IPL 2008 Facts

Delhi Daredevils

• None of the players in the team managed to score a century in the 2007 – 08 IPL campaign. Virender Sehwag scored the highest individual score of 94 not out.
• TM Dilshan has the best bowling average in the IPL. He has an average of 3. But interestingly he has bowled only one over in his seven matches.
• DD fast bowler Mohammad Asif was involved in a drug scandal after the initial IPL competition.
• Akshay Kumar is the brand ambassador of the team.
• The IPL has been criticised by a few politicians and feminists for bringing in foreign cheerleaders, which is seen by many to not be in the traditional spirit of the game, as well as being against some Indian sensibilities.
• Tejaswi Yadav the son of Union Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav played for Delhi Daredevils in IPL.
• Delhi Daredevils captain, Virender Sehwag was the only skipper to win six consecutive tosses between May 15 and May 30, 2008.
• Gautam Gambhir was the only Indian in the top scorers of IPL Season One.

Kolkata Knight Riders

• The highest batting strike rate in the first edition of the IPL was that by Umar Gul whose primary role in the KKR is that of an opening bowler. He has a strike rate of 205.26.
• KKR bowled the most number of extras in an innings - 28 extras in a match against DC.
• Shah Rukh Khan made maximum money in the first season of the IPL despite the fact that his team Kolkata Knight Riders failed to even reach the semi-finals.
• Ricky Ponting came to be known as Kaliyug Ka Manoj Kumar, as he was less worried about his own form and more concerned with how low his compensation was, just like the Indian veteran actor Manoj Kumar in a Sukhen Das flick.
• KKR is the only franchisee to have a television show to select cheerleaders for their home matches.
• The main theme of the team Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo Re (We will do it, Fight for it, Win it) has been created by the Vishal - Shekhar duo. A Knight Rider album with several singers and music composers including Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri will also be created.
• The club is owned by Shahrukh Khan’s Red Chilies Entertainment, along with Juhi Chawla and her husband Jai Mehta.

Mumbai Indians

• Dilhara Fernando has a batting strike rate of 200.00. But interestingly he scored only 2 runs.
• KXIP star player S Sreesanth was slapped by Harbhajan Singh, the stand-in captain of Mumbai Indians. Sreesanth was caught by TV cameras sobbing inconsolably on the field before the presentation ceremony.
• The Mumbai Indians coach was subsequently fined 50% of his match fees for not stepping in between Harbhajan and Sreesanth in their slapping controversy.
• With five run-outs in their innings at Mumbai on May 21, 2008, Mumbai Indians earned a dubious distinction in the IPL.
• The team logo has the Sudarshana Chakra with the team's name engraved in it.
• Hritik Roshan, superstar of Bollywood, is the brand ambassador of MI.
• The MI home ground, Wankhede Stadium, hosted the most number of matches in the IPL 2007 – 08. It hosted the semi-finals and final apart from the MI home games.

Kings XI Punjab

• Two cheerleaders from London were asked to leave the ground at Mohali "because of the colour of their skin". Both the girls also allege that an employee referred to them with the racial slur "nigger".
• When Priety Zinta’s star friends came to visit her, she made a part of the squad move out of the hotel into “bargain-basement” accommodation.
• An exciting last over from VRV Singh - which included a six, a four, a dropped catch and three crucial run-outs - allowed Kings XI Punjab to end Mumbai Indians' six-game winning streak.
• The only batsman last year to face 400 balls in the competition was Shaun Marsh - 441. He aggregated 616 runs at an average of 68.44 in 11 games.
• Even though KXI are owned by the Bollywood star Priety Zinta, their brand ambassador was Daler Maehndi.

Deccan Chargers

• DC is the only team to have won by a margin of 10 wickets in IPL 2007 – 08.
• Deccan Charges have lost all the matches in their home stadium.
• DC captain VVS Laxman was initially awarded icon status, but he voluntarily opted out of it, so that the franchisee had more money with which to bid.
• DC will be changing their colours in the second season from beige-black, to sparkling silver-blue.
• The only team to have announced to change its captain after Season One was DC. They changed their captain from VVS Laxman to Adam Gilchrist.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

• Bangalore Royal Challengers: The second most expensive franchise in the league stood second from the bottom.
• Bollywood actresses Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone, and Sandalwood film stars Ramya and Upendra are the brand ambassadors of the team.
• They were the only team in the IPL to try out 11 opening combinations in 14 games.
• Charu Sharma was the first CEO of any franchisee to be sacked. He was replaced by Brijesh Patel.
• Vijay Mallya wanted to associate one of his top-selling liquor brands, either No. 1 McDowell's or Royal Challenge with the team. The latter was chosen, hence the name.
• A theme song called "Thakkath Geete" has been composed in support of the BRC, with the help of TV9.

Chennai Super Kings

• Chennai Super Kings openers, Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming provide the only instance of both openers failing to open an account in an IPL game - versus Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur.
• The team logo, a lion, was the insignia of the Pallava dynasty which ruled Southern India including the areas that constitute present day Chennai.

Rajasthan Royals

• Dimitri Masceranhas was the only English player to have played the IPL in the inaugural season.
• Shilpa Shetty is the new brand ambassador of the RR.
• RR were fined for underbidding for players in the IPL Season One.