Partners in Cricket
VIDEO: Aramco teams up with Indian Premier League
Company will be the exclusive sponsor of The Orange Cup and Purple Cap.
With the completion of the 2022 season Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament last week in Ahmedabad, India, hundreds of millions of cricket fans around the globe have a new name to talk about: Aramco.
This year, Aramco kicked off a partnership with the IPL to be the exclusive sponsor of the most prestigious individual awards in the sport: The Orange Cap for the highest run scorer, and the Purple Cap for the bowler who takes the most wickets.
This year’s Orange Cap went to Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler, who reached a record-breaking 863-run campaign in 2022.
The Purple Cap went to Rajasthan Royals’ Yuzvendra Chahal, who bagged 27 wickets. (For newcomers to cricket, see explanation below.)
Aramco’s entry into the world of professional cricket is just the latest of a series of sports sponsorships that share a common goal of spreading awareness about Aramco, while supporting excellence in the world of sports. As with Aramco’s sponsorship of Formula 1 and Ladies Professional Golf, IPL helps Aramco to introduce itself to targeted audiences, in this case the billion-plus population in the Indian subcontinent, who make up the fastest growing markets for energy solutions.
The IPL (and its governing body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India) have an impressive reach among cricket fans. With a 405-million cumulative reach on TV, 251-million engagements on social media, 261-million unique visitors on its digital platform, and coverage across 24 channels and 11 global platforms covering more than 180 territories in five regions worldwide, the IPL is a powerful channel for supporting Aramco’s objective of creating brand awareness in India and beyond.
By lending the Aramco name to the Orange Cap and Purple Cap, Aramco drives home the message that the company also pursues excellence as relentlessly as some of the best athletes in sport. In these times of growing energy demands, this drive for excellence has tangible benefits for society, promoting growth and security for our global customers.
In addition, sponsoring cricket associates Aramco with one of the second most popular sports globally and the most innovative sports in the world; one that has expanded its reach by adapting the sport to new, younger audiences, creating an exciting spectacle for viewers worldwide with this new T20 format of the game.
We, too, embrace innovation, and our talented people create solutions with the potential to drive economic growth, improve quality of life, and forge new pathways to a lower emissions future.
Cricket terms
Cricket: Cricket is a game played between two teams of 11 players each. An individual batsman does battle against an individual bowler, who has helpers known as fielders.
Bowler: The bowler propels the ball with a straight arm from one end of the 22-yard pitch in an attempt to dismiss the batsman by hitting a target known as the “wicket” at the other end, or by causing the batsman to hit the ball into the air and getting caught by one of the fielders.
The Wicket: Essentially, three sticks that are pressed into the ground. The bowler tries to knock these over with the ball to dismiss the batsman.
Batsman: The batsman attempts to defend the wicket with the bat and to score runs (or “points”) by striking the ball over the field boundary, or far enough from the fielders to allow the batsman to run to the other end of the pitch before the ball can be returned.
The Format: There are different formats of cricket. The T20 format is a shorter form of the game and each match takes around three hours to complete. The IPL is contested using the T20 format.
Determining the Winner: In T20, one team bowls the ball 120 times to the other team. The roles are then reversed. The team that scores the most runs, wins the game.