Indian Premier League 2008: Teams, summary, winner, most runs and wickets

BCCI announced their T20 league months after S Sreesanth caught Misbah-ul-Haq off Joginder Sharma to help India lift the first ever T20 World Cup. Despite having arrived before them, the ICL, had failed to attract the high-profile Indian cricketers (who would had been banned if they played).

There were eight franchises, each based out of a major Indian city and a salary cap of USD 5 million per franchise (which would increase over time). Additionally, the teams were not allowed to name more than four cricketers in their playing XIs.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Brendon McCullum started the tournament with a whirlwind 73-ball 158, then a record in T20 cricket. However, Rajasthan Royals emerged the most impressive side of the tournament.

They focused on roles and relevant fits ahead of big names, recruiting the not-so-glamorous lot of Yusuf Pathan, Kamran Akmal, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel, Sohail Tanvir, and Siddharth Trivedi in addition to their big three – Shane Watson, Graeme Smith, and captain and coach, Shane Warne.

Warne’s approach earned Rajasthan the moniker of the Moneyball side of the IPL. Fittingly, he was out there when Tanvir hit the winning stroke off the last ball of the tournament, against Chennai Super Kings.

Semi-final 1, Mumbai, May 30: Rajasthan Royals 192/9 in 20 overs (Shane Watson 52; Farveez Maharoof 3/34) beat Delhi Daredevils 87 in 16.1 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 33; Shane Watson 3/10, Munaf Patel 3/17) by 105 runs. Player of the Match: Shane Watson.

Semi-final 2, Mumbai, May 31: Kings XI Punjab 112/8 in 20 overs (Ramesh Powar 28*; Manpreet Gony 2/14) lost to Chennai Super Kings 116/1 in 14.5 over (Suresh Raina 55*, Parthiv Patel 51*; Irfan Pathan 1/24) by 9 wickets. Player of the Match: Makhaya Ntini.

Final, Navi Mumbai, June 1: Chennai Super Kings 163/5 in 20 overs (Suresh Raina 43; Yusuf Pathan 3/22) lost to Rajasthan Royals 164/7 in 20 overs (Yusuf Pathan 56; Albie Morkel 2/25) by 3 wickets. Player of the Match: Yusuf Pathan.

Orange Cap: Shaun Marsh (Kings XI Punjab) – 616 runs, 11 matches
Purple Cap: Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals) – 22 wickets, 11 matches
MVP: Shane Watson