About IPL

The BCCI launched the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the lines of football’s English Premier League and the National Basketball League (NBA) of the US.

The IPL is a professional Twenty20 cricket league created and promoted by the BCCI and backed by the ICC. The Twenty20 league is set to debut in April 2008, with eight teams comprising a minimum of 16 players each. The league will last for 44 days and will involve 59 matches.

The IPL works on a franchise-system based on the American style of hiring players and transfers. These franchises were put for auction, where the highest bidder won the rights to own the team, representing each city.

The auction for the same took place on January 24, 2008 and the total base price for the auction was $400 million. The auction went on to fetch $723.59 million.

The Mumbai franchise owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was the most expensive franchise - fetching $111.9 million closely followed by Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries which paid $111.6 million for the Bangalore franchise .

Media house Deccan Chronicle won the Hyderabad chapter of the IPL for $107 million, while India Cements’ Chennai franchise cost $91 million.

Bollywood also made its presence felt with two of its leading stars bagging the ownership of their respective teams - Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla’s Red Chillies Entertainment buying out Kolkata for $75.09, while Preity Zinta and her beau Ness Wadia bought the Mohali team for $76 million.

GMR , the infrastructure development group which who are involved in a project for revamping the Delhi airport, bagged the ownership of the Delhi team for $84 million and the Emerging Media , consisting of its CEO Fraser Castellino, Manoj Badale and Lachlan Murdoch and other investors won the rights for the Jaipur franczhise for $67 million.

IPL Teams:

1) Bangalore Royal Challengers: The Bangalore team was bought by Vijay Mallya’s UB Group for $111.6 million to own the team for 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Rahul Dravid is the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers. Team India’s bowling coach, Venkatesh Prasad is the coach of the team.

2) Kings XI Punjab: The Mohali team was bought by Bollywood diva Preity Zinta, her industrialist beau Ness Wadia, along with renowned industrialists Karan Paul and Mohit Burman for $76 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Yuvraj Singh is the captain of Kings XI Punjab. Australia’s Tom Moddy is the coach of the team.

3) Chennai Super Kings: The Chennai team was bought by India Cements for $91 million to own the team for 10 years. Team India ODI and T20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain of Chennai Super Kings. Former South Africa cricket team captain Kepler Wessels is the coach of the team.

4) Kolkata Knight Riders: The Kolkata team is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta for $75.09 million for a 10-year period. ‘Icon player’ Sourav Ganguly is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders. Australia’s John Buchanan is the coach of the team.

5) Deccan Chargers: The Hyderabad team was bought by Deccan Chronicle, a media house, for $107 million for a 10-year period. Team India’s Test player VVS Laxman is the captain of Deccan Chargers. India’s fielding coach, Robin Singh is the coach of the team.

6) Mumbai Indians: The Mumbai team is owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited for $111.9 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Sachin Tendulkar is the captain of Mumbai Indians. Former Team India manager, Lalchand Rajput is the coach of the team.

7) Delhi Daredevils: The Delhi team is owned by GMR Holdings for $84 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Virender Sehwag is the captain of Delhi Daredevils. Australia’s Greg Shipperd is the coach of the team.

 Rajasthan Royals: The Jaipur team was bought by UK-based company Emerging Media for $67 million to own the team for a period of 10 years. Former Australian spin bowler Shane Warne is both the captain and coach of Rajasthan Royals.

More on IPL:

* Title Sponsorship Rights: On February 13 2008, Indian real estate developer DLF Universal secured exclusive rights to the IPL title sponsorship worth Rs 200 crore (over $50 million) for five years.

* Television Rights: On January 14 2008, it was announced that a consortium consisting of India’s Sony Television network and Singapore-based World Sports Group secured the rights of the IPL. The record deal has a duration of ten years at a cost of $1.026 billion.

* On February 20 2008 , the auction of 77 players took place in Mumbai. Team India ODI and Twenty20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds emerged the costliest Indian and overseas players respectively.

