Johan Botha showed rare skill with the bat to guide Rajasthan Royals to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over a listless Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
The South African spinner hit eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 67 off 47 balls as Rajasthan overhauled Deccan's 137-8 with seven balls to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Botha, a surprise promotion to number three in the batting order, shared 52 runs with veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid (28) and another 58 with New Zealand's Ross Taylor (21 not out).
Earlier, Deccan were off to a confident start after being put in to bat by Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne but lost their way against Siddharth Trivedi and Amit Singh, each picking three wickets. Australian spin legend Warne, who led Royals to a surprise title triumph in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008, chipped in with two wickets, including that of dangerman JP Duminy (14).
Kumar Sangakkara's new stint as Deccan skipper got off to a poor start as he edged Trivedi behind the wicket for a duck.
Australian Daniel Christian, one of the most expensive buys in the auction this year with a price tag of $900,000, hit two sixes in his 19-ball 26 before falling to Trivedi.
Brief scores:
Deccan Chargers 137-8 in 20 overs (D. Ravi Teja 28, D. Christian 26; S. Trivedi 3-15, A. Singh 3-35) lost to Rajasthan Royals 141-2 in 18.5 overs (J. Botha 67 not out, R. Dravid 28) by eight wickets.
Chennai Super Kings 153 for 4 (Anirudha 64) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 151 for 7 (Kallis 54) by two runs
country still basking in the afterglow of a World Cup win, the IPL needed a nailbiter to grab the already sated fans' attention and there was one at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Three-quarters through the game, Kolkata Knight Riders were walking to victory before a brilliant run-out from MS Dhoni helped Chennai Super Kings stay in the game. Then, Jacques Kallis holed out attempting a a cute paddle-sweep, Eoin Morgan was undone by the part-time spin of Suresh Raina, and Gautam Gambhir added another chapter to his book of crazy running to leave the capacity Chennai crowd sensing victory.
Even after the big guns of the Kolkata batting were gone, the target wasn't exactly out of reach. Though one more of Dhoni's gambles paid off with two massive wickets - Morgan and Gambhir - falling in Raina's 17th over, Kolkata still needed 33 off the final three overs. That boiled down to an even more difficult 26 off 12 deliveries after Tim Southee showed off his death-over skills with a tight over.
Time for another swing in the game as Suraj Randiv, on IPL debut, was hammered by Manoj Tiwary, the biggest Bengali name in the side after the exit of Sourav Ganguly. After Laxmi Ratan Shukla's plucky reverse-sweep fetched him a boundary off the first ball, Tiwary slammed a couple of big leg-side sixes bring it down to nine off eight. Kolkata favourites at that stage.
deliveries of the over. He switched to round the wicket and fired it quicker and wider on the penultimate ball, and then got the breakthrough on the last delivery, sneaking it past the outside edge to give Dhoni an easy stumping.
The tension-filled final over started with an outrageous stroke from Shukla, paddling a full ball from way outside off to square leg for a couple. Off Southee's next ball Shukla was caught at short-third man, leaving two new batsmen at the crease, and five needed off three. Iqbal Abdulla slapped one over midwicket for two, before Southee resorted to inch-perfect yorkers. It came down to four required off the final delivery; after prolonged discussions with the captain, Southee sent down an into-the-legs yorker which was too good for Rajat Bhatia. Only a single resulted and Dhoni's charmed run as captain continued.
A close game seemed unlikely when Kallis had been giving another demonstration of how Twenty20 batting doesn't need power-hitting. He capitalised when the bowler erred, highlighted by the fourth over from Southee. The bowler was too wide once, too short once and too straight once; each time Kallis dispatched him for boundaries, and as he guided Kolkata to 92 for 1 in 12 overs, Chennai's total seemed completely inadequate.
Chennai's strong batting hadn't made the most of a generous Kolkata fielding performance and the innocuous attack, which lacked any world-class bowlers. S Anirudha and Suresh Raina capitalised on three dropped chances to power Chennai to a strong 78 for 1, before Raina fell attempting a slog sweep. That slowed the pace down, and despite a six each from MS Dhoni and Anirudha off an over from legspinner Sarajbit Ladda, only 43 came between the 11th and 16th overs.
