On this day in 2008: Rajasthan Royals win the inaugural IPL
1st June 2008 is a date that everyone associated with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise will remember with a sense of pride and nostalgia. It was on this date that the Rajasthan side, led by the legendary Shane Warne won the inaugural edition of the IPL, by defeating the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with 3 wickets to spare in the summit clash.
On the day of the final, the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and decided to field first. Almost all the CSK batsmen got off to good starts, but none of them could convert their starts into a big score. And, the top scorer for the CSK side was Suresh Raina, who scored a 30-ball 43. The Chennai Super Kings ended their innings with a total of 163/5 in 20 overs.
Yusuf Pathan was the pick of the bowlers for the Rajasthan outfit with the ball. In the 4 overs that he rolled his arm over, Pathan scalped 3 wickets, giving away 22 runs in 4 overs.
In reply, the Rajasthan side was in a spot of bother, with their scorecard reading 42/3 after 6.4 overs. But then, Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan stood up for the Rajasthan Royals with the bat. While Pathan bludgeoned 56 runs at a strike rate of 143.58, Watson scored a handy 19-ball 28 to turn the match in favour of the Rajasthan side. And, it was Sohail Tanvir who scored the winning runs for the Rajasthan Royals, off the final delivery of the match.
For the ‘Men in Yellow’, Muttiah Muralitharan and Albie Morkel were the pick of the bowlers. While Morkel picked up 2 wickets, giving away 25 runs in his 4 overs, Muralitharan scalped a couple of wickets as well in the 4 overs that he bowled but leaked 39 runs.
And, for his scintillating performance with both bat and ball that allowed the Rajasthan Royals to clinch their first and only IPL title, Yusuf Pathan was awarded the Player of the Match award.
