Profile: The Mumbai Indians were expected to kiss the skies, captained as it is by India's most favourite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
However, Tendulkar could not play the initial phase of the tournament after sustaining an injury. In a side that boasted of the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock, the stand in skipper's role went to Indian offs-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who made a complete mess of the opportunity.
Bhajji not only looked out of sorts with the ball but was at sea, leading the start studded side. He crossed severe limits when he slapped S. Sreesanth after a match with the King's XI Punjab.
Sree left no stone unturned to make a spectacle out of the situation, crying like a man possessed as the entire world watched in shock.
Bhajji was banned for the rest of the tournament besides being docked of all his IPL fees.
Sreesanth was also left off with a warning.
Jayasuriya had a torrid time in the beginning but came to his elements when he was joined by Tendulkar and after a couple of matches, the two senior pros went on an all out rampage.
Robin Uthappa was a disappointment in the middle order and could not make anything of his chances.
Pollock was brilliant with the new ball, restricting the run flow and came up with a few cameos with the bat.
Mumbai Indians would certainly have felt the pinch in the spin department with the loss of Harbhajan.
With Zaheer Khan swapping places with Uthappa, this time, the bowling would be spectacular. Pollock would not play this year but would act as a mentor for the boys.
Team owner Mukesh Ambani has also brought in South African sensation Jean Paul Duminy and that would pep up the middle order and leave the opposition with a lot to think.
Coach: Lalchand Rajput
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Colours: Blue
Home Ground: Wankhede Stadium
Capacity: 45,000
Owner: Reliance Industries Ltd
Official Website: http://www.themumbaiindians.com/
Profile: Indian heroes Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were the key signings for a Delhi side that started brightly but which eventually failed to deliver the goods. The Delhi Daredevils franchisee, GMR, made sure that the team had the best IPL line-up of local players.
Local lad Shikhar Dhawan was sensational in the middle order and backed up the great starts by Gambhir and Sehwag. Dhawan came in, on most occasions after the team had got off to flying starts and never failed to carry on the momentum.
Left arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan acted as a great foil for the liked of Glenn McGrath, Fervez Mahroof and Mohammad Asif.
Leg spinner Amit Mishra pumped in a hat-trick and bowled economically to keep the opposition under check.
Sri Lankan all-rounder Mahroof chipped in with some nice contributions before wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik also joined the party with a gritty fifty after some ordinary outings.
Then Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik had a torrid time, failing to capitalise on a couple of good starts, rendering the middle order weak.
With Paul Collingwood coming in for the second edition, Delhi can count on some fireworks. Add English all-rounder Owais Shah and you have a team that could make serious bid for the title.
Sehwag's boys got off to a good start, winning four of their five games but mysteriously thereafter lost the zip despites some good individual performances.
The Daredevils have a new uniform this season and with a couple of exciting Twenty20 talents in the ranks, the fans could rest assured of a resurgent team led by a resurgent captain.
Sehwag has over the last year transformed miraculously as a player, destroying bowling attacks with consistency.
It is this consistency that would help the Nawab of Najabgargh lead his team with an air of consummate ease.
Coach: Greg Shipperd
Captain: Virender Sehwag
Colours: Black & Red
Home Ground: Feroz Shah Kotla
Capacity: 40,000
Owner: GMR Holdings
Official Website: http://www.delhidaredevils.com/
Profile: With world class all rounders in the shape of Irfan Pathan and James Hopes, not to mention the undoubted ability of Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara, the King's XI Punjab were the team to watch out for.
Young Australian talent Shaun Marsh joined the team after four games and stormed into international limelight, becoming the highest run scorer in the tournament.
Jayawardene and Sangakkara threw in the Sri Lankan touch and with Yuvraj Singh made up the most attractive batting line up in the tournament.
The bowling looked great with Aussie tearaway Brett Lee and S. Sreesanth letting lose some steam with the ball.
Leg spinner Piyush Chawla showed his mettle in the crucial middle overs and with Yuvraj made a potent spinning pair.
Yuvraj led the side astutely, though losing his cool more often than it looked good on TV. However, his aggression rubbed off on the boys and they marched along to the semi finals before running out of steam.
Sangakkara underlined his role as one of the best wicketkeeper batsmen in contemporary cricket, scoring some consistent runs and entreating the massive turn outs with his brilliant glove work.
Yuvraj would miss Sreesanth in the second edition after he failed to recover from an injury.
However, the addition of English all-rounder Ravi Bopara should add some much needed balance in the side that has the talent to upset all calculations.
The fielding is brilliant with Yuvi leading the way and the likes of Jaywardene, Lee and Marsh bringing up a sharp circle to pierce.
A closely knit team, the King's XI seemed to enjoy each other's success and looks determined to turn the tables this year after promising so much last year. This team can fight and the others in the fray need to watch out.
Coach: Tom Moody
Captain: Yuvraj Singh
Colours: Light Grey & Red
Home Ground: PCA Stadium
Capacity: 61,500
Owner: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman & Karan Paul
Official Website: http://www.kingsxipunjab.com/
Profile: The Knight Riders were led by the best captain India has ever seen and was graced by players like Ricky Ponting, Ishant Sharma, and Shoaib Akhtar.
But the biggest impact was made by New Zealand wicketkeeper batsman Brendon McCullum, who blasted a hundred in the opening game against Banaglore Royal Challengers before the bowlers came back to fold up the Bangalore innings for less than 100.
However, the joy was short lived as the Knight Riders failed to find any momentum as the tournament progressed.
