Charge of Deccan brigade

IPL-II was all about closely fought, intense encounters and the teams which held their nerves also reversed their fortunes to reach the top, writes M. S. Unnikrishnan

Both Adam Gilchrist (left) and Anil Kumble, who have retired from international cricket, led from the front to show that class and craft will always stand out, and that age is just a number. AFP photos

The second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 Cricket Championship recently ended in a dramatic manner. Like a typical Bollywood masala movie, it had its moments of drama, emotion, suspense and thrill.

"Heroes" of the IPL-II finals Adam Gilchrist and Anil Kumble turned adversity into advantage with their judicious captaincy to shore up the fortunes of their teams, considered as also-rans. Both Gilchrist and Kumble, who have retired from the international cricket, led from the front, to show that class and craft will always stand out and age is just a number.

This season’s toppers Deccan Chargers Hyderabad had finished at the bottom and while the runners-up-2009 Royal Challengers Bangalore were a rung above them in IPL-I.

Gilchrist also bagged the Man of the Series award. The wicketkeeper-batsman from Australia proved to be an inspirational leader, who excelled with the bat as well as the gloves. His devastating 85 off just 35 balls in the semi-final ripped apart the defences of the formidable Delhi Daredevils who were pre-match favourites.

Gilchrist was the second highest run-maker with 495 off 16 innings, behind another Australian great, Matthew Hayden of Chennai Super Kings. Hayden cracked 572 runs in 12 innings to earn the Orange Cap.

Deccan Chargers’ Rudra Pratap Singh got the Purple Cap for being the highest wicket-taker. With his seam and swing left-arm bowling, he claimed 23 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 18.13.

Despite a controversial beginning, the South African expedition of the IPL was a success, too. At Rs 8,200 crore there was an amazing 90 per cent rise from first edition in the reworked television rights

Deccan Chargers’ R. P. Singh got the Purple Cap for being the highest wicket-taker. With each of the eight teams fielding seven Indian players in most matches, the IPL has helped many unknown talented Indian players to hit the spotlight

Kumble brought Royal Challengers Bangalore to the finals with nine consecutive wins, but faltered when glory was at a sniffing distance. Kumble was given the captaincy after Kevin Pieterson left for England, with the Royal Challengers having suffered four straight defeats under his leadership. Pieterson could not justify his high price tag of $1.55 million, nor could another English player Andrew Flintoff of Chennai Super Kings, who was injured after three matches.

Though Kumble almost turned around the fortune of Royal Challengers dramatically with his 4 for 16 haul against Deccan Chargers in the final (including the wicket of Gilchrist for nought in the very first over) but Chargers coasted home by six runs, to dash Kumble's title dream. Kumble, however, was rewarded with the man of the match prize. Kumble also got valuable inputs from coach Ray Jenniings who knew the conditions and wickets in South Africa very well.

A comparative study of the ranking table of the IPL-I and II makes it clear how the fortunes swung crazily this time around. Lower-rung teams went up the ladder while defending champions Rajasthan Royals, led by the inimitable Shane Warne, failed to even make the semi-final cut. Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings crashed out in the semi-final as the pecking order went topsy turvy. Though Dhoni should be happy whatever were fortunes of his team in IPL-II, he will have an experienced national team for the 17-day second T20 World Cup, beginning in England on June 5.

Despite two hat-tricks and a few good knocks by Yuvraj Singh, Kings XI Punjab failed to enter the last four. Dissension-riven Knight Riders finished last and Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians ended up seventh.

Sachin proved unequal to the task of effectively marshalling his forces, despite good efforts by spinner Harbhajan Singh, sling pacer Lasith Malinga and batter Abhishek Nayar. His problems were confounded due to his injured strike bowler Zaheer Khan and the failure of Sanath Jayasuriya. Brenden McCullum-led Knight Riders, who chose to drop Kolkata from their name, were everybody’s favourite whipping boys. The New Zealander could not do a better job than what Sourav Ganguly had done in IPL-I. Delhi Daredevils suffered as opener Gautam Gambhir failed to get going on a sustained basis.

