The 2008 Indian Premier League season was the debut season of the Indian Premier League, established by the BCCI in 2007. The season commenced on 18 April 2008 with the final match held on 1 June 2008. The competition started with a double round robin
group stage, in which each of the 8 teams played a home match and an
away match against every other team. These matches were followed by two
semi-finals and a final.[2]
In a match which went down to the last ball, Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final to win the title,[3] with Yusuf Pathan named the player of the match and Shane Watson adjudged the player of the tournament.[4] Sohail Tanvir won the purple cap for being the top wicket-taking bowler while Shaun Marsh won the orange cap for leading run-scorer in the tournament. Shreevats Goswami was awarded the best under-19 player award and the special award for Fair Play was won by the Chennai Super Kings.
Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman
were classified as icon players. They will play for the franchises
representing their home towns and hence did not enter the auction. Few
players were classified as marquee players and the teams which lost out
on icon players were allowed one extra marquee player to be selected in
the auction.[5] The auctions were conducted on 20 February 2008 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni winning the highest bid of US$1.5 million.[6]
In the event of tied scores after both teams have faced their quota of overs, a bowl-out will determine the winner, even in the group stage.[7]
In the group stage, teams will be ranked on the following criteria:[8]
In a match which went down to the last ball, Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final to win the title,[3] with Yusuf Pathan named the player of the match and Shane Watson adjudged the player of the tournament.[4] Sohail Tanvir won the purple cap for being the top wicket-taking bowler while Shaun Marsh won the orange cap for leading run-scorer in the tournament. Shreevats Goswami was awarded the best under-19 player award and the special award for Fair Play was won by the Chennai Super Kings.
Player auctions
Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was bought by the Super Kings for $1.5 Million was the most expensive cricketer of the tournament.
Venues
| Chennai | Mumbai | Mohali |
|---|---|---|
| M. A. Chidambaram Stadium Capacity: 50,000 |
Wankhede Stadium Capacity: 45,000 |
PCA Stadium Capacity: 30,000 |
 |
 |
 |
| Kolkata | Bangalore | Navi Mumbai |
| Eden Gardens Capacity:100,000 |
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Capacity:55,000 |
DY Patil Stadium Capacity: 55,000 |
 |
 |
|
| Hyderabad | Delhi | Jaipur |
| Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium Capacity:55,000 |
Feroz Shah Kotla Capacity:48,000 |
Sawai Mansingh Stadium Capacity:30,000 |
 |
 |
|
Rules and regulations
Points in the group stage were awarded as follows:| Results | Points |
|---|---|
| Win | 2 points |
| No result | 1 point |
| Loss | 0 points |
In the group stage, teams will be ranked on the following criteria:[8]
- Higher number of points
- If equal, higher number of wins
- If still equal, net run rate
- If still equal, lower bowling strike rate
- If still equal, result of head to head meeting.
