Semi final 2 at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

The two teams have a lot in common. Both qualified for the semis on the penultimate day of the league phase, both are lead by wicketkeepers, both have retired Aussie southpaws struggling at the top of the order and both look a bit thin in the bowling department. But the similarities would end here and while one would make it to the big final on Sunday, the other will play for the last spot in the Champions League on Saturday

While Kumble and Pietersen were the most economical bowlers for Royal Challengers, the lone spinner in Mumbai Indians – Harbhajan Singh, was the only one to be taken for big runs. The pitch looks fantastic and true and that makes for an exciting clash with the two teams in reckoning having lots of stroke makers. There is bounce on offer which may reap rewards to bowlers who can get in some accurate short balls.

Against Punjab, even after Raina and Badrinath’s excellent innings a target of 193 was looking beyond Chennai when they needed 44 runs in the last three overs. But just then Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to make it his day and scored 32 runs in the next 11 balls he faced to take Chennai home with two balls to spare. This season Dhoni hadn’t made much of an impact before this innings but now the opposition captains have yet another thing to worry about. Matthew Hayden hasn’t had a great season this time but he and his mates would dearly be hoping that he can deliver today. Vijay, Raina, Badrinath have all done well and Albie Morkel too has chipped in with a couple of crucial cameos. But the main area of worry for them is their bowling. The best Indian pacer for them has been L Balaji who too has given 8.87 runs per over. Muttiah Muralitharan has given away an astonishing 131 runs in the last 12 overs he has bowled and also taking into account that most of the Chargers’ batsmen are right handed he will sit out in this match. Morkel too has been very expensive but will retain his spot owing to his capabilities with the bat. Michael Hussey who has made just 37 runs in the three innings he has had is likely to sit out in favour of Justin Kemp who additionally brings in some accurate fast medium stuff to stifle the batsmen in the middle overs. Although the pitch at the DY Patil has good bounce, Shadab Jakati the left arm spinner from Goa is likely to play as none of the local fast bowlers has showed any sort of promise. Chennai’s fate in this match is likely to mirror that of Doug Bollinger. While he could make a telling difference with a good spell, him being taken for runs by the Deccan bowlers could well mean game over for Chennai.

Deccan are the form team at the moment having won their last five matches to make it to the semis. Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and T Suman have all contributed consistently in their latest winning streak. Monish Mishra also came good in the last match and with skipper Adam Gilchrist due for a big one the team must surely now be eyeing an encore of the second season. The lower middle order is still a problem for them but they would want to persist with Mitchell Marsh there who is a more reliable batsmen than Dwayne Smith. But the need to strengthen the bowling as well may prompt them to recall Smith. Like Chennai, Deccan are also thin on local fast bowling resources. RP Singh has had a disastrous season and was dropped for Deccan’s last league match against Delhi. Harmeet Singh had won them a match against Bangalore but went for over 10 runs an over against Delhi. Pragyan Ojha has been bowling extremely well and and got good support from leggie Rahul Sharma in the last match.

Since both the teams are batting heavy, an excellent spell of bowling from Doug Bollinger or Pragyan Ojha could well be the deciding factor. When teams have weak bowling they may think of bowling first and getting the worrisome area out of the way but it could well backfire if the other team gets a very big score. Batting first has remained the preferred option of most teams in big games but with the pitch here likely to hold well, loosing the toss may be a blessing in disguise.

Probable starting elevens
Chennai Super Kings – Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Albie Morkel, S Badrinath, Justin Kemp, R Ashwin, Sudeep Tyagi, Shadab Jakati, Doug Bollinger

Deccan Chargers – Adam Gilchrist, Monish Mishra, T Suman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Mitchell Marsh/Dwayne Smith, B Sumanth, Chaminda Vaas, Pragyan Ojha, Harmeet Singh, Rahul Sharma/ RP Singh

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Making the picture clearer

Unless the middle of the table teams falter big time against Mumbai and Punjab, this year many teams are likely to end at 14 points and net run rate will then be deciding their fates. Leaving aside Mumbai, Bangalore have the best net run rate and Deccan have the worst. With 10 points thus far and three games to go, Deccan will practically be out of contention if they lose even one. Chennai, Rajasthan and Kolkata on the other hand will be hoping that they do.