Chennai needed some big hits towards the end, but a series of slower bouncers from L Balaji and Kallis kept the runs in check. Albie Morkel showed off his strength hitting down the ground, muscling a four and a six off the final two deliveries to lift the score past 150. It hadn't seemed enough, but Chennai's spinners thrived on the turn available to ensure the new-look Kolkata side didn't get off to a winning start.
Chennai: It will be a classic case of 'friends turning into foes' whenMahendra Singh Dhoni'sChennai Super Kings(CSK) clash withGautam GambhirledKolkata Knight Riders(KKR) in the opening match of the IPL tomorrow, less than a week after the duo guidedIndiato their historic World Cup triumph in Mumbai.
As the cash-rich Twenty20 cricketing extravaganza gets underway at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, it will be the beginning of new era sans Lalit Modi, who was the face of the event during the first three editions.
Also this will be the first time that the league will feature 10 teams with the inclusion of Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
It will be there for all to see how the BCCI organises an event where Modi used to have a final say in every aspect. The former IPL commissioner and vice-president of BCCI has since then been suspended and now has taken refuge in London after the cricket board pressed numerous charges of corruption against him.
After a hugely successful Players' Auction which saw some of the young Indian players commanding astronomical prices, the Chirayu Amin-led IPL governing council will now look to capitalise onIndia's World Cup triumph which has definitely upped the stakes by manifold.
Coming back to tournament, defending champions CSK will certainly start as the overwhelming favourites against a team that hasn't been able to cash in on its enormous fan following acrossIndia, thanks to its principal owner Shah Rukh Khan.
After having failed to make it to the semi-finals during the last three editions, the KKR management led by SRK and co-owner Jay Mehta have gone for a revamped side withGautam Gambhirat the helm and T20 specialist Yusuf Pathan as one of the marquee players.
With Kolkata's favourite son Sourav Ganguly no longer a part of the team, it will be a big challenge for Gambhir and his boys to start winning and get the cricket crazy Kolkatans rooting for them.
The bigger challenge will be to get past CSK who have inarguably been the most consistent team during the last three editions with one championship, one runners-up and a last four finish. The biggest strength for CSK has been their ability to retain the most of their core players save Muttiah Muralitharan who will don the Kochi jersey.
Gary Kirsten has called the tough quarter-final against Australia a tipping point in self-belief in the Indian camp, and that it led to a "sense of destiny" about winning the World Cup. Though no host country had won the World Cup before, Kirsten said he thought there was "never any doubt" about India becoming champions as the knockout stage progressed.
"I felt we were going to do this thing. And to the point the day before the final we knew were going to win," he told ESPNcricinfo on Monday "We actually even spoke about it. That we were going to win this thing. It [the issue] is how we prepare to deal with the success because we are going to win. There was never any doubt at that stage."
Kirsten said he was thrilled with the resilience of the Indian team, which managed to win though their opponents were generally viewed to have the edge at the halfway stage of each of the knockout matches. "The one thing what really worked for us in the tournament was that we got ourselves into tough situations in virtually every game," he said. "Even the games against Ireland and the Netherlands were tough. But I believe that really helped us. We were battle-hardened. We had no easy build-up.
"For me the key moment was the Australian game where we chased down 260, which was a tough ask. And from that moment I just got a real sense that within our unit that now we can actually believe that we can win this (World Cup) because we can confront any situation.
"We just believe that we can do anything. It stems from Harbhajan Singh scoring hundreds. It stems from Ishant Sharma batting with [VVS] Laxman to save a game. It stems from Gautam Gambhir batting out a day against South Africa in really tough conditions at Newlands. And then all the one-day efforts from difficult situations."
One man who rescued the team from tight situations in several matches was Yuvraj Singh, who had lost his place in the one-day side last year after struggling with form and fitness, but transformed into a match-winning allrounder in the World Cup.
"Yuvi had a turnaround I would say about six months ago when he got left out of the side in Sri Lanka. From that moment he did a lot of work with Paddy [Upton, the mental conditioning coach]. He made some personal decisions about what he was going to do in preparation for the World Cup: one of them was his fielding, one of them was his fitness.
"He had been through a tough six months, and to end up being the player of the World Cup that is as good a turnaround I have seen in world sport. He just personified the desire and the pride that these individuals have in playing for the country."
