A dark horse, which had never been thought of... rushed past the grand stand to sweeping triumph." -- Benjamin Disraeli (Well known author).How true do these words stand for the Rajasthan Royals, who on June 1, 2008 created history by emerging Champions of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. Who would have imagined a man who withdrew his services from international cricket, would lead from the front and inspire a young team to grab the unexpected title.
IPL has been a tournament that will be remembered not only for the beguiling cricketing action, but also its share of controversies, astounding entertainment and glamour. A revolutionary supposed soap-opera, entertained the prime time viewers for 44 days and it had everything from drama to emotion.
Much of the acclaim of this gargantuan event must be given to Lalit Modi -- Chairman of IPL, who has pulled off a never dreamt before sporting event -- an extravaganza that has become one of the most richest domestic leagues in any sport across the globe. The buzz around the much awaited tournament started right at the initiation, when teams and television channels queued up to eat a major chunk of the delicious pie.
An unimaginable concept that looked to brew city-based rivalry hit off right from the word go. This even if the fanatic, who glued to their seats throughout the six weeks, cheered for the downfall of their most revered icon -- Sachin Tendulkar. In an attempt to ape the thrill of the English Premier League, the IPL matched to the idea of having foreign recruits in the eight franchises formed.
The result: an exciting mix of veteran international players with some exhilarating new Indian faces, entertaining capacity crowd stadiums in eight cities where the teams owned hailed from.
The surprise package
With the IPL witnessing a spectacle in true sense, fanatics of the sport will treasure every mega six hit out of the park, every wicket claimed and every spectacular effort on the field. The tournament saw some unheard of players make a difference in their expertise departments.
Who would have imagined at the start of the IPL that breathtaking batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds etc and lethal bowlers like Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan etc would be left behind by two unassuming names in the IPL -- Shaun Marsh (Leading run getter) and Sohail Tanvir (Leading wicket-taker) -- who shined like gold throughout the tournament.
An unassuming Kings XI Punjab's Shaun Marsh -- son of Australia's legendary Geoff Marsh flabbergasted many as he went on to become the most triumphant batsmen of the tournament. His stylish shots and powerful sixes earned him the undisputed choice for the 'Orange cap' (awarded to the highest run getter) with over 600 odd runs.
The man with the wrong-footed action -- Sohail Tanvir from Pakistan, would never have imagined such adulation from Indian masses. However, the IPL has done just that. The masses loved the pacer as he grabbed the 'Purple cap', with 22 wickets in his kitty.
There have been some spectacular innings and some magnificent bowling spells from the players, but one man whose name cannot be counted out is none other than Australia's Shane Watson, who played a pivotal role in the Royal's triumph and was declared the man of the tournament backed by 474 runs, including four half centuries and 17 wickets.
Besides the mind-blowing cricketers, Bollywood stars added their glamour quotient and charisma to the entire event with Kolkata owner Shahrukh Khan and Kings XI Punjab's Preity Zinta dancing and cheering along with each and every lover of the T-20 game.
Off-field action marred by dark patches
The moment Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum struck magic with his spirited ton in the opening match against the Bangalore Royal Challengers, millions held their breath and geared up for what was anticipated to be a rollicking ride.
However, it was not all hunky-dory with the entire extravaganza, as some ugly spats and duels hit headlines off the cricketing field. Before the IPL, the world saw only an angry, furious and over excited S Sreesath. But what came as a shocker to the world of cricket were the visuals of Sreesath's tear soaked eyes.
In what was the ugliest of them all, the Harbhajan Singh - Sreesanth slapgate row rocked the IPL foundation right at the start of its commencement. In a post match showdown, Bhajji slapped Sree after the Mumbai Indians lost to the Kings XI Punjab, only to find himself banned for the rest of the season and incurring a Rs 3 crore fine.
This confrontation threatened to balloon into a dreadful crisis for the IPL, with rumours of the issue ruining the dressing room environments of Team India. However, the players involved in the row made sure that it did not go out of hand and embraced each other publicly, only to let bygones be bygones.
In no time though, the Bangalore Royals Challengers' owner Vijay Mallya came into the bad light, after his team was ridiculed for their unentertaining performances. Mallya sacked CEO Charu Sharma and lambasted skipper Rahul Dravid for recruiting players not suited for the T-20 format.
Amidst all the heating controversies, emerged the embarrassing reports of a possible fissure between the Prince of Kolkata -- Sourav Ganguly and owner SRK. However, both Sourav and SRK rubbished such reports.
A season of IPL without the moral brigade raising an issue was unlikely to happen. The scantily clad cheerleaders, who were a part of the IPL concept to add more to the entertainment factor, invited the indignation from different quarters in Mumbai and Kolkata. The ladies though obliged the voices and accepted to wear more clothes to respect the local sentiments.
Not so rich in performance!
The game of cricket witnessed the auctioning of players for the first time ever. The function saw the best in the business from India, bagged by owners for whopping amounts. But not all of them lived up to expectations.
The master blaster Sachin Tendulkar -- icon player and skipper of Mumbai Indians -- was out of action for almost half the tournament because of nagging injury. The matches, in which he did feature did not see the man fire as he botched to make any impact.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy would have brought his team to the finals, but one would wonder if Dhoni scored as many runs as compared to his Rs six crore bid amount. His skills as a captain may have received a huge boost, but Mahi did not dazzle it with his bat much to the liking of many.
A lot would agree when it is said that Yuvraj Singh is best suited for the Twenty-20 format of the game. But the powerful, yet elegant left-hander could not produce the kind of fireworks expected off him. After setting a record six sixes in one over in the 2007 T-20 World Cup, one would have guessed Yuvi to eventually land up with the 'Orange cap'.
The two biggest upsets though for all those who have been fans of Indian cricket were none other than 'The Wall' -- Rahul Dravid and 'Prince of Kolkata' -- Sourav Ganguly. The former was left burdened of his team’s dismal performance and the latter was undone by the elements in crucial deciders.
The show must go on
After 44 days of mind boggling action on and off the field, the IPL turned out to be a joyous ride for fans who have relished every second of the tournament. More importantly, the entire season turned out to become an unprecedented success for the Board of Cricket Control in India.
If a fan of this latest thrill, the good news is that there could be a second knock out season of the IPL in one year in the upcoming times, but one thing is for sure, the BCCI are still counting the millions that have not stopped raining as yet.
Words that would best sum up the entire extravaganza are those of expert commentator Ravi Shastri's praise for Lalit Modi as he said,
"He (Lalit Modi) is the Moses of the game who has shown the path to blazing success."
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