Bangalore need two wins in three games to land safely into the semis. One in three would do for them but they surely wouldn’t want it to come down to net run rate. The two matches played at Nagpur haven’t been been high scoring but there was little evidence to blame it on the pitch. It seemed to offer slight advantage to the bowlers who took the pace off the ball. This and Praveen Kumar continually leaking runs may prompt Kumble to bring in left arm spinner KP Appanna. Inclusion of Apanna may just mean S Sriram making way for Manish Pandey. Sriram had looked in good touch with the bat against Kolkata and can also chip in with a couple of crucial overs of left arm spin if a regular bowler goes for runs. It would be a good idea to go in with both Appana and Sriram as Deccan have only one left handed batsman in Adam Gilchrist. Bangalore’s bowling has been off and on but their batters have clicked consistently. Being batting heavy and with not too much to read into the Nagpur pitch, they may want to win the toss and bowl first.

Deccan’s batting has clicked in the last couple of matches and their bowlers too had a tremendous outing against Chennai. But their bowlers have lacked consistency and the team would be wary of it. They are likely to field an unchanged team, with Monish Mishra certain to escape an axe courtesy his 21 runs against Chennai and Bodapati Sumanth who didn’t get to bat on his debut also expected to play. Gilchrist would want his bowlers to knock down a couple early and force stroke players like Uthappa and Taylor into playing in a way that they don’t naturally do. Suman, Symonds and Rohit Sharma have all played a couple of good innings but Deccan would want Gilchrist to fire and push the run rate.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

THE DAY for mid table teams

While victories tomorrow will put Deccan and Kolkata right into the hunt for the semis, Chennai and Bangalore will be left with a tough task of winning three out of three if they lose. With pitches at Nagpur and Bangalore full of runs, expect it to be a Super Saturday.

On a good pitch at Nagpur, Chargers had bowled out Rajasthan for a paltry 159. But they stumbled in chase and with six runs required in the last over, lost three wickets to be all out for 157. But the successful chase at Bangalore would have given them a lot of confidence, as well the much needed motivation of a realistic chance of making it to the semis. Rohit Sharma had been the lone shining star in the Deccan batting line up till before the last match. But Suman played well against Bangalore and Symonds too got some runs under his belt. Gilchrist is long over due for a big knock and Chennai will be wary of him. Bowling still remains a serious concern for them as all bowlers apart from Pragyan Ojha went for more than nine runs an over at Bangalore.

Chennai are on a three match winning streak and would want to keep the momentum going. They still need to win three of their four matches to seal a semifinal berth. Murali Vijay, Raina and Dhoni have all been amongst the runs and Hayden too looked in good touch in the last match. If Albie Morkel is fit, he will be back in the line up at the expense of Michael Hussey. That would have normally meant Thushara making way for Muralitharan but Thushara bowled extremely well against Mumbai while Murali has been very expensive in the last couple of matches. Dhoni will have to think long and hard before making this call. It will be a day match and batting heavy Chennai would want to bat first on the placid Nagpur track in the sultry heat.

Ganguly is writing a fairy tale of his own with two match winning knocks in the last three matches. Not only that, he displayed nimble feet on the field against Delhi, effecting a crucial run out of Gautam Gambhir and then taking a splendid catch to dismiss Kedar Jadhav. Gayle has scored 88 and 40 in the last two matches and the 158 not out fame Brendon McCullum has also joined the squad. Add to this Angelo Mathews and Manoj Tiwary, and Kolkata have a solid batting line up. But Kolkata have seemingly been over cautious on occasions and ended up 10 to 15 runs short. Ashok Dinda looked the “find of the tournament” in the last match and the return of Murali Kartik from injury will only bolster their impressive bowling line up.

Bangalore are still struggling to find the correct balance. they haven’t been able to accommodate another slow bowler to help out Kumble. Left arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe could have replaced Dale Steyn but the presence of lefties Gayle and Ganguly, may deter Kumble from fielding him. Bangalore unnecessarily put a lash on their own progress in the last match by sending in Dravid at three. They bat deep and must allow big hitters like Uthappa and Taylor to play as many balls as possible. Dravid can always comes in if they loose three or four wickets quickly and otherwise can be sent in death overs to hit a few if all other established batsmen have been dismissed. If the Bangalore pitch is green, as it was in the last match, Kumble would like to win the toss and bowl first.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.twitter.com/drmohitgoyal

Challenging but not quite charging

Its a must win game for Deccan, who need five in five to make it to the semis. Deccan’s win would mean that they remain in hunt, but it could seriously derail Bangalore off the track to the semis. The average score at the Chinnaswamy stadium this season is 177, leaving aside the match in which Rajasthan were bowled out for 92. With both sides batting heavy, a run feast is expected today as well.

