Mumbai Indians

Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Coach: Pravin Kalyan Amre
Star Player(s): Sanath Jayasuriya/Shaun Pollock
Home Ground: Mumbai
Owner: Mukesh Ambani

Most Indian fans supported Mumbai Indians irrespective of the place they lived. This was mainly due to the presence of the Indian Batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar. But he was not available in the beginning because of Groin Injury and Harbhajan Singh was given the role of leading the team. He failed to lead from the front. They lost their first 4 matches continuously. Harbhajan Singh was suspended from rest of IPL for slapping Sreeshanth. Shaun Pollock was given the role of leading and when Sachin Tendulkar came back, the team became strong and Jayasuriya took the game to the opposition and they started to win continuously. All-round performances from Jayasuriya and Pollock gave team a big boost. They outplayed many teams and achieved the highest successful winning streak. But they lost some crucial matches at the end and failed to make it to the semifinals.

Chennai Super Kings (IPL 2008)

Captain: M.S.Dhoni
Star Player(s): Albie Morkel/Mathew Hayden/Jacob Oram
Home Ground: Chennai
Owner: India Cements

They progressed to the finals of IPL 2008. There they were beaten by Rajasthan Royals in thrilling match. Led by the charismatic M.S.Dhoni, they made a sound start to their campaign by scoring in excess of 200 runs against Kings XI Punjab. Michael Hussey scored his first century in a twenty20 game. He and Mathew Hayden together played inspirational knocks to win matches for Chennai Super Kings. But they were available only for first 4 matches. This loss shacked the team a little bit and they went through a rough patch. They lost a few matches continuously but they bounced back from strong performances for other players like Albie Morkel and Suresh Raina and were able to qualify for the semifinals. There they beat Kings XI Punjab convincingly to set-up a summit clash with Rajasthan Royals. They definitely will be a team to lookout for in next season.

Deccan Chargers (IPL 2008)

Captain: V.V.S.Laxman
Coach: Robin Singh
Star Player(s): Adam Gilchrist/Herschelle Gibbs/Shahid Afridi
Home Ground: Hyderabad
Owner: Deccan Chronicle

Deccan Chargers were one of the most powerful teams on the paper. They had explosive Gilchrist and Gibbs at the top, Andrew Symonds and Shahid Afridi in the middle along with rising star Rohit Sharma to stabilize the team. But they failed to click together as a team. They were good individually but that didn’t have any effect on the final result. There only successes were Rohit Sharma and Adam Gilchrist. Even after solid performances from them, they didn’t taste success due to lack of contribution from others. This reflected in their standings and they finished last. Even the team which was tagged “Test Team,” managed to beat them. V.V.S.Laxman was ineffective as captain and was not able to control and co-ordinate his players. He failed to adapt to this format. The results showed that he was not a good captain.

Delhi Daredevils (IPL 2008)

Captain: Virender Sehwag
Coach: Greg Shipperd
Star Player(s): Gautam Gambhir/Virender Sehwag/Glenn McGrath
Home Ground: Delhi
Owner: GMR Holdings

Led by attacking batsmen Virender Sehwag, Delhi Daredevils started the tournament on the right note by thrashing Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets. They had the best opening partnership in the world (Sehwag and Gambhir) and a very sound Shikar Dhawan who came in at No.3. Most of the matches which they won were due to heavy contributions from their top 3 batsmen. Their middle order struggled to get runs when needed. Lack of form of AB de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik made exposed the team’s weakness when their top 3 batsmen were sent back into pavilion. But they found good all-rounders in Maharoof and Dilshan. They also had Glenn McGrath who made a statement that he is effective in all forms of the game. With the performance from all these players, they were able to qualify for semifinals.

Worst Buys of IPL 2008

Andrew Symonds:
A lot was expected of him and he was the 2nd highest bided player in the IPL auctions after M.S.Dhoni. But he played for only 4 matches before going for national duties and even in those 4 matches, he was not influential. He scored a good century but he didn’t justify his high price tag.

