Page 329 - IPL1

The Trophy: The Purple Cap:
The obvious way to approach a trophy for a league of this sort was the traditional approach.
A cup, that represented glory, determination, triumph, perseverance and the belief of a team
in themselves that they could and they would win.
That was the fi rst part of the brief, the obvious part! The most important of this brief lay in the
second part.
This trophy must above all, represent India, all encompassing and refl ective of the IPL being
a domestic Tournament. So, after vetoing design after design from a series of well-known
designers and establishments, Radhika and Mona Mehta hit upon the big idea while sipping
innumerable cups of tea between brainstorming sessions. With a carte blanche on design,
they took the two elements they wanted to work with, the map of India and the IPL logo
and the batsman with the reverse swoosh, and began work. A few hours later, they had the
fi rst draft on paper that would be the basis of the trophy. Everything, from the placement of
the eight rubies signifying the eight franchises home locations, to the quality and shape of
the diamonds and yellow sapphires and blue sapphires were agreed upon. The result was a
trophy that some loved while others loved to hate. Yet, with all its bling and kitsch, it was truly
representative of India. The diamond and blue sapphire batsman sparkled in elegance versus
the diamond and yellow sapphire super bright map of India, a good mix of everything that
India is about. Bright, colourful, growing, diverse.
Man of the Series:
The Man of the Series Award is determined by a players performance on every front – batting,
bowling, wickets they took and fi elding.
No one deserved this more that Rajasthan Royal’s Shane Watson. In the 15 matches he played,
the young Australian scored 472 runs at an average of 47.2 with a strike rate of 151.77 with 4
half centuries. He took 17 wickets at an average of 22.53 at an economy rate of 7.08.
After a couple of matches were played, it became clear that bowlers had as important a role to
play in winning a Twenty20 match as batsmen do. DLF IPL created a distinction for the highest
wicket-taking bowler by introducing the ‘Purple Cap’.
Sohail Tanvir from the Rajasthan Royals walked away with the Purple Cap for the fi rst season
of IPL after taking 22 wickets at an average of 12.09 and an economy rate of 6.47 over the 11
matches he played.
The Orange Cap:
The purpose of this initiative is to be innovative, create a unique piece of history that sets the
DLF Indian Premier League apart from the crowd and reward outstanding achievement by the
batsmen.
Shaun Marsh was the rabbit out of the hat this season. Almost unknown when he joined Kings
XI Punjab, he played 11 matches and scored the highest runs (616) in the season across the
board with an average of 68.44 and a strike rate of 139.68. He had one century and fi ve half
centuries under his belt when he was done.
The Kingfi sher Fair Play Award :
Umpires award points per team per match for upholding the spirit and laws of the game with
Kingfi sher awarding the winning franchise the award at the end of the season. The purpose
of the award is to promote the Spirit of Cricket and encourage appropriate on-fi eld behavior.
It makes sure that the umpires are involved as guardians of the laws and rewards teams with
the best on pitch behavior.
This was won by Chennai Super Kings for their outstanding respect to the game, to fair play
and most importantly, to the Spirit of Cricket.
Citibank Emerging Player Award:
This award was designed for the player with the most potential in the U-19 category.
Shreevats Goswami from the Bangalore Royal Challengers won it for his remarkable
performance in the fi rst season of IPL.