Recap: The IPL champions – Part II

Tags: ipl, Deccan Chargers, IPL - 2009, Indian Premier League 2014

Published on: Apr 12, 2014

As the seventh season of the Indian Premier League nears, we look back at past champions in the cash rich yet controversial event.

As the seventh season of the Indian Premier League nears, we look back at past champions in the cash rich yet controversial event. In part two, we look at 2009 winners Deccan Chargers.

Format

The 2009 event was held from April 18 to May 24 in South Africa owing to the general elections in India in that year. The tournament was held in the same format as last year – a double round robin format followed by the semi-finals and the final. This season, a time-out of seven-and-a-half minutes was also introduced at the halfway stage of each innings.

Charged up Deccan

Chargers began their campaign on a winning note against KKR. RP Singh’s 4 for 22 kept them down to 101. Herschelle Gibbs’ unbeaten 43 from 36 balls took them to an easy 8-wicket triumph. Deccan went on to beat RCB by 24 runs courtesy Adam Gilchrist’s 45-ball 71. Deccan went on to beat Mumbai by 11 runs. Batting first, Gibbs’ 58 took them to 168. Pragyan Ojha’s 3 for 21 then held them to 156. Deccan made it four out of four beating CSK by 6 wickets. Deccan were chasing 166 to win and Gibbs blasted 69 from 56 to take them home.

After the initial high, Deccan suddenly got on to a losing streak. They lost to Delhi by six wickets, to Rajasthan by three wickets and were thrashed by Chennai by 78 runs in three consecutive matches. They got back to their winning ways against Mumbai, winning by 19 runs. Defending 146, Rohit Sharma was the surprise bowling hero with 4 for 6. After losing to Punjab by 3 wickets, they hammered Rajasthan by 53 runs. Dwayne Smith’s 47 took them to 166 after which Rohit Sharma claimed 3 for 12. Delhi however got the better of Deccan in their next game, by 12 runs.

Deccan soon recovered by beating KKR by 6 wickets. Chasing 166, Rohit Sharma’s 13-ball 32 won them the game. They lost a close game to Punjab by 1 run, and were defeated by RCB by 12 runs, but made it to the semi-finals nonetheless.

The knockout stage

Deccan met Delhi in the first semi-final. KKR batted first and made 153. Deccan chased down the target with ease as skipper Gilchrist smashed 85 in only 35 balls. In the final, they came up against RCB. Batting first, Gibbs’ unbeaten 53 took them to 143. Under pressure, RCB were restricted to 137, Ojha finishing with 3 for 28.

Star performers

Adam Gilchrist amassed 495 runs in 16 games at a strike rate of 152 with three half-centuries.

Dwayne Smith (215 runs) had a strike rate of 163 in the series while Andrew Symonds (249 runs) had a strike rate of exactly 150. Pacer RP Singh claimed 23 wickets in 16 matches at a strike rate of 15.5 while left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha finished with 18 wickets at a strike rate of 13.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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