Despite a slow start, IPL 5 earned a higher[6] cumulative viewership than any previous edition of the IPL.[7] The cumulative reach for 74 IPL 5 matches was recorded at 163 million against 162 million for 73 matches in IPL 4, and the final match had a higher reach than any previous final.[7] The IPL 2012 edition was the most competitive season of which produced many nail biting finishes. In the 2012 season, there were 19 matches which produced results in the last over, and a couple of them produced results in the last ball. There were also 6 matches in which team won by a margin of less than 10 runs.[8][9] Near the end of the season, the season faced various hurdles including a spot fixing case, which allegedly included 5 players caught on a sting operation carried on by a local news channel.[10]
The IPL Committee terminated the Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise after it breached the BCCI's terms of conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, each franchise has to submit a bank guarantee every year that covers the fee payable to the BCCI. The team, founded in 2010, was bought for ₹ 1,550 crore and the consortium has to pay a bank guarantee of ₹ 1.56 billion every year until 2020.[13] Despite this, the Tuskers' former players participated in this season's competition after being included in the players auction on 4 February 2012.
On 13 January, the BCCI asked the international players of Kochi Tuskers Kerala to register the individual court cases against the owners of the Kochi IPL team with the BCCI included as a party to each case.[14]
Chris Gayle created the record for the most number of consecutive sixes during a match in IPL history where he hit Rahul Sharma for 5 consecutive sixes in a single over.[20]
The match started at 16:50 due to rain, but was not shortened. Also play was stopped for 8 minutes during Mumbai's chase as one of the light towers stopped working.[24]
On 15 March, it was announced that due to the municipal election in Delhi, the playoff schedule was being slightly altered.[25] The sites of 22 and 23 May matches were changed, with Pune now hosting the first qualifier on 22 May and Bengaluru hosting the eliminator on 23 May. Had the Royal Challengers Bangalore qualified for the playoffs, they would play the match in Bengaluru, switching which venue hosts which match if necessary.[26]
Overall, 22,453 runs were scored at an average of 26.20. 857 wickets fell. Both the number of runs and of wickets were new IPL records.[27] Six centuries were scored.
The first matches of the season had recorded an average Television Viewership Rating (TVR) of 3.76, 18.7% less than the previous season.[30] The viewership was also reportedly low for the opening ceremony with a rating of 1.3 TVR.[31] The decline was attributed to the number of matches being played, as the count stands at 76 among 9 teams.[32] The rating continued to fall as the cumulative number of people who tuned in to watch the first 16 games also declined from 127.40 million in 2011 to 122.44 million.
However, despite this slow start, IPL 5 garnered a higher cumulative viewership than any previous edition of the IPL.[7] The cumulative reach for 74 IPL 5 matches was recorded at 163 million against 162 million for 73 matches in IPL 4, and the final match had a higher reach than any previous final.[7]
Spot fixing
On 14 May 2012, an Indian news channel India TV aired a sting operation that accused five players involved in spot fixing. Reacting to the news, Chief manager of Indian Premier League Rajiv Shukla immediately suspended all five:[10]Mohnish Mishra, Shalabh Srivastava, TP Sudhindra, Amit Yadav, and Abhinav Bali (none of whom had played international cricket).[33] However, the report went on to claim that none of the cricketers were found guilty. On the reliability of the report, Rajat Sharma, the editor-in-chief of news channel India TV quoted that the channel had no doubts about the authenticity of the sting operation and prepared to go to court.[34]
Mohnish Mishra who was part of Pune Warriors India team for the season, admitted to have said that franchises pay black money, in a sting operation. Mishra was caught on tape saying that franchisees paid them black money and that he had received ₹15 million (US$180,000) from the later, among which ₹12 million (US$140,000)[35] was black money.[36][37] He was also suspended from his team.[38]
Other charges
9 April: Sharukh Khan, owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, was served a notice by the Rajasthan Police for smoking in public. Khan was caught smoking on camera during a match between the Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team he owns, and the Rajasthan Royals on 8 April.[39]
16 May: Shahrukh Khan, owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, received a five-year ban from the Wankhede Stadium for arguing with security at the ground after a match.[40]