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| Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist exults during the IPL final against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday. (AP) |
Johannesburg, May 24: After 506 “DLF maximums” and 1,317 boundaries, a few Bollywood heartbreaks and a lot of pom-pom jhatkas and matkas, came the Indian Premier League’s “ceetee moment of success” at 8.05 on an overcast night here at the Bullring.
The Kolkata Knight Riders should take heart — the last-placed team in 2008 IPL came first tonight as the Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore, the side that had finished just above them last year. In this edition, KKR finished last.
A boisterous Wanderers crowd cheered the two pre-tournament underdogs before yet another former Australian cricketer laid his hands on the winners’ trophy of what IPL chairman Lalit Modi described as “a domestic Indian tournament”.
After Shane Warne of Rajasthan Royals last year, the Chargers’ Adam Gilchrist pulled off tonight what none of the Indian cricketing “icons” have been able to do –- lead his IPL side to victory.
On the entertainment and excitement scale, tonight’s match, decided by six runs, did not take a back seat to Australia’s ODI World Cup win in 2003 and Team India’s T20 World Cup triumph in 2007 at the same venue.
And like those two games, the team batting first won, holding its nerve in what was till the last over a tense game that kept swinging from one way to the other.
In the end, it was the never-say-die attitude of the Deccan Chargers that saw them through. Gilchrist’s “boy wonder” Rohit Sharma led the victory lap around the Wanderers as the captain himself jogged at the back with those safe gloves still on.
Before the semi-finals against the Delhi Daredevils, Gilchrist had scribbled down a note predicting a six-wicket win. He chose not to play fortune-teller on Sunday.
For the locals, the IPL final was a battle between “the red team” and “the blue team” and the colour in the crowd made it clear who had the stronger support. Red flags, red jackets, red caps… it was a riot of red at the Wanderers as Anil Kumble’s men in red drew blood right at the start.
It needed just three balls for the red wave to erupt at the ground as a Kumble wrong ’un crashed into the stumps, knocking over his opposite number. But Gilchrist, whose breezy 57 here six years ago had helped Australia win the World Cup, came back later with two brilliant stumpings, a catch and some inspired captaincy to paint the Bullring blue.
A stunning closing ceremony brought the curtain down on IPL 2. The entire Wanderers stadium went completely dark as hundreds of beautiful fairy lanterns went up in the sky and the glow sticks in the crowd gave it a shimmering effect.
American R&B sensation Akon took over followed by Bollywood’s very own Katrina Kaif and reggae legend Eddy Grant, making it a night to remember for not only the people from Hyderabad but everyone around.
The Chargers may get their name inscribed on that diamond-studded trophy beside the year 2009 tag, but the real winner of the second Indian Premier League --- displaced by elections back home ---- has been Crowd South Africa.
With no apparent attachment to the Indian catchment areas and just a few team colours to root for, they came out in droves and made a transferred tournament a terrific triumph.
Baie dankie (“thank you” in Afrikaans), South Africa!
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Things you may have missed on TV
● As the players practised before the final, the cheerleaders too rehearsed in the middle of the ground. Their front rolls and back rolls were more fun to watch than the cricketers’ drill
● Wondering why the crowd was shimmering in the evening? They were all holding and waving orange and green glow sticks — a free gift to everyone entering the stadium
● One of the posters read: “Biryani vs Bisibelebath”, referring to the signature dishes of Hyderabad and Bangalore
● The final was “sold out” weeks ago and the ticket counters shut. On Sunday, the counters were opened again. But there remained pockets of empty seats
● Twenty-six cameras plus a helicopter cam brought the final to your living rooms. And an aerial rolling camera tracked in above the ground as each ball was bowled
● While the likes of Akon, Eddy Grant and Katrina Kaif featured in the closing ceremony, the highest- selling South African rock band, Prime Circle, played its original tracks during the innings break. A welcome change from the Bollywood jhankaar beats
● Despite Kings XI Punjab not being in the final, the DJ chose to play a lot of Bhangra tracks, including Bhootni Ke, Jee Karda and Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye
● One man sat in the crowd wearing a Kolkata Knight Riders jersey. No, he wasn’t John Buchanan
