IPL Rewind – 2008: Rajasthan Royals come up trumps in the inaugural edition
Ever since its inception, the Indian Premier League has become a league of eminence and stature. There was not much to look beyond international cricket earlier, but IPL carved out orthodoxy and brought invigorating changes to the game as we knew it.
Change is the only constant, they say. Cricket integrated a new format in 2003 when the world witnessed T20 cricket for the first time. Five years later, a groundbreaking amalgam of cricket and entertainment took shape in the form of the Indian Premier League.
No one knew what to expect from the first IPL season. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders were amongst the most popular teams and one of them was expected to win the title. However, 12 years ago, it was Rajasthan Royals who defeated Chennai Super Kings in an all-exciting and nerve-sapping summit clash by a trivial margin of three runs to crown themselves as the winners.
Road to the final
Led by Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals seemed unstoppable right from the initiation of the tournament. RR started the tournament on a low as Delhi Daredevils handed them a nine-wicket loss in their inaugural match of the inaugural edition of the IPL. However, RR upped the ante as they went onto defeat Kings XI Punjab, Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, KKR, and CSK. Their five-match winning streak was not brought to a halt until Mumbai Indians slammed them by seven wickets in what was their seventh league encounter.
The inspired unit cast aside the minor hiccup and scripted three home-victories on the trot against DC, RCB and DD. The Royals carried their momentum in two away-matches against KKR and CSK as well and took their winning streak to six against the same opposition- Mumbai Indians- that broke the winning run previously. RR kicked off the tournament with a loss against DD and ended on a low against KXIP in their last league match. However, by this time they had won as many as 11 encounters out of total 14 league matches to finish as the table-toppers.
The knockouts
RR ensured to sail through the semi-final by defeating Delhi Daredevils and booked their final berth, where they were pitched against the Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. On the day of the decider, CSK batted first to post a decent total of 163 for 5 courtesy Suresh Raina’s 43. Chasing just a touch over eight runs per over, RR found themselves in a tricky situation as they were reduced to 42 for 3 in the seventh over.
However, Yusuf Pathan came to the team’s rescue as he smacked 54 off 39 and stitched a crucial and match-winning 65-run stand alongside Shane Watson, who anchored the chase through his 19-ball 28. When the victory seemed imminent, Pathan ran himself out and failed to take his team across the line. With eight required off the last over, it seemed CSK that might be able to clinch the final, save only they didn’t.
Purple cap winner of the inaugural season, Sohail Tanvir, fittingly struck the winning runs to guide his side to a famous win against the favourites- Chennai Super Kings. Rajasthan Royals surprised one and all with their title victory in 2008.
Team finishing first in points table and winning the IPL:
Rajasthan Royals in 2008
Mumbai Indians in 2017#IPLfinal— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 21, 2017
