$1.2m for 1 run!

$1.2m for 1 run! That's what both the finalists might have thought just before the last ball of the match.

What a final! It could not be better than that. This happens when two much worthy team reaches the final. Just like T20 World Cup. And the full credit goes to the captains of both the teams - Shane Warne and MS Dhoni. They both have been fantastic in making quick decisions and being very open to their team mates. They clearly understand that this format of the game is more about committing fewer mistakes than the opponent rather than just doing right.

Of course both the team performed to the best of their abilities and it was a neck-to-neck competition; if not for Chennai's batsmen forgetting to take singles till the 15th over and some poor display in fielding as well, the match would have a different finish.

But I still feel, Dhoni's leadership skills are way ahead of any other captain of present day. His straight attitude, cool headedness, knowledge of the game, decision making power and aggression is just perfect. Throughout the final match there was not a single moment when the match looked imbalanced. If it is just the last ball making the winner then only for the record's sake Rajasthan Royals' will keep the trophy; Chennai, too, well deserved it.

No one has ever seen a loosing captain in the history of cricket gathering his players together immediately after the loss to appreciate their efforts and telling them they have fought well; that is a sign of great leadership.

Having said all that, Royals are the champions and their consistent record throughout the long tournament was only justified by this final win; hats off to Warne and the boys!

The best captain have lost it to the best team.

- Kumar

 

The Royals triumph

A disappointing match if you are a supporter of the Hyderabad team.

The comment by the skipper that he is happy with the effort of the boys is vague and conciliatory. They had no business losing the match after claiming 7 Royals wickets and reducing them to the near impossible task of chasing 23 runs of the last over.

The aim is to play to win and not to pat yourself on the back that the effort was good or better than the previous outing and they lost because the opposition put in a better performance.

This team is not going for the jugular but is playing in fits and starts, Afridi & RP Singh bowled one good over, the debutant Kalyankrishnan had 2 good overs.

The Hyderabad team had the best chance to open their account, after the exceptional batting by Symonds powered them to a 200 + plus total, the pressure applied was not consistent and chasing appeared a breeze.

In the soul searching that the Hyderbad team will undertake it will help them a great deal if they analyzed the previous match between Chennai and Mumbai.

Reputations and past performance do not win matches but performance on the day does.

To repeat the obvious, Cricket is a team game and each individual needs to be told what his role is whatever his stature maybe and therein lies the role of the leader.

In stark contrast the Rajasthan Royals batted to a plan and despite losing wickets at the wrong time, came out worthy winners and have made everyone sit up and take note.

It has been a sad journey for the Deccan Chargers hailed by experts as the 2nd best team before the tournament commenced.

An interesting match coming up between the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, both teams have not opened their accounts.

- Mahesh Packiaraj

Who will you put your money on for the semis?

Watching the Rajasthan Royals get the better of a star studded Punjab Kings I was reminded of a conversation with a fellow cricket aficionado. In any tournament predicting winners is an integral component. The IPL has 8 teams and most of them are well balanced at least on paper with the Rajasthan Royals appearing the weakest of the lot. So we looked at other factors which could differentiate the also-rans from the winners.

Our list for the semi is Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Rajasthan. We picked these ahead of the rest on the basis of their leaders. To use an often abused cliché, its all about leadership, be it business or sports.

These 4 teams are headed by aggressive and street smart individuals and 2 of them have proved themselves at the international level and the other 2 were always touted as brilliant captaincy material but did not get an opportunity to prove their skills

Leadership in the IPL context is more of a challenge as the incumbent does not have the luxury of leading a set of people with a common denominator….same state or country. The IPL outfits are a heady mix of high caliber, high visibility international stars from different climes and unknown local players, getting them to work together as a unit is in itself a challenge in leadership.

Additionally both Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni are known for their ability to pick players with potential and give them the room to perform and deliver a key attribute which assumes added importance in the context of picking a local player over an international star.

The other two Sehwag and Warne are unknown’s in the realm of leadership at the international level but in the limited chances they have had have amply demonstrated they belong to this league.

So here’s to the semis and to the prediction and above all here’s to an exciting time ahead.

- Mahesh Packiaraj (The Viper)