IPL-II had no place for the complacent as the young and the experienced vied with each other to prove their mettle. Left-handers, spinners and some retired "generals" ruled the roost in most of the matches. That an experienced, match-winning quick bowler like Glen McGrath could not fit into the Delhi Daredevils’ scheme of things as they preferred the left-handed Dirk Nannes showed how serious the contests were.

Some of the young Indian players like Manish Pandey and Shabad Jakati seized their chances to hit the spotlight. Pandey’s unbeaten 114 off just 73 balls against Deccan Chargers helped Bangalore enter the semis and his well-struck 48 against Chennai Super Kings powered Vijaya Mallya’s team into the challenge round. Pandey’s was the first century in the IPL by an Indian.

The IPL has indeed helped unknown talented Indian players to hit the spotlight. With each of the eight teams fielding seven Indian players at any given match, with the number of foreign players restricted to four per match, a large number of emerging cricket talent got the finest platform to excel. Names like Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Pragyan Ohja, Yusuf Pathan etc would have remained fringe players, but for the IPL.

The matches were so tight that till the final stages, seven out of the eight teams were in the reckoning for semi-final berths.

There were doubts about the IPL-II breaking even after the event was shifted from India to South Africa due to the Parliamentary elections. Over Rs 900 crore was at stake for the eight teams in the fray and there was no way the IPL could have survived had the second edition been not a financial success. The IPL management was not in a position to shift the dates due to the prior commitments of the foreign players. The only option was to shift the event to a foreign venue with the duration of the matches reduced to 39 days from the original 44.

It was feared that the South African spectators might not take to the IPL the way the Indian fans had responded in the first edition. There was also fear the television viewership may dip. But the viewership, in fact, went up worldwide. The South African fans, too did not disappoint though they warmed up to the tournament only as the matches progressed. But that may be due to the fact that it was election time in South Africa too. (The country quietly went through the process to elect Jacob Zuma as the new President). Also the remarkable display by South African players like Jaques Kallis, Ross Taylor, Roelof Van der Merme and Albie Morkel gave the local fans something to cheer about.

IPL-II would have generated considerably more income had it been held in India, as the gate collections alone would have been substantial, and merchandising would have fetched a few more crores. Last year, teams from Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata earned upward of Rs 20 crore each from gate collection alone as the 70,000 capacity stadiums in these metros burst at its seams for almost all their home matches.

But the South African expedition of the IPL was a success too. So much so that it emboldened IPL match commissioner and chairman Lalit Modi to announce in Johannesburg that the twice-postponed Champions League Twenty20 Championship, featuring 12 teams from six countries, including three from India — Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils — will be held in October this year.

Modi was berated for making the IPL turf his personal fiefdom and was also criticised for introducing the strategy breaks after 10 overs in each innings for the television rights holders to make a killing, But the truth is that IPL has altered beyond belief the fan base of cricket, and the limitless amount of money that could be generated from the game on a global scale.

The reworked television rights for a nine-year period is worth Rs 8,200 crore, an amazing 90 per cent rise from the first edition. The broadcasting rights for each team worked out to Rs 67.5 crore. Compared to the income generated by the franchisees through television rights, gate collections and other sponsorship deals, the prize money of Rs 4.8 crores for the winners, Rs 2.4 crore for the runners-up, and Rs 1.2 crore for the losing semi-finalists were peanuts, though even the bottom-ranked Kinght Riders earned as much as Rs 40 lakh. IPL-III will be held only in 2011, as the cricket calendar would be choc-a-bloc in 2010.

But whatever the fortunes of the game or the players IPL-II was all about closely fought, intense encounters, and the teams who held their nerves and played with focussed attention, eventually attained top rankings in the tournament.