As a person, Adam Gilchrist doesn’t subscribe to the belief that the law of averages eventually catches up with a team. As a cricketer, he found that it came back to haunt him at the most crucial moment. Having won five games in a row to make it to the semifinals, the Deccan Chargers’ skipper found his team’s juggernaut come to a screeching halt at the hands of Chennai Super Kings on Thursday night.

It was a most abject surrender, albeit on a wicket not conducive for T20 cricket. It was slow, afforded turn and the Super Kings, with their tweakers, comfortably defended a total of 140-plus.

Much depended on the toss and Gilchrist will be hoping that he strikes it lucky as he takes on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the third-place play-offs on the same turf at the D.Y. Patil Stadium. Interestingly, it will be a clash between the finalists of last season and this time the booty is not the IPL riches but a Champions League berth.

In a way it’s pretty strange. The adjacent turf threw up a big score from the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday night but the wicket for the second semifinal and most possibly for the play-offs is turning out to be a dust bowl.

In such a scenario, the Chargers, having lost out as defending champions will need to quickly regroup for a play-off which has more meanings than one. Firstly, a victory on Saturday night over the Challengers will ensure their berth in the prestigious Champions League and secondly, will prove to be some consolation after missing out on the top prize.

Gilchrist’s biggest worry will be his own poor form with the bat. The Chargers are clearly missing out on the blazing starts that he is capable of providing. A total of 104, chasing 143, doesn’t speak greatly of the team but the Chargers can put it away as an aberration and work out the composition of the team for the encounter on the morrow.

The Challengers, on the other hand, are a hugely disappointed lot after crashing to the Mumbai Indians. Skipper Anil Kumble knows that with the kind of arsenal he possesses, they should have overpowered their opponents in the semis but having lost out, he will be more than keen for a rousing finish.

If the loss in last year’s final hurt, then this will be the best chance of avenging the defeat. The law of averages has caught up with the Chargers while the Challengers are coming off back-to-back defeats; surely, the contest couldn’t have been more significantly matched.