T20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How often have we witnessed big finals turning out to be a dead rubber with one sided contests! Let’s take a walk down the memory lane.

• ICC World Cup 1999, England – Australia vs. Pakistan, the Aussies truly were the Lords on that day! They defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets.



• ICC World Cup 2003, RSA – Aussies had the final laugh in India’s melodramatic run in the tournament. Australia recorded an emphatic victory by a record margin (in World Cup finals thus far) of 125 runs, underlining their dominance of the tournament.

• ICC World Cup 2007, the Caribbean Islands – Australia completed the Hatrick. Australia recorded 53-runs victory over Sri Lanka via the DL method.

Let’s play the music now:

• ICC_World_Twenty20_2007, RSA – India clinched the victory in the last over, defeating their arch rivals, Pakistan by five runs.


• 2008 Indian Premier League - In a match which went down to the last ball, Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final to win the title.

• 2009 Indian Premier League – A match that got decided only in the last two deliveries with the The Deccan Chargers outwitting The Royal Challengers Bangalore by just six runs.


The NANO format of the Gentlemen’s game has so far lived upto it's hype and reputation. No wonder it has proved to be such a big hit. REASON??????:

The thrills and shrills of a nail biting finish is something that every sports lover would crave for. Agony, ecstasy, elation, despair all these invaluable emotions at the very last second of a game!!!!
Who could forget an absolute screamer from Iniesta that sealed the doors for the BLUES in this year’s Champions League Semifinal at Stamford Bridge! What drama it proved to be at Interlagos, in São Paulo, Brazil when Hamilton passed Toyota's Timo Glock in the final corners of the race to finish fifth, securing him the points needed to take the Drivers' Championship. Cricket has had its fair share as well and T20 has certainly added the oomph factor to what some considered as a dying game!

The 2009 IPL final between The Deccan Chargers and The Royal Challengers Bangalore was a low scoring game but was not short of excitement, twists and turns. The balance shifted between the two sides as periodic as a pendulum and kept the spectators and TV audiences on the edge of their seats. The Two teams were running for cover in the last edition of IPL, but this season they were truly much competitive and were hungry for success.

Anil Kumble showed everyone how well he could fit into the role of a leader and a mentor. On the other hand, Gilchrist seemed to have made the right moves at the right time whenever an opportunity was there to be taken. The 2009 IPL final had it’s moments of brilliance, verbosity, silliness and emotions. In the big final, it really proved to be a PERFECT GAMBLE when Anil brought himself on in the very first over to dismiss the ever dangerous Gilchrist. A gamble so well planned that it is worthy of a little briefing.
Anil who normally pushes his deliveries through the air was considerably slower through the air in that first over, lured Gilchrist to go for the heave onto the ON side and. The trajectory, dip and subtle deviation proved to be too good even for Gilly himself. Anil chipped in with wickets at the right time to put the brakes on the Chargers from running away with the game.

Unfortunately, his efforts went in vain as his batters let him down miserably at critical junctures. The DC’s were absolutely electric on the field with Sharma, Gibbs and Symmonds forming an impregnable corridor on the offside of the wicket and with their bowlers bowling to the field set, it really proved to be a nightmare for the RCB. Just as Anil proved to be the trump card for the Royal Challengers, it was Gilly who was the mastermind in causing their opponent's downfall. His behind the wicket glove work, that got rid of the set Virat Kohli was an absolute treat to watch. For critics who considered T20 as young man’s game, this is the ideal reply from a man aged 38 and still matching his reflexes on par with the best in the business. With wickets falling at regular intervals, it was just a matter of time before the challengers bundled out.

For once, Force India One was a solace for Dr. Mallya. Force India One finishing 9th and 13th in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix might well have saved the day for the UB DON!
IPL 2009, a true African safari!!!

IPL South Africa

The second edition of the IPL is coming to a close and we are two matches away from crowning the champions for this year’s IPL. In complete contrast to last year’s edition, IPL 2 has definitely proved to be even money bet between bat and ball.

Though the dissimilarities between the two editions seem to loom large, it has to be noted that, both the editions have witnessed one important similarity that has made this format of the game a box office blinder. Cricket is never short of surprises, excitement and for obvious reasons it neither runs out of disappointments as well. There is never a game in cricket that goes without coupe de theatre, certainly not in this format. Last season, Rajasthan Royals proved that Big Names are not necessarily the ingredients for success.

This year’s edition has witnessed a similar episode and it has to be said that The Deccan Chargers really did not run out of charge this time around. The Deccan Chargers looked in complete disarray last season, with a batting line up that was tailor made for this format of the game with the likes of Gilly, Gibbs, Afridi and Symmonds in their ranks. This year, the team has really done justice to their potential and has eventually found a place in the tournament which is almost from touching distance to the coveted trophy. Their semifinals tussle against the tournament favorites Delhi Daredevils proved to be ‘Gillyz’krieg! By the time Shewag’s men realized what had hit them; it was curtains down for the DareDevils.

Another surprise package in the tournament is the Royal Challengers from Bangalore. A team that proved no challenge to any team last year has witnessed a sea change this time. I doubt if they endorse Buchannan’s multiple theory of captaincy but they certainly had a tough time around finding the right leader at the helm, right from the word go. The then, England skipper pieterson replaced Rahul Dravid as captain at the start of the tournament but did not find success allured to him as easily as women might have. With his departure midway through the tournament and with his team finding it tough to keep its head out from drenching in complete failure, it was very crucial that they made the right choice in choosing their skipper and it really seems to have paid off by letting the old spin fox Kumble in taking over the team for the stub of the tournament. The team peaked at the right time and with their power hitters backing up, it’s ominous signs for their semifinal opponents The Chennai Super Kings. It really will prove to be a humdinger of a contest between last year’s runners up and this year’s phoenix of IPL.