One Run, and He Had to Fetch It

NEWS / One Run, and He Had to Fetch It

At the first auction, nobody else bid for Shane Warne.

Rajasthan Royals took him at his base price, $450,000, then asked a 38-year-old already done with Test cricket to be captain and coach of the cheapest franchise in the room. Eight teams. They had paid $67 million for the right to exist. On paper the squad was Shane Watson, Graeme Smith, a few other overseas names, and Indian players most of the country had not come to watch: Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Sohail Tanvir.

Warne said later they had kids who had not played first-class cricket. No one gave them a chance. That is how the table looked in April, not a caption written after June. They won 11 of 14 league games and finished first. Tanvir took 22 wickets, most in the tournament. Warne took 19, second. Watson made 472 runs and took 17 wickets and was player of the tournament.

The final was 1 June 2008 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. Warne called heads, won the toss, and fielded. Captains in finals usually want the total on the board. He did not. Chennai made 163 for 5. Suresh Raina 43. Dhoni 29 not out. Pathan took 3 for 22 with the ball, then had to bat.

The chase went to 42 for 3. Pathan and Watson added 65. Pathan made 56 off 39 and was run out. Jadeja lasted one ball. Mohammad Kaif made 12. Another clatter. Rajasthan needed 21 off 14 balls with three wickets left. Makhaya Ntini bowled the 19th. Five balls for six runs. Warne hit the last ball of that over through cover for four. Eight needed off the last over. Lakshmipathy Balaji had the ball. A wide that Parthiv Patel did not gather. A single to Warne. A full toss that Tanvir flicked for two. One needed off the last ball.

Tanvir stayed in his crease and pulled a short ball through wide mid-on. Warne was already halfway down the pitch. They ran. Rajasthan 164 for 7. Both men finished on 9 not out. Their stand was 21. Pathan was player of the match. Warne told the presentation he had been hoping Tanvir would be on strike, and that as soon as the ball was hit he was ready to tear his hamstrings running.

IPL 2008 final highlights: Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings off the last ball. If the player does not load, open it on YouTube.

Watch the 2008 final on YouTube ↗

The man seven other teams left on the table completed the first IPL title himself. Not with a leg-break. With a run.