In the end the all round strength and combative spirit of Deccan Chargers proved to be the difference. Chargers beat the Bangalore Royal Challengers by six runs to claim ownership of the glittering IPL Trophy.
With 45 runs required off 41 balls the road looked easy and straight for Bangalore Royal Challengers was made difficult from the moment Ross Taylor chose to pull a ball that got a bit high on him. Venugopal Rao accepted the catch at deep square leg and off the next delivery Virat Kohli lost his balance and Adam Gilchrist whipped the bails of in a flash. Andrew Symonds in a matter of two balls gave another twist to the final. Full credit to Harmeet Singh for picking two crucial wickets and holding on to an excellent catch under pressure.
If ever there a template can be followed when defending a below par score, following what Deccan Chargers did on Sunday at the Wanderers will not be a bad idea. Coming out from the dug out like men possessed the Chargers put an admirable display in the field. Ryan Harris provided pace and R.P. Singh seam and swing. Jacques Kallis after a few streaky boundaries chopped one on to this stumps. Van der Merwe walking in at three and Manish Pandey under a verbal barrage struck on gamely.
Harris who repeated his maiden over act as against Delhi was struck for two mighty sixes by Merwe and the heat in the middle intensified. What the players exchanged will never get the MCC’s approval. Pandey trying to cut a ball close to the stumps nicked to Gilchrist and Merwe after adding another six was flummoxed by Pragyan Ojha who went a little overboard with his celebration. The match hung on a razor edge at the halfway mark.
Pressure can do strange things even to the most experienced. Rahul Dravid in trying to beat the man at 45 was castled. Ross Taylor ensured the asking rate did not rise by much when he struck Ojha for a six and four. The target ahead was not difficult the key was to keep wickets intact but were unable to.
Anil Kumble did what he had done successfully all his career-stare at the opponent right in the eye. After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Kumble sprang a surprise. But it was a surprise only for those who didn’t know Kumble. He brought himself on in the first over against Adam Gilchrist. It was the mother of all contests. Two fine leaders against each other. Kumble tossed one up and Gilchrist took the bait and played over the ball. Kumble had handed over the advantage to his team exactly two minutes after play started.
Herschelle Gibbs struggled for timing. He looked short of confidence to play the big shots. T. Suman started well but a leading edge when he closed the bat early ensured Andrew Symonds walked in much before he would have expected. Bangalore had their tails up, runs were hard to come by and Chargers, usually accustomed to blazing starts could muster only 31. If Dravid had latched on to a simple offer at first slip, Chargers would have been in a dire situation.
Symonds shifted gears. Dravid died a thousand deaths. For the first time in the final Kumble was forced to think. A bowling captain has his own line of thinking. Kumble re-introduced himself to the attack breached the defence of Symonds (the ball hitting the thigh and rolling on to the stumps) collected his cap and walked away to a thunderous welcome at fine leg. It was exemplary leadership and clinical reading of the game.
Kumble packed of Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao in his last over. Rohit after sharing a 52-run stand of 47 balls perished trying to clear the extra cover boundary. Venugopal fell in similar fashion as Kumble returned with figures of four for 16.
Gibbs who picked momentum after flicking a six off Praveen tried hard to make up for lost time. There was little of it left anyway. Gibbs maximised the opportunities driving Praveen for another six in the penultimate over to bring his half-century. For the second day running Kumble used only five bowlers. Bangalore reaped the rewards of a planned effort. The last over from Vinay produced nine runs as Chargers closed at 143, replicating the effort of Chennai on Saturday. Gibbs remained unbeaten on 53.
