Deccan Chargers are the winners of IPL-2!

AFTER 58 matches and 37 days of hardcore cricket, we expected the final encounter to be very special and so it was. The explosive Deccan Chargers and the fighter Royal Challengers played a match which was very close to a thriller and gave an entertaining end to the tournament. Deccan Chargers proved to be the winning side as they had an Australian legend leading their side who kept himself cool even under nail-biting moments and that led his side to raise the trophy for the IPL Season 2.

Money can buy Peterson but not a legend like Kumble. I am sure Vijay Mallya would be thinking the same after his performance though his side lost the match. Jumbo bowled a superb spell taking four wickets for just 16 runs in his quota of four overs.

Deccan Chargers were the first to bat and a lot was expected from Adam (Bomb) Gilchrist. But Kumble diffused him before he could open his account. The RC knew that this blow could make a major difference. Later on, Dravid dropped a lolly by Symonds when he was batting on five runs, soon after this Symond started his natural game whacking the Royal Challengers through his power play. While he was looking unstoppable, Kumble took his wicket which brought much relief to Mallya and his men. Wickets kept falling one by one though Gilchrist batted throughout the innings and remained not out on 53 runs (off 48 balls) and helped his team reach a respectable total of 143 runs!

Before even RC started batting, Deccan Chargers began their plan. The Bad Boy of cricket Symonds started conversing with Manish Pandey just to disturb his rhythm. The dude didn’t respond even once as he was there to play cricket. Kallis departed soon as he was bowled while he tried to pull RP Singh and was played on. Then came Merwe who has his own unique batting style. He played some crazy shots which included three massive sixes! He contributed 32 runs off just 21 balls. Pandey didn’t get enough strike which might be the reason why he lost his wicket. The Wall was solid as always and on the other side Taylor continued playing his master strokes. By 10 overs, RC were 69/3 and required 75 of the next 10 overs. That’s when the Wall collapsed, after which Kohli and Taylor added 20 runs to the score. But that’s where it all happened. Taylor tried to pull Symonds and got out doing so, on the very next ball Kohli got stumped by Gilchrist. Taking two wickets off two balls Deccan Chargers were back into the game! Boucher fell soon and RC still needed 37 runs off 25 balls. But the tail-enders fumbled under the pressure and some tight bowling by the Deccan Chargers. Uthappa tried to create some drama towards the end but with just one wicket left and 15 to win off the last over, Uthappa wasn’t in his best of form to do so. Towards the end Challengers lost by seven runs and Deccan Chargers were all huddled to celebrate!

Kumble has really proved that cricket has hardly produced fighters like him. Yet he never got his due and today was another example. In a batsman dominating game Jumbo bowled a spell that left the Deccan Chargers spellbound and made his best effort to make his side a winner. But then again, the efforts of Gilchrist cannot be ignored, it was Gilly who single-handedly took his side to the finals and with his experienced strategies Deccan Chargers were all charged up winning the IPL season 2! Their journey from the bottom of the chart last year to winning the title this year has been truly deserving and remarkable!