The 2009 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 2 or the 2009 IPL, was the second season of the Indian Premier League, established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. The tournament was hosted by South Africa and was played between 18 April and 24 May 2009. It was the second biggest cricket tournament in the world, after the Cricket World Cup, and was forecast to have an estimated television audience of more than 200 million people in India alone.
Concerns were raised in India that the tournament was the prime target of terrorists. Because the second season of the IPL coincided with multi-phase 2009 Indian general elections, the Government of India refused to commit security by Indian paramilitary forces. As a result, the BCCI decided to host the second season of the league outside India. On 24 March 2009, the BCCI officially announced that the second season of the IPL will be held in South Africa. Though India did not host the second season, the format of the tournament remained unchanged from the 2008 season format.
Relocating the tournament posed extreme logistical challenges for the BCCI since more than 10,000 cricketers and other staff members needed to be flown from India to South Africa within a span of a few weeks. The IPL injected approximately US$100 million into South Africa's local economy. In addition, the BCCI signed a Rs. 8,200 crores (US$1.63 billion) contract with Multi Screen Media to broadcast matches live from South Africa to India.
The IPL was hosted successfully in South Africa and was hailed as an "extraordinary" accomplishment. The tournament was particularly praised for globalizing cricket and had set record television viewership. The tournament was won by Deccan Chargers while the Royal Challengers Bangalore were declared as runners-up.
Read more about 2009 Indian Premier League: Venues, Rules and Regulations, Teams and Standings, League Progression, Warm-up Game, Other Awards, Franchise Earnings
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