Bangalore are struggling to strike the right balance and changes are expected in quest for it. Dale Steyn is likely to get back into the squad to add pace to the attack. To accommodate him, Cameron White will have to go out and that will restore the hugely successful pair of Manish Pandey and Jacques Kallis at the top. KP Appanna had a good outing in the last match and is likely to retain his place, the likely exclusion being that of Abhimanyu Mithun. The lack of batting all rounders – those who could chip in with an over or two here and there, is hurting the Challengers badly. Virat Kohli is a decent option but has been under-bowled incomprehensibly by Kumble. Unless the first wicket falls within the first two or three overs, the strategy of sending Pietersen in at three also needs a rethink. But Bangalore are a very strong batting side and Kumble would back them to chase down any sort of total.

Deccan have a mystical problem of plenty – they have plenty of non-performers. They badly need Gilchrist to fire big time and not let numbers five, six and seven come into play. Andrew Symonds too hasn’t had a great time with the bat but he is too good a player to not click for long. Rohit Sharma looked in good touch in the last match and would want support from players around him. RP Singh bowled well in the last match and he along with Ryan Harris will enjoy the bounce on the Bangalore pitch. They are likely to go in largely unchanged with some usual musical chairs expected at six and seven.

Probable Elevens
Bangalore – Manish Pandey, Jacques Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Vinay Kumar, KP Appanna, Dale Steyn, Anil Kumble
Deccan – Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Anirudh Singh, Dwayne Smith, T Suman, Ryan Harris, RP Singh, Harmeet Singh, Pragyan Ojha

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Stars against a team

Chargers have played two home games at Mumbai and two at Cuttack and now they move to Nagpur to play the next three at the beautiful Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium at Jamtha. The stadium looks absolutely picturesque at night and has an electric atmosphere when packed to full capacity of 45,000. The pitch is likely to be full of runs and with both the sides light on bowling, any one bowler rising up to the occasion may make all the difference.

Rajasthan’s juggernaut was on a roll decimating four oppositions in a row but Delhi halted them. They did a superb job getting to 223 chasing against Chennai but it was their weak bowling which had conceded 246 runs and almost given away the match at half time. Warne may again look to open the bowling with Yusuf Pathan and not provide Gilchrist and Gibbs with pace to hit through the line. Siddharth Trivedi and Munaf Patel may be included in place of Sumit Narwal and Shrikant Wagh. Shaun Tait has been expensive in the last two matches and might make way for Morne Morkel or Johan Botha. But his wicket taking abilities may still tempt Warne to persist with him. With Shane Watson joining in, Rajasthan have a good top four in him, Naman Ojha, Michael Lumb and Yusuf Pathan. Hard hitting batsman Paras Dogra may replace one of Faiz Fazal and Abhishek Raut. Toss isn’t likely to be a big factor on the hard surface at Nagpur unless there is dew later on which may make it difficult for spinners to grip the ball in the second innings.

Deccan have always looked more of a congregation of star players than a well knit team. It seems they all like doing things their own ways rather than “playing for each other”, as Warne says Rajasthan Royals do. Pragyan Ojha bowled well in the match against Mumbai but the rest of the attack lacked incisiveness. Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds being their next best bowlers speaks volumes. Their batting is highly reliant on Adam Gilchrist and his failures have reflected in team’s losses. Monish Mishra and Tirumalasetti Suman are still in the playing eleven because Deccan don’t have any replacements for them on the bench. But all said and done, Deccan are a very dangerous side. They might have only seven cricketers and rest just fill ups but they may need nobody else when one or two of those seven fire big time. Gilchrist, Gibbs and Symonds are due for big knocks and the belter of a pitch at Nagpur might just be the perfect foil.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.twitter.com/drmohitgoyal

Aussies to aid the struggle in the middle

Chennai managed to beat Bangalore after a string of losses while Rajasthan’s four match winning streak came to a halt when they were pumped by the Daredevils. Momentum is on Chennai’s side and arrival of Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger will add reliability and teeth to their line up. For Rajasthan, Shane Watson is back and even if he is Jet lagged and doesn’t play, he can provide valuable insights on Hussey and Bollinger’s weaknesses.