Among the people who inspired Yuvraj and the rest of the Indian team in the build-up to the tournament wasMike Horn, a high-altitude climber and Arctic explorer, who returned to help the team in the knockout phase as well. Among Horn's extreme adventure feats are climbing a 8000-metre peak without oxygen, navigating 7000km of the Amazon river besides traversing the Arctic circle without the help of motorised transport.
"The guys were really impressed with Horn's first session, which was during the Kolkata Test against South Africa last year," Kirsten said. "So we got him again during the pre-tournament stage. And again he went down remarkably well with the players, really connected with them, players love him, gave a couple of chat sessions, got involved in the practices.
Yuvraj had been through a tough six months, and to end up being the player of the World Cup that is as good a turnaround I have seen in world sport
"We wanted him (again) from the quarters but he said he couldn't make it but he came for the semis. The players were unaware when he entered the room in Mohali. He gave three very really inspirational talks leading into the final. He really just shares his personal experiences about his life and his adventures. He was the X-factor. He was that little bit of extra kick we needed."
Horn may have provided the extra kick, but it was Kirsten's low-profile coaching technique that constructed the base for the team to succeed. Everyone from Sachin Tendulkar to Virender Sehwag have repeatedly spoken of how Kirsten has helped them with their game, and the respect with which the players hold Kirsten was demonstrated when they chaired him around the ground during the victory celebrations at the Wankhede Stadium.
Despite the high esteem in which he is held within the Indian establishment, and the many successes during his three years in charge, Kirsten ruled out continuing to coach the national team and said he hadn't been approached by the BCCI to change his mind. The time away from his young family in South Africa was one of the factors in his decision, and he was yet to decide on what his next job would be.
"There is a lot on the table, you know. South Africa have approached me, and a couple of IPL teams have approached me," he said. One of them is the Mumbai Indians, and the other is a team that he has "forgotten" but for now it seems the only way in which he may remain connected to Indian cricket will be through the IPL.
After winning the World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar said he had achieved the one thing he had dreamt about when he started playing cricket. But he may not hang up his boots just yet. When asked about retirement, Tendulkar deflected the question initially, before saying he saw no reason to change things as he was still enjoying the game.
"This is a moment to celebrate, not one to think about my future," Tendulkar told the ICC. "This is the reason I started playing cricket; to do something for the country. The process has been a long one, and I am still enjoying my game, so I don't see the reason to change anything."
Gary Kirsten, for whom the World Cup final was his last game as coach of India, also said he didn't think Tendulkar would stop here. "Sachin is the greatest sporting role model I've met in my life," Kirsten said. "He's had an incredible last three or four years, and he's enjoying his cricket even more. I don't think he is going to stop."
Tendulkar had to wait till his sixth World Cup campaign to win the trophy, and when asked whether this was the final accolade he needed to complete his closet-full of achievements, he said it was in fact the first thing he wanted to achieve.
"As a young boy I dreamt of winning this trophy; that's where it all started. This is by far the best moment and it's the one I've been waiting for for 24 years. There have been heart-breaking losses; in past campaigns we lost in the semi-finals and finals. I never gave up because this was my dream and now the team has managed to win this cup for the nation."
After their victory on Saturday, the Indian team spent the night celebrating with their families and friends before going to Raj Bhavan on Sunday to meet the Indian president. But what Tendulkar is looking forward to is sharing the experience with the Indian public.
"The victory hasn't sunk in yet because I haven't faced the general crowd outside. I've just mingled around with my friends and family. We've been in a close unit behind a wall of security. We haven't had a chance to experience or share our joy with everyone else. That's a reaction I'm really looking forward to because I can imagine what it would be like. All I've seen is their reactions on the news channels and it's absolutely fascinating."
India have now achieved the two things Kirsten had planned on during his tenure as coach: winning the World Cup and attaining the No. 1 ranking in Tests, but he gave all the credit to his team.
"The players are the ones who have had to deal with the pressure and expectations," he said. "They've prepared hard and when they've had to make the plays and make the contributions under pressure they've done that."
The final at the Wankhede Stadium started with an odd incident where the toss had to be redone because the match referee had not heard Kumar Sangakkara's call. Dhoni thought he had won the toss initially, but Kirsten said they weren't too worried anyway.
"I didn't hear too much about what happened at the toss, but we just got on with it because we had already spoken about how we would face obstacles in the final. We would have batted first, but we felt confident after the Australia chase that it didn't matter whether we won or lost the toss. We would have liked to bat first and put up a big total, but cometh the hour cometh the man, and MS Dhoni left his big knock of the World Cup for the final."
