For a sport that resisted the force of the market for so long, the Indian Premier League 2008 was the watershed moment in the history of cricket. It was the dawn of a new era, where athleticism was to be served with blitz and glamour, something seldom seen in cricket. It was also the start of the power shift of cricket from the original home to the adopted one, from the colonisers to its subject of over two hundred years.
Never has cricket been so lucrative. Never has territorial boundary lost its significance as players from different nations played under one name, one label, one banner. In many ways, Lalit Modi tried to achieve what Gabriel Hanot did few decades ago in football.
Six franchises picked one icon player each to resonate with the local audience. For instance, Mumbai Indians picked up Sachin Tendulkar; Kolkata Knight Riders acquired Sourav Ganguly; and so on. Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings could not find a homegrown icon. To compensate, both were allowed to make the first two acquisitions. Rajasthan went with Shane Warne, while Chennai roped in MS Dhoni.
Sports in itself is a pointless phenomenon. It is the passive spectators that add meaning, context, ingredients. For that to happen, establishing a cultural connection with the fans is an important phenomenon. Thus, apart from buying local icons for their teams, they also employed regional flavours in their marketing campaigns.
The rules were simple. Eight city-based teams would compete in a double round-robin process and the top four of them would qualify for the knockout round. No more than four overseas players could be a part of the playing XI.
The opening ceremony in M Chinnaswamy Stadium was an opulent affair, only to be overshadowed by Brendon McCullum’s onslaught few moments later. McCullum’s innings was perhaps the prescient statement about how one should bat in a format where you are always short of time. Bangalore, in their own backyard, were ambushed by the brute force of McCullum, who made 158 off just 73 balls, at that point the highest score in the history of T20 cricket. Never has cricket been this cruel to the bowlers.
It was an innings ahead of the time, like a punk single when Richard Wagner ruled the world, or an instant messaging service in the era of telegram, or using the stylus when manuscripts were written in vellum and parchments.
Kolkata Knight Riders, however, lost the plot after a masterful prologue. They finished the season with six wins and seven defeats, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
In the subsequent match, Michael Hussey blasted 116 in 54 deliveries to take Chennai to an imposing total of 240/5. Kings XI Punjab, now Punjab Kings, put up a decent fight but fell 33 short.
There were quite a few low-scoring thrillers. Then Mumbai fell six short of chasing 208 against CSK, before Rajasthan finally did the unthinkable. Rajasthan chased down a daunting total of 214, set by the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, courtesy a 98-run partnership between Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan. Skipper Shane Warne too chipped in with a handy contribution, smashing two fours and as many sixes for his 9-ball 22.
It was also the season when Shaun Marsh broke into the international scene. Amassing 616 runs in 11 matches, Marsh played a crucial role in the Punjab’s run to the semifinal, where they failed to chase a mediocre total against the Super Kings. Except for Marsh, who scored 23 in 17 balls, none of the next five batters could even touch the double-digit mark.
But the IPL 2008 was not about cricket alone. It was also about an uncensored mass entertainment episode straight out of daily soap: the infamous Slapgate incident. Harbhajan Singh slapped S Sreesanth after the MI vs KXIP match, and the latter was caught sobbing in front of the camera. Many feared that this city-based rivalry would ruin the harmony of the national squad. Harbhajan was banned for the rest of the season.
But the most defining story of the inaugural edition was the triumph of an underdog – the Rajasthan Royals. Rajasthan’s business in the auction drew a lot of eyebrows. Devoid of big Indian names, the team’s crux was built on overseas stars like Warne and Smith. Shane Watson was more of a curious case of an unfulfilled talent till then. Having made his international debut in 2005, he sealed his spot with authority only after his exploits in the IPL 2008.
In Warne, Rajasthan had a tactically astute captain who never shied from experiments. Just five matches into the season, Ian Chappell proclaimed that Warne was the best captain Australia never had. Warne, at times, made baffling decisions, but it worked for him, it worked for his franchise.
The 2008 @IPL final hero and a Royals mainstay talking about THAT night? Don’t forget to tune-in. 😄#HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | @iamyusufpathan | @romibhinder pic.twitter.com/KKJMRbX9si
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 31, 2021
After recording career-best figures of 6-14 against CSK, Sohail Tanvir revealed how he was helped by judicious use of his overs by Warne. Tanvir came across as a cunning a fast bowler who relied on everything but pace. His game was based on deception, and his idiosyncratic action made him a tough nut to crack.
Swapnil Asnodkar was given full freedom on the top, while Watson’s attacking game ensured a steady flow of runs despite early wickets. Watson was more often successful than not, and finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer for Rajasthan.
With 11 wins and three defeats, Rajasthan were the table-toppers after the league stage, followed by Punjab Kings, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals.
Rajasthan crushed Delhi in the first semifinal, and followed it with a comprehensive three-wicket victory to clinch the inaugural trophy. Yusuf’s 58, a crucial knock in a pressure situation, earned him the Player of the Match award in the final.