Clash of the ITans

Capitals of two erstwhile magnificent dynasties paved for distinct cultural beliefs in pre-Independence South India. The turn of the twentieth century witnessed these transformed metros breathing down each others’ necks to vie for the fluid IT/BT capital, e-governance and best airport accolades. Not to be outdone in other modalities, Bangalore and Hyderabad upped their ante last night to cap a new and colorful feather in the form of IPL T20 2009 cup. From being the two most drubbed teams in the last year’s version, they have beaten more fancied teams this season, although in very contrasting fashion. Deccan Chargers Hyderabad (DC) went bonkers right from the beginning decimating any team that was pitted against them. Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Superkings, Rajasthan Royals and Kings Eleven Punjab, nonetheless, slowly cut into the action pie. The most controversial and to some extent fancied lot, Kolkota Knight Riders were the sweet beat-me-now-and-everytime team and made Coach Buchanan’s multiple captain theory a cricketing farce. Although DC lost the plot in the middle, they had a winning combination to take them to the last four and beat the Daredevils in what was thought to be a hands-down game for the Delhites.

However Royal Challengers Bangalore, dubbed a test team, apparently suffered from the late bloomer syndrome. They started off on a wrong footing with Kevin Pietersen’s charisma not-withstanding his short stint at captaincy. Anil Kumble may not have been the obvious choice for the take-over, but Dravid was fathering another team back home. Under Anil, they turned multiple leaves over and won the last 10 of 12 games and 5 in a row to beat Chennai Superkings to reach the final. They had to scale the Gilchrist wall to lift up the IPL 2009 trophy. Although Anil laid the initial foundation for that, DC held their nerves in a match that saw so many twists and turns that Hitchcock would have turned in his grave. Mistimed shots, uncalled aggressiveness (initiated by the effervescent Symonds), a bit of sloppiness on field and a possible umpiring decision (a wide was not called when Kohli was stumped off Symonds) cost Bangalore the game that could have been theirs. But such is the nature of the game and doesn't make the efforts of DC any less significant. Deccan Chargers were the true Nizams of IPL 2009!

When T20 games were introduced in India, a strong statement was sent across that it was for the youth and the “seniors” didn’t stand much of a chance. IPL has rewritten that story time and again. IPL 08 was won by a team that was captained by Shane Warne who had quit active international cricket. This time around, both finalists were headed by flamboyant and hard-headed senior cricketers who were ably supported by daredevil young turks. It is all about balance between experience and exploits and I hope the selectors won’t get carried away by the young guns theory for the national team.

The Super Sunday extravaganza with no doubt held more excitement and expectations than the NBA or the UEFA Champions League for the sheer on- and off-field star persona, the exorbitantly ridiculous money involved in staging the event and the rags to riches turnabout of these two contesting teams. The closing ceremony was Moulin Rouge’s Spectacular Spectacular with fireworks and laser display competing with stars above and below! More importantly, it was a good engrossing, equally contested final and truly lived up to the one thing that cricket is all about - a gentleman’s game that entertains the spectator to the very last ball. The better team on the day took home the diamond-studded golden cup. It was not the first time that foreigners carried away exotic stuff from South Africa, except that this time around the Indians were decent enough to bring it down in the first place!

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