While Dhoni, Tendulkar and Man-of-the-Tournament Yuvraj Singh have been the centre of attention after the win, India's campaign has had several heroes. Zaheer Khan finished as the joint-leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 21 scalps, and though his figures on Saturday were marred by an expensive last two overs, Kirsten acknowledged his opening spell of 5-3-6-1 played a key role in restricting Sri Lanka to a chaseable target.
"Zak's early spell was what kept them down to 270 despite a strong finish by them. We kept them anchored in their innings; they couldn't really get going. [Mahela] Jayawardene's incredible knock gave them some momentum and they did well to get to where they did. But we felt 270 was very gettable."
There has been much speculation about what Kirsten will do next, but, though he acknowledged he had been approached about the position of coach of the South African side, he said he would take a month or two off before making any decisions.
"I'm going to take some time off and spend some time with my family who haven't seen me in a while, and I'll decide on my future after one or two months. South Africa have approached me, but I've told them I'm not going to make any decisions just yet. I'm going to clear my mind for a while after this magnificent journey.
"I couldn't have asked for anything more than this. Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. Thanks to my team-mates. Without them, nothing would have happened. I couldn't control my tears of joy."
Sachin Tendulkar, who's played six World Cups, on his best moment
"I took a quite few decisions tonight, if we hadn't won I would have been asked quite a few questions: Why no Ashwin, why Sreesanth, why no Yuvraj, why did I bat ahead?! That pushed me and motivated to do well"
MS Dhoni puts a light spin on his selection decisions ahead of India's title win
"This is unbelievable. The Under-19 World Cup, then the World Twenty20 but this is the most special. For Sachin, for everyone else."
Yuvraj Singh, the Player of the Tournament, sums it up
"Very proud of everyone, especially Mahela who rose up to the occasion and put up a great hundred. When you look at this Indian team anything less than 350 looks less! They deserved this title, the way they played in front of a great crowd."
Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, is gracious in defeat
"All credit goes to Sachin Tendulkar. We played for him. Beating Australia and Pakistan and now this, its a dream come true."
Gautam Gambhir, who gave India the upper hand in the final with his 97
"It means the world to me. I have been part of the three World Cups. This is for the nation. Thank you very much, we love you. This cup is for the people. Love you India!"
Harbhajan Singh was among several Indian players who shed a tear following India's victory
"This goes out to all the people of India. This is my first World Cup; I can't ask for more. Tendulkar has carried the burden of nation for 21 years; It was time we carried him. Chak de India!"
India 277 for 4 (Gambhir 97, Dhoni 91*) beat Sri Lanka 274 for 6 (Jayawardene 103*, Sangakkara 48) by six wickets
Twenty-eight years on from the match that transformed the history of world cricket, India recaptured the crown that Kapil Dev and his men first lifted at Lord's in 1983, and this time they did in their very own back yard. An iron-willed 97 from Gautam Gambhir was matched for intensity by the finest captain's innings since Ricky Ponting at Johannesburg eight years ago, as Mahendra Singh Dhoni trumped a poetic century from Mahela Jayawardene to pull off the highest run-chase ever achieved in a World Cup final.
Against a triumphant backdrop at the Wankhede Stadium, victory was sealed by six wickets with 10 balls to spare, as Dhoni - who had promoted himself to No. 5 to heap extra lashings of responsibility onto his own shoulders - rushed through the gears as the victory target drew nearer. With 15 required from 17 balls, he flicked Sri Lanka's only true threat, Lasith Malinga, through midwicket for consecutive boundaries, before smoking Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on to spark the most delirious scenes of celebration ever seen on the subcontinent.
However, the final margin did little justice to the tussle that had preceded it. Even the toss ended up being disputed, as Kumar Sangakkara's initial call was drowned out by the crowd, but it was the ebb and flow of Zaheer Khan's day that epitomised the fluctuations of a compelling contest. Zaheer opened his account with three consecutive maidens and the scalp of Upul Tharanga in a peerless spell of 5-3-6-1, only to be clobbered for 17 and 18 runs in his ninth and tenth overs respectively, as Sri Lanka monstered 63 runs in the batting Powerplay to post an imposing 274 for 6.
