From the archives: Highest wicket-taker for each team in IPL 2008
It all started in 2007 when BCCI thought of coming up with a T20 league that would encourage the budding talents in the country and that’s how IPL got underway in 2008. All the fans and the players were excited to be a part of this unique concept and the response was quite huge. Close to 3.5 million people watched the tournament in different stadiums across India.
In the auctions, while Mumbai Indians was the most expensive team (US$ 111.9 million), MS Dhoni secured the highest bid of 1.5 million USD. The tournament had a double round robin stage wherein a particular team plays twice against another team (one home, one away) and the top 4 in the points table qualify for the knock-outs.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals made it to the finals where Rajasthan secured a last-ball victory to go on to win the inaugural IPL. Shaun Marsh of Kings XI Punjab won the Orange Cup for being the leading run-scorer whereas Sohail Tanvir secured the Purple Cap for 22 scalps in the season.
Let us take a look at highest wicket takers from each team in 2008 season.
1. Chennai Super Kings – Manpreet Gony
A forgotten talent who played a vital role in CSK finishing as the runner-up in the inaugural season. He was quick, accurate and was keen to hit the deck hard which provided him with lots of success that season. In 16 matches, he picked up 17 wickets at a decent economy of 7.38.
His best performance came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore when he picked up three wickets for 34 runs. Even though the numbers could have been better, his economy was the one that stood out. In the semis against KXIP, he bowled 4 overs for just 14 runs picking up 2 important wickets.
Not only was he good with the ball but he was vital in scoring some quick runs for his team. One such instance is when he scored 13 runs off 5 balls to take CSK home on the final delivery. He also got a call to the national squad because of his impressive stint in the IPL.