Deccan chargers - Charged all the way

IPL is viewed as a definite marketing tool by Lalit modi and his team. Season 1, the team which was not given any hope by viewers nor money was put into by corporates, went on to win the tournament (Rajasthan Royals). Season 2 had a similar story into it. Hyderabad Deccan chargers, who ended up at eighth place in season 1, went on to win the tournament. If IPL is all about unpredictability, let's all take a calculative move and mention Kolkata Knight riders would be the winners of epidode 3 next year. Lalit Modi is a fantastic Marketing guy and a separate case study could be drawn on him.

Now, about the match in particular, Hyderabad Deccan chargers wanted to win it and it really showed on the entire team that they had a common goal. Be it Gibbs' fighting 53 not out, Symonds' counter attack when the chips are down, Harmeet singh's magic spell and his scintillating catch in the deep, whole fielding effort, Gilchrist's flashy stumping to get rid of Virat kohli who was looking dangerous: there was only one message to the viewers that they wanted to win.

Earlier, Kumble adopted the same strategy of putting the opponents into bat after winning the toss. It was a killer punch move when he brought himself on with the new ball. The intention was to take the pace off and it richly paid dividends. What a way to scalp Gilchrist off the third ball. Kumble ensured that Deccan will set a score which could be easily chasable. After the first over, Kumble removed himself off the attack. Next part was when Symonds came up with a counter attack, which Australians are known for. Again Kumble brought himself onto the attack, this time picking Symonds, unlucky though to pull the ball onto the stumps. Rohit Sharma steadied the ship and just at a time when he was planning for big shots, Kumble deceived him and made Rohit play a false shot and Manish Pandey took a fantastic diving catch in long off. Venugopal Rao in Deccan's team is exactly equivalent to Uthappa in RCB's team. First ball, he tried to loft kumble out of the ground when he clearly knows, that's the last ball of Kumble's spell. You have got to accept that it was a Senseless, Irresponsibe shot.

All this was happening and Herschelle Gibbs was crafting his way to a match saving fifty initially and later was decided as match winning innings, when RCB failed to chase down the score. One of the important lapses of the day was when Rahul Dravid dropped a sitter in slips of Symond's bat edge. RCB's bowling effort was all about Kumble and his switching of bowlers at different stages of the game. Praveen kumar was a dissappointment on the day.

Second innings was all about Gilchrist's men. Their fielding effort was out of the world. Gibbs in Point, Rohit sharma in square cover region and Symonds in covers : What a challenge for RCB's openers to pierce that gap. I remember five boundaries were saved in that region when the new ball was in opeartion. RP Singh and Ryan harris bowled with great fire and precision. Just because a huge wall was built by the three fielders on the off side, Kallis had to pull the ball from wide outside the off stump and he dragged it onto his stumps. A fielding effort can bring a false stroke from the batsmen. Thats an example for the viewers.

Manish Pandey was put into pressure through some verbal spats on the ground and it was irritating to see Symonds walk upto him each and every ball and giving the baby a tough time. He also perished to the first ball bolwed by Ojha. I see Pragyan Ojha ahead of Harbhajan in coming T-20 world cup. Hope Dhoni backs this youngster because this guy is maturing day by day. Van der Merwe provided the much needed big hits to keep RCB in the hunt. He was out to a teaser from Ojha, VD Merwe stepped out and went for a huge six, missed the ball completely and Gilli finished the formalities.

There was great expectations from Rahul Dravid for coming up with another special knock. He got out to an irresponsible shot too. There was no short fine leg to try the paddle shot. He went for it and missed his leg stump. Kumble would have been disappointed with Dravid for sure. The turning point of the match to me was the Flashy stumping to get rid of Virat Kohli. Literally Heart would have skipped a beat while watching it live. Kohli is in striking form and his wicket was more priced than Ross Taylor yesterday. It was sheer brilliance of Gilchrist's glove work which turned the match.

Robin Uthappa could have made use of the opportunity to wipe off the criticism hanging on his head. Instead he chose the easier way out. Heroes emerge out of that situation and Uthappa preferred to be a Zero. R P Singh bowled fantastic last two overs and he was very calm under that extreme tense situation. Harmeet singh proved to Gilchrist and to the world, why he was picked for the important matches than many sitting in the bench. He picked Rahul and Boucher and gave away 23 runs in his 4 overs. Effort was well appreciated by Gilchrist, when he came all the way upto him to Mid off, shook his hands and went back to work.

Great match for cricket lovers, heart breaker for RCB supporters and best way to end for IPL season 2.

I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts during this IPL Season 2. A kind request for whosoever followed my blog to leave a comment about the way it was presented. You are more than welcome to communicate whatever you wish to. I bet it will not stop with this. Next focus would be T-20 world cup. I am happy that I started at the right time where I was provided the opportunity to share lots of stuff.

Thanks,

Prashy.