PepsiCo has won the sponsorship for Mukesh Ambani’s IPL team, Mumbai Indians (MI) for the upcoming second season of the much awaited tournament.

As part of the deal, PepsiCo will get branding, promotion and pouring rights for the MI team, and the brand will be featured on the players' apparel and helmets.

The company has also acquired exclusive pouring rights at home matches, besides being the official beverage for the same team.

Confirming the development, Sandeep Arora (Marketing Head, PepsiCo) said, “We are thrilled to announce Pepsi’s association with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League 2009. The Mumbai Indians team are go-getters equipped with self-belief and a ‘can do’ attitude which perfectly personifies Pepsi’s Youngistaan philosophy. This exciting partnership also brings with it a unique platform for Pepsi to engage with millions of cricket fans in Maharashtra and across the country.”

It can be here recalled that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) bought the rights for the Mumbai franchise of Indian Premier league for a total of $111.9 million during the auction on January 24, 2008. The RIL bid has made the Mumbai Indians the most expensive franchise in IPL.

In another move, PepsiCo's lemon drink brand 7UP has also associated with the IPL for the first time as the official hydration partner for last year's runners-up team Chennai Super Kings.

Speaking on this, PepsiCo India executive director-marketing Punita Lal said, “Taking forward 7UP's leadership in Tamil Nadu, it was a natural choice for the brand to associate itself with one of the leading teams (CSK) of the IPL.”

The second season of IPL is all set to start from April 10 with a bang.