The inaugural IPL 2008 started on April 18, 2008 and the Rajasthan Royals won the final vs. Chennai Super Kings under the leadership of Shane Warne.
The Indian Premier League was inaugurated in 2008 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and turned into one of the most popular Twenty20 tournaments in the world. Prominent players all across the world participated in the event due to lucrative amounts offered by different teams involved in the championship and cricket lovers enjoyed the thrilling matches.
A total of 8 teams participated in the tournament and double round robin group matches were conducted.
We will highlight the journey of Rajasthan Royals towards clinching the title which started from their first match and continued up to the finals.
1st match vs. Delhi Daredevils
The match was played at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on April 19, 2008.
Scores
Rajasthan Royals – 129 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs, Ravindra Jadeja 29, Dinesh Salunkhe 26*, Farveez Maharoof 2-11.
Delhi Daredevils – 132 for one wicket, Gautam Gambhir 58*, Shikhar Dhawan 52*, Shane Watson 1-31.
Result – Delhi Daredevils won the match by 9 wickets.
2nd Match vs. Kings XI Punjab
The match was played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on April 21, 2008.
Scores
Kings XI Punjab – 166 for 8 wickets in 20 overs, Yuvraj Singh 57, Karan Goel 26, Shane Warne 3-19.
Rajasthan Royals – 168 for four wickets in 18.1 overs, Shane Watson 76*, Ravindra Jadeja 36*, Irfan Pathan 1-21.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 6 wickets.
3rd match vs. Deccan Chargers
The match took place at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad on April 24, 2008.
Scores
Deccan Chargers – 214 for 5 wickets, Andrew Strauss 117*, Rohit Sharma 36, Yusuf Pathan 2-20.
Rajasthan Royals – 217 for 7 wickets, Graeme Smith 71, Yusuf Pathan 61, Shahid Afridi 3-28.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 3 wickets.
4th match vs. Royals Challengers Bangalore
The match was held at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on April 26, 2008.
Scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore – 135 for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs, Ross Taylor 44, Praveen Kumar 34, Shane Watson 2-20.
Rajasthan Royals – 138 for 3 wickets in 17.1 overs, Watson 61*, Smith 49, Zaheer Khan 1-24.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won by 7 wickets.
5th match vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
The match was played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on May 1, 2008.
Scores
Rajasthan Royals 196 for 7 wickets in 20 overs, Swapnil Aasnodkar 60, Yusuf Pathan 55, Umar Gul 3-31.
Kolkata Knight Riders – 151 runs all out in 19.1 overs, Sourav Ganguly 51, David Hussey 42, Watson 2-22.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the encounter by 45 runs.
6th match vs. Chennai Super Kings
The match took place at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on May 4, 2008.
Scores
Chennai Super Kings – 109 all out in 19 overs, Albie Morkal 42, Suresh Raina 27, Sohail Tanvir 6-14.
Rajasthan Royals – 110 for 2 wickets in 14.2 overs, Smith 35*, Asnodkar 32, Muttiah Muralitharan 1-20.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 8 wickets.
7th match vs. Mumbai Indians
The match was held at Dr D Y Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on May 7, 2008.
Scores
Rajasthan Royals – 103 all out in 16.2 overs, Asnodkar 39, Shane Watson 32, Ashish Nehra 3-13.
Mumbai Indians – 104 for 3 wickets in 15.1 overs, Robin Uthappa 34*, Yogesh Takawale 27, Watson 2 – 26.
Result – Mumbai Indians won the match by 7 wickets.
8th match vs. Deccan Chargers
The match was played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on May 9, 2008.
Deccan Chargers – 140 for 8 wickets in 20 overs, Adam Gilchrist 61, Venugopal Rao 23*, Shane Warne 2-20.
Rajasthan Royals – 141 for 2 wickets in 16 overs, Yusuf Pathan 68, Graeme Smith 40, RP Singh 1-24.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 8 wickets.