Hussey and Bollinger are likely to move into Chennai’s playing eleven straight away. Abie Morkel hasn’t been able to turn games with the bat and has been very expensive with the ball. Thushara has done a reasonably good job in the two matches he has played but Bollinger is a lot quicker and can bowl some good yorkers in the death overs. Chennai would dearly want Hayden to start firing now as nobody can push the run rate continually like him.

If Watson isn’t under-rested, Rajasthan would want to play him as he lends balance with his ability to open the innings and can bowl decent four overs. Shaun Tait was the most expensive bowler in the match against Delhi but he has the ability to take wickets and get in some unplayable yorkers. Yusuf Pathan didn’t have time to play himself in against Delhi and Warne must look to sending him in at 4 or 5. Rajasthan would want to win the toss and bat first. With it being a day match and the sun beating down in Chennai, the pitch is certain to favor the team that bowls second more.

After three consecutive wins against Chennai, Punjab and Delhi, Deccan’s charge has received a rude shock with three consecutive losses to Rajasthan, Mumbai and Kolkata. Symonds, Gibbs and Rohit have all played some good small innings but these losses have highlighted how highly they rely on Gilchrist. Gibbs and Symonds scored 50 and 45 respectively in the last match, but strike rates of 111 and 121 were never going to be enough to chase down 182. Ryan Harris has arrived and that must be a big relief for the Deccan camp. He has more pace than Vaas and is much more accurate than Roach. Suman and Venugopal Rao haven’t done anything of substance this year but Deccan don’t have replacements either.

Mumbai have been simply splendid this year. Zaheer, Malinga and Harbhajan have all been bowling consistently well. Sachin has been in sublime form and Dhawan, Tiwary, Rayudu and Sathish have all supported him well. They are practically into the semis and Sachin would like to try out options at hand before they enter the knock out stages. Ryan McLaren has got many chances but has failed to impress. Dhawal Kularni if fit or Ali Murtaza may get a look in. They may also play JP Duminy or Graham Napier to find out what kind of nick they are in.
Deccan would want to bowl first and get their weaker half out of the way. Also, bowling first Harris and co. might get a little swing and bounce at Brabourne.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.twitter.com/drmohitgoyal

Trying to break into the top half

Deccan and Kolkata are currently at sixth and seventh positions in the points table. The team that wins may just move into the top half at the expense of Rajasthan Royals. Deccan after winning three on the trot against Chennai, Punjab and Delhi were drubbed in the last two matches by Rajasthan and Mumbai. Before all that, they had lost their opening match to Kolkata and would want to make amends. Kolkata on the other hand have been downhill after starting the tournament with a bang.

Kolkata have been doing some inexplicable chopping and changing, replacing Murali Kartik who had been in splendid form by Iqbal Abdulla. Ganguly’s love for the young blood continues with opportunities being given to the under-19 hitter Mandeep Singh, but he doesn’t seem to be mature enough as of now. Ishant Sharma was half way down the middle to bat after Langeveldt was bowled out on the last ball of the 20th over, it speaks a lot about his focus. He is a fantastic talent but must sit out for now and be given the right guidance, motivation and confidence. Kolkata must look at playing both Kartik and Abdulla along with Langeveldt and one of Dinda, Agarkar or Vignesh. Mathews, Gayle, Ganguly and Hussey can all roll their arms over. They could also bring in Laxmi Ratan Shukla to replace Ishant and give depth to their batting. Hard hitting Harshad Khadiwale must be the choice in place of Mandeep Singh. Winning the toss and batting first will be vital to Kolkata’s plans of staging a comeback.