Ishant Sharma:
After having a successful Australian and South African series, everyone thought that Ishant Sharma will be the star in IPL 2008. But to everyone’s dismay, he failed to impress and didn’t pick enough wickets. He was supposed to be the pace spearhead of KKR but his failure led his team down.

Jacques Kallis:
Being the best all-rounder in the world in all forms of the game, Kallis was asked to carry Royal Challengers Bangalore through to next stage. But he had a very forgettable IPL, not coming good with both Bat and Ball. Thanks to him, his team lived up to the billing of “Test Team” in Twenty20 cricket.

Ricky Ponting:
The Australian captain was given the task of guiding the young Indian players. He was asked to lead from the front. But he disappointed with the bat. He was the 2nd highest tagged Australian player after Symonds and his story was pretty much the same like Symonds’.

Best Buys of IPL 2008

Shaun Marsh:
He was bought for US$30,000. He came in as a replacement for Simon Katich who got called by the Australian team for the test series in West Indies. Shaun Marsh was the highest run getter and was the main reason for Kings XI Punjab to get into semifinals of IPL 2008. He was immediately rewarded for his performance by earning a spot in Australian one day squad.

Shane Watson:
He was auctioned for US$125,000. He shined with both bat and ball. He took crucial wickets and was 3rd leading wicket taker for Rajasthan Royals behind Sohail Tanvir and Shane Warne. He was the leading run scorer for his team and his all-round skills was made his team very strong and very difficult to beat. His terrific performances earned him a recall in Australian squad and he was easily Player of IPL 2008.

Yusuf Pathan:
He started IPL having played in just one twenty20 match for India. Shane Warne immediately spotted the talent in him and gave him the role of taking the game away from his oppositions by terrific hitting. He was used as impact player. He was the 3rd leading run getter for his side. He also chipped in with good overs in between and got a few important wickets. He, along with Shane Watson, was responsible for his team’s success in IPL 2008.

Young Indian Stars (IPL 2008)

Abhishek Nayar:
He was a part of Mumbai Indians team and was one the young gun who fired in IPL 2008. He played well in important moments of the match and handled the pressure situations very well. He bowled and batted well and his performance was improving with every match.

Ravindra Jadeja:
He played for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2008. He came into spotlight when played well and contributed to team’s success against Kings XI Punjab. He excelled in batting, bowling and fielding and soon became a promising prospect for Team India. He eventually got into Indian squad for the series against Srilanka.

Pragyan Ohja:
He was 18 years old when he played IPL 2008. He represented Kolkata Knight Riders and became their leading spinner. He has a good handball. He picked up wickets regularly and he bowled really well in the death. His very impressive performance got him a place in the National Squad.

News about Other Teams

Chennai Super Kings:
They bought Andrew Flintoff for $1.55 million. It was the biggest buy along with Kevin Pieterson who was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Flintoff will be available only for the 1st 3 weeks of the tournament. They have also bought Sri Lankan all-rounder Thilan Thusara. There team will be bolstered by the availability of Mathew Hayden for the whole of the tournament. But Mike Hussey will be available only if Chennai Super Kings qualify for semifinals. Also they have named Stephen Fleming as their coach.

Kolkata Knight Riders:
They signed Mashrafe Mortaza for $600,000. This could prove to be a big signing as the Bangladeshi bowler is quite with the ball. The team will be happy that the services of Brendon McCullum will be available throughout the tournament. They will miss the experience of Ricky Ponting and also their best player last season, David Hussey along with the Pakistani players who were not allowed to take part in this year’s IPL.

Mumbai Indians:
They signed J.P.Dumminy for $950,000. This was a very expensive buy given the inexperience of the player having just played a series in international level. They also signed Mohammed Ashraful for $75,000 and Kyle Mills for $150,000. They back on young players’ talents and have swapped Uthappa and Nehra for Zaheer Khan and Shikar Dhawan respectively.

Deccan Chargers:
They have signed Fidel Edwards for $150,000 and Dwayne smith for $100,000. Fidel Edwards will provide more teeth to the bowling attack of Deccan Chargers. They have also changed the man at the helm, replacing V.V.S.Laxman with Adam Gilchrist.