5 things in IPL 2016 that no one saw coming

Pune's poor performance

MS Dhoni’s side had a season to forget

Chennai Super Kings may not have been part of IPL 2016 but the brains behind the team was still present and that is what makes Rising Pune Supergiants' performance in this year's tournament all the more surprising. For the first time in MS Dhoni's career, he failed to make it to the IPL play-offs and RPSG only just managed to avoid claiming the Wooden spoon courtesy of a win in their final game over Kings XI.

It all began so well for IPL's newest franchise. They had defeated the defending champions, Mumbai Indians, on their own turf, quite convincingly as well. But from then onwards, it was all downhill for MS Dhoni's side as injuries and a lacklustre bowling attack meant they were languishing near the bottom rather than the top as is usually the case with Dhoni's team.

It took an MSD special in the final game against Kings XI to ensure that RPSG's poor season started and ended with a victory. The pitfalls of not having a good Auction were clearly evident in RPSG's side as players began falling like flies, to injuries. The lack of a world-class T20 bowler, a big-hitting opener and someone to finish the innings, aside from Dhoni all meant Pune didn't get off to a great start in their IPL career as a franchise.