Deccan are lacking badly in bowling with nobody apart from Chaminda Vaas contributing consistently. Vaas too was taken for runs against Rajasthan and made way for the express Kemar Roach in the last match. Jaskaran Singh although expensive but looked good in the last match and must be persisted with. RP Singh too bowled well against Mumbai, grabbing 3 for 31 compared to his season’s six wickets at an economy of 9.60 per over. Deccan’s batting depends heavily on Gilchrist and their team would be looking up to him to provide the impetus to get their campaign back on track. VVS Laxman is too classy a player to be left out and must replace Monish Mishra. Laxman will be able to play his natural game and rotate the strike once the big hitters around him get going. He has had to hit unnecessary shots across the line as Gilchrist hasn’t quite fired this season.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Adam Gilchrist the Captain of Deccan Chargers, began by winning the toss and a superfast 38 from 17 balls, while becoming the first batsman in the IPL to reach 1000 runs.  Andrew Symonds overcame a sluggish start to slam the game’s only half-century. Symonds proved a good ally albeit at a later stage to Gibbs – at one stage he was just 3 off 17 balls and then jumped to 50. Gibbs and Symonds both fell in succession, when Deccan was just past 150. After which, much to Captain Dhoni and everyone else’s surprise Sudeep Tyagi contributed a 22-run final over thanks to his full-toss balls apart from some amazing knocks by Rohit Sharma and T Suman which helped Deccan Chargers reach a total of 190 for 4.

The Chennai onslaught was started off by Chamunda Vaas with three quick wickets inlcuding Hayden and they could hardly manage a total of 159 at the close of 20 overs with 0 wickets down. This win was set up by Deccan’s batsmen, namely their four big Gilchrist, Giibs, Symonds and Vass – all overseas players.

Chennai conceded 63 in the last five overs and that proved to be the decisive period of the match which helped Deccan Charges level the first loss in the opening match.

Editorial

Challengers to challenge Bengal Tigers in their EDEN, Bruised Deccan face Chennai
IPL Day 3 Preview

Kumble and his men have their task cut out when they play in front of a steeply partisan crowd at Eden Gardens against the ferocious Ganguly’s Tigers, just for the IPL who happen to be called “Knight Riders”. Royal Challengers Bangalore look a stronger team man to man but the Knight Riders showed tenacity in their win over Deccan.

Kallis and Boucher have arrived after scoring 55 and 27 (in 8 balls) respectively at the South African Pro20 final. Its just Jet Lag which could have them unavailable for the match. Eoin Morgan has been in tremendous form and they have such a rich resource of foreign players that World No. 1 bowler Dale Steyn could fail to make it to the eleven. They could look to play Morgan as keeper and fit in Steyn or play Steyn in place of Roelof van der Merwe which too won’t be easy looking at the value Roelof brings to the team. Manish Pandey, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid have been in fine form off late. Robin Uthappa has been struggling and could well be left out if Bangalore decide to go in with an extra all-rounder in Sridharan Sriram or Balchandra Akhil. “Born fighter” Kumble and “on the money”  Praveen Kumar will lead the bowling attack.

Kolkata on the other hand would not like to tinker with the winning combination. They will be looking up to Brad Hodge and Manoj Tiwary to provide impetus at the top. They would look to win the toss and bat first as it being a day match the wicket is likely to get slower. Besides the spinners coming into play, Ishant and Langeveldt’s cutters and slowers ones too would enjoy more grip on the surface as it wears.

Chennai will begin their campaign at home against Deccan who for their own sake would like to forget Friday’s loss quickly. Deccan still haven’t convinced many people that they were the deserving winners last year in South Africa. After a disastrous Champions League campaign they would want to do well here and gag their critics.

Again Chargers will rely heavily on Gilchrist to set a big score or set alight a chase. Gilchrist would want Gibbs, Rohit and others to show more responsibility. Vaas bowled well in the last match and would expect some firm support from the likes of RP Singh and Jaskaran Singh.

Chennai have Hayden at the top, enough to intimidate the best of bowlers around the world. Murali Vijay although not exactly a T20 material is likely to join Hayden to open the innings and would want to play the foil. Raina and Badrinath are now an integral part of the India Players’ pool and would want to put the weight of their experience behind Chennai’s Campaign. Their main problems are in the bowling department where Murali and Albie Morkel are out of form and Justin Kemp hasn’t bowled too many overs recently. They would look to bowl first and back their batsmen to knock off any sort of totals.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Yes, it was that time in the series when the trophy was claimed by one of the two finalists – either the Deccan Chargers (DC), or the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). We all know who it was in the end, but to know just how they did it, read on!

The RCB won the toss and decided to field first. Skipper Adam Gilchrist (Gilly) and Herschelle Gibbs opened batting, while – keeping in mind Gilly’s performance in the semis – skipper of the RCB, Anil Kumble, decided to lead by example and took it upon himself to dismiss Gilly. And what do you know – he did! Thus, skipper dismissed skipper; that too without Gilly’s having made even a single run! Tirumalasetti Suman came in at one down, but was sent back to the bench by R. Vinay Kumar (catch Manish Pandey) after making 10 runs off 11 balls.

