Chennai - Super Kings of IPL!
The third edition of the Indian Premier League has come to a close with Chennai taking top honours and putting an end to an in-form Mumbai in the grand finals.
Eventually, in spite of putting up the best campaign at the IPL, the Mumbai Indians were felled by two simple catches put down. Chennai Super Kings were in trouble when Suresh Raina miscued twice in two overs. He didn’t look back, 100 came in the last 8 and a target had been set that more often than not is good enough in big games.
Chennai had more big occasion players: Hayden, Murali, Dhoni, Raina and two more can now be added to that list: Murali Vijay and Ashwin. In fact, Ashwin was probably the best new ball bowler of the tournament.
Still, Mumbai had their moments but a bizarre batting order let them down. It was clear all along that Rayudu at number 3 was more likely to work than Abhishek Nayar who was only just returning to cricket. After the craziest running between wickets, you will see Nayar was finally run out. But by then too many were needed too soon. Still Mumbai kept it going till about 65 from 5 overs, something that has been done before when, at the fall of the fifth wicket, out came Duminy in place of Pollard. Two overs later, 55 needed from 3 and Pollard hit 22 off Bollinger.
It is a strange theory: that finishers should only be given enough time to finish. A little time in, and Pollard might just have come good.
But Chennai Super Kings were worthy winners. Their last few overs, especially the 16th, were sensational; they fielded better and seemed unaffected by the occasion. Over three years, they have been the best team in the IPL and much of that goes down to being the best selected team at the first auction.
Slowly, minds will now turn to the World T20. Unless you want to get carried away by what is happening around the IPL!!
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So the curtain falls on another wonderful edition of a tournament that has brought new dimensions to the game of cricket. Mongoose bats has been overshadowed by harder hitting power willows and cricket takes a backseat. Off-field battles and auctions take a centerstage. As cricketing half of IPL-3 bows out into oblivion let’s ponder over what stood out in this year’s extravaganza.
One of the stated goals of IPL was to provide international exposure to rookie Indian players right At home.And if you look at bonds such as Kevin Peterson and Virat Kohli, you’ll realize how well it has materialized. Seeing Muralidharan celebrate after CSK qualified for the semis makes you wonder whether SriLanka has just won the World Cup. That’s the sort of friendships that’ve built up in the IPL teams. Teams have gelled well and SWOT analysis is much more in place now. Yusuf Pathan & Adam Gilchrist would painfully, but surely vouch for that.
IPL-3 also will be hopefully remembered for the resurgence of a certain Amabati Rayudu. He was always India potential, but emotional turbulence and administrative apathy turned out to be his undoing. He probably was the only India Cap hopeful to have landed in the ICL lap. Just when obituaries were being inked, Phoenix has risen once again. His strokeplay suits all formats of the game perfectly and having spent time under Sachin’s leadership will do his carrer no harm whatsoever. What should go in his favor is that he is not being touted as the next big thing in Indian Cricket, just like Rohit Sharma is. Rohit, anyway, seems to be going the Stuart Law way off late with one classy knock followed by countless shockers. Let’s hopeIPL-3 does to Rayudu what IPL-1 did for Raina and Watson.
With the players’s contracts expiring, market forces will decide the worth of each player, but VVS Laxman, sadly looks set to fall off IPL radar. He is not exactly poetry in the slam-bang version. And who knows, we may’ve already seen the last of Ganguly, Warne & Gilchrist. Kumble & Hayden, though may take their bow after Champions League.
But if their was a player to be termed IPL-3 player, it has to be our very own SRT. He enjoyed it this season and India will expect a hell lot of things from him in the WC 2011. Let the injuries heal. Amen to that.