Chargers Charge Ahead

By Gulu Ezekiel

One of the highlights of IPL II has been the dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the Deccan Chargers.
If Rajathan Royals’ victory in IPL I was the big surprise of the year, not far behind was how a team packed with limited overs specialists could have finished bottom of the heap in the inaugural season.
If the Royals were the underdogs at the start, the Chargers were one of the hot favourites. How could you go wrong with the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi and Andrew Symonds, each one a match-winner in their own right?
But then in 20/20 cricket the only thing you can be certain about is its uncertainty. Certainly Season I proved that time and again.
Season II is proving that again and title holders Royals are in a tight race to make it to the semifinals while the Chargers look almost certain to be among the last four.
In 2008 they won just two of their 14 matches; this year they have already won six out of 10.
VVS Laxman was replaced as captain by Gilchrist half way through the first season after he suffered a knee injury. This year Laxman has made a quiet exit from the playing XI. It is obvious he neither has the technique nor the fitness to be a success in the shortest format of the game.
Just as Shane Warne was the captain of the year in 2008, Gilchrist has shown he can rally a young side and lead from the front. He has helped India discover a new bowler in Rohit Sharma who surprised one and all with the first hat-trick this year and has taken a hands-on-approach to the side just as Warne did last year.
Don’t be surprised if there is another Aussie captain holding up the execrable IPL Trophy in triumph at the end of the tournament.

www.sportshero.com (12/5/09)