Andrew Symonds came in after Suman. Rahul Dravid, who is a fantastic catcher of the ball, dropped Symonds when he was batting at five! Symonds eventually did get out, but it was after he had made 33 runs off 21 balls. The man responsible for the dismissal was Kumble once again, who bowled him out. Rohit Sharma came in next. At the end of 10 overs, the DC were at 62-3. Sharma played a good innings, but got out after making 24 runs off 23 balls – the bowler, once again, being Kumble (catch Pandey).

Venugopal Rao came in next, but he was dismissed on a duck by Kumble again – the fielder this time being Ross Taylor. Azhar Bilakhia came in next, but was LBWed by V. Kumar after making only six runs. This wicket fell in the 20th over, and Ryan Harris came in for the last few balls. Thus, the DC ended at a very ‘gettable’ score of 143-6, with Gibbs at 53/48 (his fourth IPL 50) not out, and Harris at 9/5 not out.

Jacques Kallis and Pandey opened batting for the RCB, while Harris bowled the first over, in which he conceded only one run to the opposition. The next two overs were uneventful, but in the fourth over, R. P. Singh bowled out Kallis after the latter had made 15 runs off 17 balls. Roelof van de Merwe came in at one down. The second wicket – that of Pandey – fell in the seventh over, after he had made four runs off eight balls. Pandey was caught behind the wicket on a ball by Pragyan Ojha. Rahul Dravid was the next batsman in.

The third wicket which fell was that of Merwe, who was stumped out by Gilly on a ball by Ojha. Merwe had made 32 runs off 21 balls by then. Ross Taylor came in after Merwe’s dismissal, which took place in the ninth over. Funnily enough, after nine overs, both the teams were at the same score – 59-3. After 10 overs, though, while the DC had been at 62-3, the RCB ended at 69-3. The fourth wicket, and probably one of the biggest blows dealt to the RCB, was that of Dravid, who was bowled out by Harmeet Singh after making nine runs off 13 balls. Virat Kohli came in next.

Taylor, on whom a lot of hopes were pinned, got out on a ball by Symonds (catch Rao) when he was batting at 27 runs. Mark Boucher came in next at the non-striker’s end. At the striker’s end was Kohli, who was also dismissed by Symonds (stumping Gilly). Thus, Robin Uthappa came in and faced Symonds’ hat trick ball! However, he didn’t get out. By now, the RCB were six down. The seventh wicket fell, claiming Boucher, who got out on a ball by Harmeet (catch Gibbs) after he’d made five runs off six balls.

V. kumar came in next. After making eight runs off eight balls, he was sent packing by Harris (beautiful catch by Harmeet!). Skipper Kumble came in next, looking desolate, because he knew what was going to happen. The second last over was bowled by Harris, and Uthappa hit him for a couple of big boundaries; for a moment it looked as if the RCB would make it. But the last over was bowled by none other than the holder of the purple cap, R. P., and he delivered a fantastic few dot balls, as a result of which, the RCB lost the match by a mere six runs!

It was a great match, truly worthy of being called a ‘final’, where either team could have won. After the game, and after an ecstatic Gilly and team departed to the dressing room, a fantastic show – which included performances by Katrina Kaif, Eddy Grant, Akon, a fabulous fire and drum show, and dance performances by Shiamak Davar’s troupe – was held to mark the official close of IPL season 2. After the fabulous show, during which the ‘Miss IPL’ was also declared (a certain Dune Kozzats), the prizes for the match (and the entire series) were given out. The DLF Maximum award for the match was given to Merwe, while the Man of the Match was given to Anil Kumble – in spite of being from the losing side – for his unbelievable four wickets in four overs.

Other prizes that were given were:

Under 23 Success of the League – Rohit Sharma

Leading Run Scorer (Orange cap) – Mathew Hayden

Leading Wicket Taker (Purple cap) – R. P. Singh

Fair Play award – King’s XI Punjab (KXIP), and

Golden Player of the League – Adam Gilchrist

After all the awards were given out, the victorious DC team posed for photographs with the prestigious IPL trophy, leaving us, the audience, waiting eagerly for the next season, which will , we hope, be held where it truly belongs – in India!