the team on course to a mammoth total which was further supplemented by the explosive innings of Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu.

The Super Kings needed to conjure something special, but they were restrained by a mighty Mumbai bowling attack and the Indians went on to complete one of the greatest comeback seasons in IPL history.

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