With this, tickets for the DLF Indian Premier League matches will now be available on Vodafone live! for Vodafone customers. Vodafone customers will also be able to participate in the Predict the Man of the Match contest and the winner will be announced as the Vodafone Winner of the contest, at the post-match presentation ceremony The DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) today announced that Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular service providers, has been chosen as the Official Telecom Partner for the league for a period of five years. Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League said, "It is indeed a pleasure to partner with a pre-eminent global telecommunication brand like Vodafone. The company has a long standing association with sports globally, ranging from Formula 1 with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to the UEFA Champions League. I am certain the company’s association with the DLF Indian Premier League as its official partner will prove to be mutually beneficial. This association with Vodafone bears testimony to the success of the DLF Indian Premier League as has been witnessed in the last fortnight of fantastic cricket and further reiterates the fact the league is set to carve out a distinct niche for itself in the international cricketing calendar.” Harit Nagpal, Director-Marketing and New Business, Vodafone Essar said, “We were always confident of the success of the new format of cricket as presented in the DLF Indian Premier League and had signed on as an exclusive media partner. We are now cementing our relationship with DLF Indian Premier League with this natural next step and we hope to create added value propositions for our customers through this association.” With this, tickets for the DLF Indian Premier League matches will now be available on Vodafone live! for Vodafone customers. Vodafone customers will also be able to participate in the Predict the Man of the Match contest and the winner will be announced as the Vodafone Winner of the contest, at the post-match presentation ceremony. Earlier Leading sports broadcaster Sony Max & World Sport Group had bagged the DLF Indian Premier League's global media and production rights for USD$ 1.026 billion. DLF Ltd., India’s leading real estate company, is the league’s title sponsor, while Hero Honda, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, won the Co-Sponsorship rights for the cricket extravaganza. PepsiCo India, one of the country’s leading beverage companies, has been the Official Beverage Supplier. Kingfisher Airlines, the country’s only 5 Star Airlines certified by Skytrax, is the Official Airline and Umpire Partner for the league and the ITC Welcomgroup Hotels, Palaces and Resorts, has been chosen as the preferred hospitality partner for the league. Citi, the leading global financial services company, is the official bank of the league. The inaugural season of the DLF Indian Premier League kicked off on April 18th 2008, with some high voltage action between Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders and Dr. Vijay Mallya’s Bangalore Royal Challengers. The opening game itself saw Kiwi & Kolkata Knight Riders stumper Brendon McCullum set the stage alight with a world record 158 runs, the highest ever individual score in a Twenty20 game. Since then records have been tumbling daily in the inaugural season of the DLF Indian Premier League. As of May 6th 2008, the Rajasthan Royals lead the league table standings with 10 points from six games and are followed in second place by the Kings XI Punjab who also have 10 points albeit from seven games. Early leaders the Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings are in third and fourth position respectively.