IPL Playoffs records new high on Twitter

After seven weeks of world-class cricketing action, it all came down to the last ball as Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) defeated Rising Pune Supergiants (@RPSSupergiants) by just one run in the #IPLFinal to claim their third  Indian Premier League (@IPL) title.

Fan engagement touched new heights on Twitter this season with the IPL Playoffs crossing the million Tweet mark for the first time in the history of the league.

It didn't take long for the celebrations to hit Twitter:

The #IPLFinal match was a fitting end to a season that has captured the cricket fans’ imagination on and off the field, as illustrated by this heatmap:

Among the teams, Mumbai Indians managed to win the battles both on and off the field. Rohit Sharma (@ImRO45) and team certainly won the fans over, becoming the most mentioned team this season.

#MICam

Off the field, Mumbai Indians showcased their fans and took them behind the scenes with an original #MICam video series using the exclusive Twitter Camera app.

@SonyLIV shared native videos of Extra Innings in real-time on Twitter, ensuring that fans never missed out on the most important moments of analysis throughout the season.

IPL Tweets on TV

IPL also showcased key Tweets on Live TV throughout the season. 

As for the most mentioned teams, the top five also had a surprise entrant in Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets), who snuck into the list of most mentions despite a woeful IPL season.  

Most Mentioned Teams

One thing that stood out this IPL was stunning individual performances. MS Dhoni (@msdhoni) donned the role of the finisher to good effect in crucial matches for Pune, while Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) led from the front for KKR. The duo made it to the list of the most mentioned Player Emojis, with Dhoni leading the charts.

Most Mentioned Player Emoji hashtags

So we know which players made it big this season on Twitter, but what about the on-field moments? The IPL always throws up spectacles that catch fans’ attention and this season was no different. Predictably the IPL final was the most talked about moment on Twitter this season. Among the rest was a super-over clash, a Dhoni special and a Badree hat-trick.  

Top Moments this season

1.   IPL final winning moment: MI beat RPS to win the title
https://twitter.com/Thekkapoor/status/866358544467197953

2.   Super Over #GLvMI – MI beat GL in the super over
https://twitter.com/cricketaakash/status/858389467916382209

3.   #IPL opening match: #SRHvRCB
https://twitter.com/SunRisers/status/849697990545739778

4.   #MSDhoni 50 that set up a last-ball win for RPS vs SRH
https://twitter.com/jatinsapru/status/855783742325104641

5.   Samuel Badree’s hat-trick vs Mumbai Indians
https://twitter.com/TridentSportsX/status/852862556129472512

A similar trend was seen in terms of matches that attracted the most amount of attention. The final once again was the one that took the spotlight, while the playoffs stage matches were among the others to make the cut.

Most Mentioned Matches by hashtags

Mumbai Indians and KKR were among the best teams in terms of fan engagement on Twitter. MI’s #CricketMeriJaan and KKR’s #AmiKKR ranked in the top five hashtags in this season of the IPL. Among the players, it was #MSDhoni that made it to the list. Clearly the former India captain still has a soft corner in the hearts of Indian cricket fans.

Top Hashtags

That’s it for another amazing season of #IPL!