And India's day got much worse before the team's fortunes began to inch upwards. Virender Sehwag had hit a boundary from the first ball of six of India's previous eight innings in the tournament, but this time Malinga's slingers dealt him a second-ball duck, as he skidded a full delivery into his back pad. And then Sachin Tendulkar, for whom the script had seemingly been written, was drawn into a loose drive by a fast Malinga outswinger, having set the stadium on standby for instant history with 18 sumptuously accumulated runs from his first 12 deliveries.
At 31 for 2 in the seventh over, India were struggling to keep their toehold in the contest, and it was all too much for a faithless few in the crowd who turned their backs and set off for home. But Gambhir and Virat Kohli epitomise a generation that does not easily accept defeat, and their third-wicket stand of 83 laid the foundations for an epic turnaround. The prospect of a seam-friendly surface, allied to the grievous loss of Angelo Mathews to a thigh strain, had tempted Sri Lanka into four key changes to the team that had triumphed over New Zealand in Colombo, and with Muttiah Muralitharan lacking bite in the final wicketless appearance of his 19-year career, Malinga alone could not carry the day.
The hard-hitting of Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera had been instrumental in hoisting Sri Lanka's total to such heights, but in their primary role as front-line seamers they lacked menace and were all too easy to squeeze as 119 runs came from their combined allocation of 17.2 overs. The newcomer to the squad, Suraj Randiv, caused a moment of alarm with his high-kicking offspin when Gambhir, on 30, was dropped by a diving Kulasekara at long-off, but as the innings progressed, his lack of guile proved costly. The decision to omit both Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, whose combined efforts had been so effective against England and New Zealand, is one that will haunt Sri Lanka for years to come.
But this was a victory that still had to be grasped, and India found the men who were willing to do so. The 22-year-old Kohli, who was greeted with a stern word of encouragement as he replaced the outgoing Tendulkar, showed all the mettle for the big occasion as he eased along to 35 from 49 balls before falling to an outstanding return catch by Tillakaratne Dilshan, who dived full-length across the crease to intercept a lofted drive. But it was Gambhir and Dhoni to whom the ultimate duty fell. Their 109-run stand was the highest by an Indian pairing in three World Cup final appearances, and even when Gambhir gave away the chance for an unforgettable century with a tired charge and slash at Perera, the result was no longer in doubt.
Gambhir struck nine fours in a 122-ball statement of indomitability, and both he and Dhoni required treatment for stiff backs as the sapping Mumbai heat took its toll. Dhoni at one stage looked so immobile that a precautionary retirement seemed the only logical response, but after some harsh work from the physio he resumed his stance and responded with another trademark filleting of the extra cover boundary, an area in which he scored six of his eight fours - three of which helped to blunt Murali's attacking instincts.
Four years ago at Sabina Park, Jayawardene produced a supreme century against New Zealand to carry his side to their second World Cup final, but this was an innings of even more exquisite application. He came to the crease with his side under the cosh at 60 for 2 in the 17th over, having been throttled by Zaheer's supreme new-ball spell. But he responded with a tempo that scarcely wavered from a run a ball, until with Kulasekera for company, he opened his shoulders to power through to his hundred from 83 balls.
For an occasion of this magnitude, cool heads were the order of the day, and though his final figures did not show it, no-one was cooler in the opening exchanges than Zaheer. On his watch, Sri Lanka were limited to 31 for 1 in their mandatory Powerplay, their lowest ten-over score of the tournament, and the hapless Upul Tharanga was restricted to two runs from 20 balls before snicking to Sehwag at slip. Then, when he returned in the 37th over, Zaheer deceived Chamara Kapugedera with a beautiful slower ball that was driven to short cover, on route to equalling Shahid Afridi as the tournament's leading wicket-taker.
And yet, the speed with which his figures were vandalised was astounding. Though each of Jayawardene's 13 fours was a classy stroke in its own right, none was better than the last of them, an inside-out cover-drive to one of Zaheer's trademark outswingers, as he premeditated the late movement and filleted the ring of fielders on the off-side. The outright acceleration came from the other end, where Kulasekera made 32 from 30 balls before his sacrificial run-out led to a pat of gratitude from Jayawardene as they parted. And then, by the time Perera had sealed his onslaught with a dismissive thump for six over midwicket, the decibel levels in the Wankhede had plummeted.