9th match vs. Delhi Daredevils
The match was held at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on May 11, 2008.
Scores
Delhi Daredevils – 156 for 7 wickets in 20 overs, Farveez Maharoof 39, Gautam Gambhir 31, Watson 2-21.
Rajasthan Royals – 159 for 7 wickets in 19.1 overs, Watson 74, Smith 24, Amit Mishra 2-27.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 3 wickets.
10th match vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore
The match was played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on May 17, 2008.
Scores
Rajasthan Royals – 197 for one wicket in 20 overs, Graeme Smith 75, Swapnil Asnodkar 50, Anil Kumble 1-32.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – 132 for 9 wickets in 20 overs, Rahul Dravid 75*, Jacques Kallis 20, Sohail Tanvir 3-10.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 65 runs.
11th match vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
The match was held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on May 20, 2008.
Scores
Kolkata Knight Riders – 147 for 8 wickets in 20 overs, Sourav Ganguly 32, Debabarata Das 31, Sohail Tanvir 3-26.
Rajasthan Royals – 150 for 4 wickets, Yusuf Pathan 48*, Kaif 34, Umar Gul 2-30.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 6 wickets.
12th match vs. Chennai Super Kings
The match was played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on May 24, 2008.
Scores
Rajasthan Royals – 211 for 5 wickets in 20 overs, Smith 91, Kamran Akmal 53*, Albie Morkal 2-35.
Chennai Super Kings – 201 for 7 wickets in 20 overs, Morkal 71, Parthiv Patel 54, Sohail Tanvir 3-33.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the encounter by 10 runs.
13th match vs. Mumbai Indians
The match took place at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on May 26, 2008.
Scores
Mumbai Indians – 145 for 7 wickets in 20 overs, Sanath Jayasuriya 38, Sachin Tendulkar 30, Sohail Tanvir 4-14.
Rajasthan Royals – 146 for 5 wickets in 20 overs, Ravindra Jadeja 23*, Niraj Patel 40*, Dilhara Fernando 2-27.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by 5 wickets.
14th match vs. Kings XI Punjab
The match was played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh on May 28, 2008.
Scores
Kings XI Punjab – 221 for 3 wickets in 20 overs, Shaun Marsh 115, James Hopes 51, Yusuf Pathan 1-24.
Rajasthan Royals – 180 for 7 wickets in 20 overs, Patel 57, Pathan 39, Piyush Chawla 3-35.
Result – Kings XI Punjab won the match by 41 runs.
First semi final vs. Delhi Daredevils
The first semi final was played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on May 30, 2008.
Scores
Rajasthan Royals – 192 for 9 wickets in 20 overs, Shane Watson 52, Yusuf Pathan 45, Graeme Smith 25, Farveez Maharoof 3-34, Amit Mishra 2-37.
Delhi Daredevils – 87 all out, Tillakaratne Dilshan 33, Gautam Gambhir 11, Shane Watson 3-10, Munaf Patel 3-17.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the match by a huge margin of 105 runs and qualified for the final.
Final vs. Chennai Super Kings
The final of the inaugural IPL was played at Dr D Y Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on June 1, 2008.
Scores
Chennai Super Kings – 163 for 5 wickets in 20 overs, Suresh Raina 43, Parthiv Patel 38, MS Dhoni 29*, Yusuf Pathan 3-22, Shane Watson 1-29.
Rajasthan Royals – 164 for 7 wickets in 20 overs, Pathan 56, Shane Watson 28, Morkal 2-25, Muralitharan 2-39.
Result – Rajasthan Royals won the final by 3 wickets and lifted the cup.
Shane Watson of Rajasthan Royals was declared ‘Player of the series’ for his all round performance in the tournament. He smashed 472 runs at an excellent average of 47.20 runs the best of unbeaten 76 with four fifties. He grabbed 17 wickets at a super average of 22.52 runs per wicket with the best of 3-10 runs.
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