Umar Gul's precise yorkers, Ishant's accuracy and Murali Kartik's control were the buzzwords before the tourney began but, apart from Gul, few impressed.
Ponting did not justify his brief stay, scoring two successive ducks and looked completely out of sorts.
Shoaib battled his injuries before finally getting a chance to play. He did impress the massive home crowd with his sheer pace in a game against the Delhi Daredevils but did not give out much hope.
Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis joined the Knight Riders and gave his first glimpse to sub-continent audiences.
Ganguly did not get too many runs and struggled with the stars not performing to potential with David Hussey being the only exception, who waged many a lone battles.
The John Buchanan-Ganguly combination was expected to work out some more magic but the team seemed to have signed up too many players who had to leave for national assignments after the first leg.
Knight Riders were not helped by the fact that Pakistani opener Salman Butt could not continue his love affair with the Eden Gardens.
Ishant, coming off a brilliant tour Down Under, failed miserably and was a huge disappointment, considering the fact that he was the second most expensive Indian player after MS Dhoni.
Coach: John Buchanan
Captain: Sourav Ganguly
Colours: Black & Gold
Home Ground: Eden Gardens
Capacity: 90,000
Owner: Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla & Jai Mehta
Official Website: http://www.kolkataknightriders.com/
Profile: Of all the franchisees, Emerging Media probably held their cards closest to their chest.
Undoubtedly the dark horses for the tournament, Rajasthan went on to lift the trophy, despite many pundits initially declaring that they had no chance.
However, spin legend, captain and coach of the team, Shane Warne had other plans.
Warnie chalked out his strategies very shrewdly and showed the world why he was the best captain never to lead Australia.
The team did not boast of too many starts with South African skipper Graeme Smith joining the team late but when he finally did, he did so with a bang.
The entire team was a story of underdogs. Ravinder Jadeja played beautifully in the middle order, Yusuf Pathan blasted the balls to all corners of the park and was an asset with the ball while Pakistani wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Aklam was brilliant behind the stumps.
Pakistan swing bowler Sohail Tanveer was exceptional, claiming 21 wickets in the tournament and wrecking havoc with the new ball. He was well assisted by Munaf Patel, whose aggression with the ball surprised many.
Shane Watson, who has had a chequered career for Australia as an all-rounder, thanks to injuries shone the brightest.
Watson was outstanding with the ball and played some match winning knocks, going on to become the Player of the Tournament.
Warne himself was brilliant with the ball, getting wickets, restricting the run flow and breaking partnerships regularly.
The former Aussie leg spinner nurtured the young Indian players at his disposal and was able to bring out the best in them, paving the way for a great upset when the Royals finally met Chennai Super Kings in the finals.
No one had expected Rajasthan Royals to achieve what they did. After all, they had no stars but Warne and his boys showed that cricket is a team game, where every player has a role to play and each of the Royals played their role to perfection.
Shaun Tait and Tyron Henderson are the latest additions in the Royals enclosure and though Tanveer's loss would hurt the Rajasthanis this year, Tait can rattle some nerves with his sheer pace.
Henderson has had a good outing for Middlesex and Warne would want him to replicate his success in the IPL this year.
Coach: Shane Warne
Captain: Shane Warne
Colours: Blue & Gold
Home Ground: Sawai Mansingh Stadium
Capacity: 50,000
Owner: Emerging Media, Shilpa Shetty & Raj Kundra
Official Website: http://www.rajasthanroyals.com/
Profile: Of all the franchisees, Emerging Media probably held their cards closest to their chest.
Undoubtedly the dark horses for the tournament, Rajasthan went on to lift the trophy, despite many pundits initially declaring that they had no chance.
However, spin legend, captain and coach of the team, Shane Warne had other plans.
Warnie chalked out his strategies very shrewdly and showed the world why he was the best captain never to lead Australia.
The team did not boast of too many starts with South African skipper Graeme Smith joining the team late but when he finally did, he did so with a bang.
The entire team was a story of underdogs. Ravinder Jadeja played beautifully in the middle order, Yusuf Pathan blasted the balls to all corners of the park and was an asset with the ball while Pakistani wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Aklam was brilliant behind the stumps.
Pakistan swing bowler Sohail Tanveer was exceptional, claiming 21 wickets in the tournament and wrecking havoc with the new ball. He was well assisted by Munaf Patel, whose aggression with the ball surprised many.
Shane Watson, who has had a chequered career for Australia as an all-rounder, thanks to injuries shone the brightest.
Watson was outstanding with the ball and played some match winning knocks, going on to become the Player of the Tournament.
Warne himself was brilliant with the ball, getting wickets, restricting the run flow and breaking partnerships regularly.
The former Aussie leg spinner nurtured the young Indian players at his disposal and was able to bring out the best in them, paving the way for a great upset when the Royals finally met Chennai Super Kings in the finals.
No one had expected Rajasthan Royals to achieve what they did. After all, they had no stars but Warne and his boys showed that cricket is a team game, where every player has a role to play and each of the Royals played their role to perfection.
Shaun Tait and Tyron Henderson are the latest additions in the Royals enclosure and though Tanveer's loss would hurt the Rajasthanis this year, Tait can rattle some nerves with his sheer pace.
Henderson has had a good outing for Middlesex and Warne would want him to replicate his success in the IPL this year.
Coach: Shane Warne
Captain: Shane Warne
Colours: Blue & Gold
Home Ground: Sawai Mansingh Stadium
Capacity: 50,000
Owner: Emerging Media, Shilpa Shetty & Raj Kundra
Official Website: http://www.rajasthanroyals.com/
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