Soon after Sunil Gavaskar was appointed interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Indian Premier League, the batting legend addressed the media in the UAE and said he wanted this edition of the Twenty20 tournament to be remembered for the cricket and nothing else.
It has indeed turned out that way with the IPL7 charting a fresh course unlike last season when it was hit by betting and spot-fixing scandals.
A (so far) corruption-free tournament, capped by a thrilling finale on Sunday was a perfect pitch for progress.
Kolkata Knight Riders emerged as the new superpower by claiming their second title in three years.
Their dominance was reflected in their nine-match unbeaten streak which began at the half-stage of the league and culminated with the title.
Kolkata’s supremacy and Punjab’s rise created a new order in the league that left defending champions Mumbai Indians and two-time champions Chennai Super Kings in their wake.
The first leg in the UAE set the tone for the competition with all 20 matches eliciting an amazing response from the fans.
Almost all games were sold out and the quality of cricket was enthralling with Punjab winning each of their five matches to emerge as the early leaders.
Dashing batsman Glenn Maxwell (552 runs) made the biggest impact as Punjab emerged as a new challenger to the title pushing aside heavyweights Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In Maxwell, the IPL got a new hero but as the league headed back home, Punjab grew in stature with the Indian bunch turning out some stunning displays.
Wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha (362 runs in 17 matches), two 20-year-olds – opener Manan Vohra (324 runs) and all-rounder Akshar Patel (17 wickets) – and swing bowler Sandeep Sharma (17 wickets) all flourished and suddenly Punjab were serious contenders.
Chennai and Rajasthan Royals started off well but lost steam in the final stages of the league and their struggling form cost them when it mattered most.
MS Dhoni’s side, who looked set for another crack at the title, floundered at the death stages of the league after losing three matches in succession and their aura of invincibility had evaporated.
Opener Dwyane Smith (566) and Brendon McCullum (405) were unstoppable for a long period but they were found wanting at the business end of the tournament.
It was left to Suresh Raina (523) and captain Dhoni (371) to do the bulk of firefighting operations in the latter half of the tournament.
Seamer Mohit Sharma (23 wickets) sizzled in the bowling department but spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (16) and Ravindra Jadeja (19) could not exercise the required control in key stages of games.
Rajasthan were guilty of taking the foot off the pedal by focusing on the processes too much and forgetting that victories are the only way to get forward.
From a commanding position where they could have either finished second or third they ended up fifth losing their play-off spot in the process.
Debutant Karun Nair (330 runs) stole the show with his batting skills at the top while regulars Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson (339 runs each), Pravin Tambe (15 wickets) and James Faulkner (181 runs and 11 wickets) were equally impressive.
Despite possessing the strongest batting line-up on paper, Bangalore failed to click as a unit with Chris Gayle's efforrt a huge disappointment.
They lacked consistency and although AB de Villiers (395 runs), Yuvraj Singh (376 runs) and Virat Kohli (359 runs) excelled at times, they were not consistent enough to secure the wins required to grab a play-off place.
Kolkata and Mumbai were the only teams that turned around a floundering campaign with a bold dash at the finish.
Though the defending champions found their feet late on, they eventually came up short.
But Kolkata surged ahead with an amazing run of victories with opener Robin Uthappa (660 runs) leading the way with some stunning form.
Sunrisers Hyderabad excelled in patches but despite Darren Sammy replacing Shikhar Dhawan they could not spring a turnaround.
David Warner (528 runs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (20 wickets) were the side's shining stars.
It was a disastrous season for the Kevin Pietersen-led Delhi Daredevils who had just two wins in 14 games which left them at the bottom of the pile.
