Runs on the board proved the key, Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist said after his team beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in the Indian Premier League final at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.
Even though Deccan were restricted to 143 for six — mainly because of a superb bowling performance by Bangalore captain Anil Kumble — it was just enough as a slow pitch, a lack of substantial partnerships and the pressure of a final combined against the Challengers, who could only manage 137 for nine.
“It could have gone either way,” said Gilchrist, who was named player of the tournament.
PHOTO: EPA
Gilchrist said left-arm spinner Praghan Ojha, who took three for 28, did a “wonderful job” for Deccan.
“As they say, in finals to have runs on the board is always a good position to be in,” he said.
Kumble, named man of the match for taking four for 18, said he was proud of his team for winning five games in a row to reach the final.
He said the loss of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off successive balls from Andrew Symonds, soon after the departure of batting mainstay Rahul Dravid, put the brakes on his team’s challenge.
Leg-spinner Kumble opened the bowling after sending Deccan in and dismissed danger man Gilchrist with his third ball. Fresh from his match-winning innings of 85 off 35 balls against Delhi Daredevils in the semi-final on Friday, Gilchrist showed impatience after failing to score off the first two deliveries from Kumble. He charged down the pitch to the third ball, but failed to read a googly which went past his bat into the stumps.
Mission accomplished, Kumble took himself off, but came back into the attack in the ninth over and ended a promising innings by Symonds, who hit 33 off 21 balls. Once again Kumble took himself off, with figures of two for five from two overs.
He returned to dismiss Rohit Sharma, who was named Indian under-23 player of the tournament, and Venugopal Rao, but Herschelle Gibbs batted through the innings to make an unbeaten 53.
Gibbs was unable to dominate the bowling and did not get enough of the strike, facing only 48 of the 120 balls of the innings, but his innings proved crucial. At the mid-innings break he had scored only 13 off 22 balls.
Bangalore made a cautious start, but Roelof van der Merwe gave the innings impetus with a typical mixture of wild swings and solid hits. He hit two sixes off Ryan Harris and another off Symonds before he was stumped off Ojha for 32 off 21 balls.
Despite the loss of Dravid, bowled by Harmeet Singh when he tried to flick the ball to leg, Bangalore looked to be cruising to victory until Taylor and Kohli fell off successive balls.
Taylor top-edged a pull to long-leg and Kohli was superbly stumped down the leg-side by Gilchrist.
Mark Boucher cut Harmeet Singh to Gibbs at backward-point and suddenly Bangalore needed 37 off 25 balls with only three wickets left. It proved too many.
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