* Each team will play the other seven teams home and away, the top four teams at the end of the group stages will proceed through to the semi-finals. The first match is slated for April 18 between Team Bangalore and Team Kolkata.

* Team Composition: All teams must have at least four players from their respective Catchment Areas and four Under-22 players. The players from Catchment Areas could be an iconic player, a Ranji player or an U-22 player.

Each team can buy a maximum of eight overseas players but only four would be able to take the field in a match.

INDIA WINS OVER NEW ZEALAND after 41 years

It had been 41 years since India won a test in newzealand dispit a draw in Wellington all de credit goes to SKIPPER Ms Dhoni.

India's cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar (C) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of New Zealand batsman James Franklin (R) on the final day of the third Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington yesterday. Although rain denied India a victory in the final Test, the visitors won the series 1-0. It was also India's first series victory in New Zealand since 1968. 

India secured their first series win in New Zealand since 1968 on Tuesday despite rain cheating them of a huge victory in the third Test here Tuesday.

The draw at the Basin Reserve was all the tourists needed for a 1-0 series win, breaking the 41-year gap since their last series victory in New Zealand.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the mood in the dressing room after the long awaited win was "fantastic".

"We have achieved something that is big, but the tough part is to maintain it," he said afterwards.

"I think it will be tougher for the next guys who come here."

As number three ranked team in the world, the ever-improving India were always expected to overcome an inconsistent New Zealand, ranked eighth.

India's star-laden batting lineup and more than competent bowling attack proved too much for New Zealand, with a modest bowling attack and brittle and inexperienced batting line up.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said India deserved to be bracketed with Australia and South Africa at the peak of world cricket.

"They're obviously starting to prove themselves away from home," he said.

"I think you can throw Australia, South Africa and India in there as the three best teams in the world, it's hard to distinguish between the three at the moment."

The skipper said his side's patchy performances continued to frustrate their attempts to rise higher up the world Test rankings.

"We've been inconsistent but we've only lost one Test match. I think people have to remember that," he said.

But New Zealand had the weather to thank for not losing a second Test in the series on Tuesday, with the home side poised on the brink of a humbling defeat at 281 for eight when rain led to the game being washed out early in the afternoon.

With only two second innings wickets remaining, New Zealand remained 336 runs adrift of the massive target of 617 set by India when they declared at 434 for seven early on Monday.

By then the series win was a formality, with India needing only a draw after coming to Wellington with a 1-0 lead after thrashing the hosts by 10 wickets in the first Test in Hamilton.

The third Test draw calls into question Dhoni's caution in deciding to bat on during the early part of the fourth day to extend India's lead to 616, although rain on Tuesday had been forecast for several days.

The highest successful Test fourth innings run chase was 418 scored by the West Indies against Australia in 2003.

But Dhoni defended his decision, saying the extra buffer of runs allowed his team to maintain an aggressive field through New Zealand's second innings.

"When you have that extra 80 runs on the board you can have those extra catching fielders hanging around for a lot longer," he said.

"I did not think that 450 to 500 would have been an ideal score to declare."

India's charge towards victory on Tuesday was led by offspinning star Harbhajan Singh, who took the prize wicket of New Zealand century maker Ross Taylor on his way to a haul of four for 59.

Sachin Tendulkar is known as the "Little Master" for his batting, but he showed he also knows a few things about bowling by taking two for 45 with his tricky leg-spinners.

Taylor's dismissal for 107 signalled a mini-collapse that saw New Zealand slump from 226 for four to 253 for seven in the space of eight overs before lunch.

With all-rounder James Franklin, Taylor had provided a ray of hope for the scattering of New Zealand fans who braved gale force winds at the Basin Reserve during the morning.

The pair had put on 142 runs for the fifth wicket after coming together on Monday afternoon, when New Zealand were at risk of collapse at 84 for four.

Taylor's defiant fourth Test century was brought to an end when he was bowled by a beautifully flighted straight ball from Harbhajan.

His 165 ball innings lasting 261 minutes included 16 boundaries, as he mixed watchfulness with a willingness to attack the loose ball.