After being introduced in 2003, the T20 format kept gaining more popularity. In the year 2007, the first T20 World Cup was played, and India emerged as the Champions. It was followed by India introducing a franchise-based tournament in 2008. The event was named the Indian Premier League, and it was the first T20 league of this sort. Due to plenty of entertainment and massive finances involved in it, IPL grabbed the attention of cricket fans all across the world.
Also, it included all the top players in the world. The inaugural IPL season was played with 8 teams. Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were the two sides to make it to the final. A young Yusuf Pathan inspired the Royals to a final-ball win over the Super Kings. Keep reading to know how the all-rounder made Rajasthan the first IPL champion.
Playing XIs
Here are the playing XIs of both teams for the final:
Rajasthan Royals Playing XI
- Niraj Patel
- Swapnil Asnodkar
- Kamran Akmal dagger
- Shane Watson
- Yusuf Pathan
- Mohammad Kaif
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Shane Warne (c)
- Sohail Tanvir
- Siddharth Trivedi
- Munaf Patel
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI
- Parthiv Patel
- Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan
- Suresh Raina
- Albie Morkel
- MS Dhoni (c)
- Chamara Kapugedera
- Subramaniam Badrinath
- Manpreet Gony
- Lakshmipathy Balaji
- Muttiah Muralitharan
- Makhaya Ntini
1st Innings Summary
Shane Warne won the toss of the first-ever IPL final and decided to put the Chennai Super Kings into bat. The CSK openers started the innings with a solid 39-run stand before Yusuf Pathan drew the first blood. He got Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan caught in the deep. The other opener Parthiv Patel was looking threatening after scoring 38 off 33. But, Pathan sent him back too, when the score was 64 in the 9th over.
Now, Albie Morkel and Suresh Raina were at the crease, and they were trying to up the ante. The off-spinner picked his 3rd wicket as the dangerous Albie Morkel walked back to the dugout. The Super Kings lost just 3 wickets in the first 16 overs, and Yusuf Pathan picked all 3. His brilliant spell of 3 for 22 in 4 overs prevented Chennai from gathering any sort of momentum.
However, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni flourished at the death to take the score to 163 for 5 in 20 overs. The former scored 43 off 30, while the latter smashed 29 off 17. The final 5 deliveries of the innings went for 15 runs. Rajasthan’s two best bowlers, Sohail Tanveer and Shane Warne gave 40 and 34 runs, respectively, in their 4 overs. Whereas Yusuf stood tall by being the best bowler in the first half of the match. If he hadn’t bowled that well, CSK might have got close to 200.
2nd Innings Summary
In response, the Royals lost their first wicket at the score of 19. The opener Niraj Patel was bowled in the 4th over. The second opener Swapnil Asnodkar was looking solid at 28, but he perished while trying to hit Albie Morkel through covers. Soon, Kamran Akmal’s run out reduced Rajasthan to 42 for 3 in 6.4 overs. Yusuf Pathan came out to bat as things looked tough for the chasing side, and they badly needed a partnership.
He announced his arrival by pulling a short ball over square leg to get his first boundary. He added 65 runs in 45 balls with Shane Watson for the 4th wicket. Watson fell to Muthiah Muralidaran after scoring 28 off 19. Yusuf Pathan kept smashing his way toward the target. Before Watson’s wicket, he smocked 2 consecutive sixes of Muthiah Muralidaran. With 39 needed in the last 4 overs, he picked 14 off the over to make things manageable.
The right-hander was determined to carry his side over the line. But he, unfortunately, got run out in the 18th over. His superb knock of 56 runs in 39 balls had put the Royals in the driver’s seat. His innings included 3 fours and 4 maximums. When he got out, the equation was 21 off 14. Later, the chasing team required 12 off 7 as the skipper Shane Warne thrashed a boundary through covers. The match came down to the last 2 balls with 3 runs still needed.
Sohail Tanveer placed the penultimate delivery of the match in the on-side to get a couple. Now, the target was 1 off 1, and the left-hander picked a boundary through wide long-on to seal the deal. Rajasthan Royals became the champions of the first season of the Indian Premier League. Yusuf Pathan was the man of the moment as he shinned with both bat and ball. Without a doubt, he was the best bowler and the best batsman of the match. His 3 for 22 and 56(39) made him the Player of the Match of the first IPL final.
Image Source: hindustantimes.com
Scorecard
Here’s the scorecard of the IPL 2008 final:
Chennai Super Kings Innings
| Batsman | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parthiv Patel † | 38 | 33 | 115.15 | 5 | 0 |
| Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan | 16 | 14 | 114.28 | 1 | 1 |
| Suresh Raina | 43 | 30 | 143.33 | 1 | 2 |
| Albie Morkel | 16 | 13 | 123.07 | 0 | 2 |
| MS Dhoni (c) | 29 | 17 | 170.58 | 1 | 2 |
| Chamara Kapugedera | 8 | 12 | 66.66 | 0 | 0 |
| S Badrinath | 6 | 2 | 300 | 1 | 0 |
| Extras | 7 | ||||
| TOTAL | 163/5 | ||||
Bowler Overs Runs Wickets Economy Rate
Makhaya Ntini 4 21 0 5.25
Manpreet Gony 4 30 1 7.5
Albie Morkel 4 25 2 6.25
Lakshmipathy Balaji 4 42 0 10.5
Muthiah Muralidaran 4 39 2 9.75
Rajasthan Royals Innings
Batsman Runs Balls Strike Rate 4s 6s
Niraj Patel 2 11 18.18 0 0
Swapnil Asnodkar 28 20 140 4 0
Kamran Akmal † 6 7 85.71 1 0
Shane Watson 28 19 147.36 3 0
Yusuf Pathan 56 39 143.58 3 4
Mohammad Kaif 12 9 133.33 0 1
Ravindra Jadeja 0 1 0 0 0
Shane Warne (c) 9 9 100 1 0
Sohail Tanvir 9 7 128.57 0 0
Extras 14
TOTAL 164/7
Bowler Overs Runs Wickets Economy Rate
Sohail Tanvir 4 40 1 10
Shane Watson 4 29 1 7.25
Munaf Patel 2 14 0 7
Yusuf Pathan 4 22 3 5.5
Siddharth Trivedi 2 21 0 10.5
Shane Warne 4 34 0 8.5
