Hyderabad’s new Nizams

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 which 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 new 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.

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. T. Suman started well but a leading edge when he closed the bat early ensured Symonds walked in much before he would have expected.

Andrew Two fine leaders

FINALS HYDERABAD VS ROYAL CHALLENGERS JOHANNESBURG

Johannesburg: For the second year in a row, the Indian Premier League was won by a team that had a fairytale run to the title. If it was Team Jaipur that went from underdogs to champs last year, this time it was the turn of a squad that could do nothing right last year, Team Hyderabad, to pull off an amazing turnaround.
Hyderabad rose from rock bottom, shaken and stirred, to pull off a sensational victory in the final here at the Wanderers, thus adding another chapter to the sweet irony of lastyear’s wooden spoon holders. If 2008’s number seven and eight teams were destined to make the final, it was perhaps only apt that the number eight won the title. Knight Riders may well derive some hope for next year.
The IPL ended in spectacular fashion as one IT city barely held off the other in a match that went down to the wire. Defending a mere 143 runs, Adam Gilchrist’s men provided the much needed spark to swing their side’s fortunes in an exceptional manner. Some electric fieldwork by Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Herschelle Gibbs, excellent left-arm spin from Pragyan Ojha and aggressive captaincy by Gilchrist worked wonders. Gilchrist’s hurricane innings in the semifinal had single-handedly given his team a ticket to the final. On the flip side though, it burdened his team with the expectation of a repeat performance. In retrospect, it seemed like the third ball of Hyderabad’s innings had decided the fate of the final when Gilchrist was clean bowled by Anil Kumble, trying to come down the track and completely missing the line.
Kumble’s genius needs a mention despite his team losing at the end. He reserved his best for the allimportant clash and when it came, his figures of 4-16 from four overs grabbed the opposition by the throat.
After Gilly left, scoring runs became tough hell for a seemingly mentally-subdued side. Herschelle Gibbs batted through the innings, anchoring one end. But there was no acceleration forthcoming from the other end. Andrew Symonds briefly flourished, but Kumble cut his innings short. Rohit Sharma too did his bit, but Hyderabad’s 143/6 seemed barely adequate.

The Challengers began their chase well. with Jaccques Kallis providing a stable start, Roelof van der Merwe’s run-rate boost adding meat to the effort and Ross Taylor indulging in some sensible strokeplay. FINAL HYD VS ROYAL CHALLENGERS HYD RISE LIKE A PHOENIX … End IPL II In A Blaze Of Glory
Johannesburg: To the credit of Team Hyderabad, they did not flinch when faced with a situation in the final of IPL II at the Bull Ring on Sunday.
They did it once before against Mumbai Indians in the league stage when they did well to hold their nerve and they did it again when it mattered the most.
Ball by ball they gained in confidence with each falling wicket just as Royal Challengers dug a hole which they found tough to get out of. A target of 144 from 120 balls came down to 100 from 82, 65 from 48 and the sequence remained in that order till the
end. There was always the need to surge but a vigilant Hyderabad, also a bit lucky, never provided the chance.
Two stumpings by Gilchrist, the second one a stunner, along with excellent spells from Ojha and Symonds further dented Royal Challengers. Vijay Mallya’s outfit, though, bat deep with the
likes of Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar no mugs with the bat. Not to talk of Robin Uthappa, who till recently was in the Indian scheme of things.
But the tide had turned clearly in favour of Hyderabad with the wicket of Rahul Dravid.