Did Kings Eleven Punjab deserve to win the IPL?

Quite a lot, because Kings XI finished in the top four of the league stage for the first time since coming second in the inaugural IPL season in 2008. They had gone into the 2014 player auction with a purse as large as Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, but smaller than that of Delhi Daredevils, and emerged the most improved squad - brimming with big-ticket batsmen.

They did not disappoint. Kings XI were the best batting team of the tournament; they were arguably the best batting outfit in all seven seasons of the IPL; they were probably the most entertaining side too. Kings XI had some starting trouble, as some of their Indian batsmen struggled for form and they tinkered with their batting order, but Glenn Maxwell and David Miller carried them through this phase with explosive performances. Then the pieces fell into place - Wriddhiman Saha, Virender Sehwag and Manan Vohra found form - and by the end of the season Kings XI could rely on any of their top six to score. They were so prolific as a unit that Shaun Marsh, a certainty to play for most other franchises, got only two games. Thisara Perera, Sri Lanka’s power-hitting allrounder who was an integral part of the Sunrisers XI in 2013, did not get even one. Kings XI made the four highest totals in 2014, and scored more than 190 in eight innings.

Kings XI also made a rare combination work - a foreign captain and an Indian head coach. George Bailey began the season with questions over whether he would find a place among the four first-choice overseas players had he not been captain. And though Bailey’s form with the bat was average, he led adroitly, kept his team in line, and played with grace in victory and defeat. Bailey had high praise for Bangar, Kings XI’s new coach and perhaps the most low profile in the tournament. Bangar was credited with bringing the best out of Kings XI’s less-known Indian talent, and he might have opened the door to the IPL for more Indian coaches.