Topsy-turvy IPL

By Gulu Ezekiel

The only predictable aspect of the IPL and indeed of 20/20 cricket is its unpredictability.
If it was rank outsiders Rajasthan Royals who were the victors last year, this time around the two sides that finished last and second last in 2008 are in the final!
Surely at the start of the tournament it would have been a brave man who would have put his money on either Royal Challengers Bangalore or Deccan Chargers to make it this far.
Bangalore were condemned as a Test side last year. This time around the only two new players in their ranks have been the Kiwi Ross Taylor and teen sensation Manish Pandey who the team management discovered almost too late.
The shift of the tournament outside India could have been a factor in their success as well as their coach Ray Jennings is from South Africa as are several of the players.
Then again, that was the case with the Mumbai Indians as well; yet, they were one of the flops of the tournament.
Really the key has been Anil Kumble’s captaincy. Like Shane Warne last year with Rajasthan, here was another veteran leg spinner recently retired from international cricket.
The comparison ends there of course as you could not find two more dissimilar characters.
Once their prima donna captain Kevin Pietersen returned to India, things turned around dramatically for Bangalore as they won seven of their last nine matches in the league stage under Kumble’s captaincy.
Deccan have been the biggest revelation this time around and they too have not made many personnel changes from 2008. It was VVS Laxman who led initially last year before a combination of injury and unsuitability to this format saw him sit it out and Adam Gilchrist take over the reigns.
Both Kumble and Gilchrist have led from the front and by example. No side starts as favourite for Sunday’s final. It is thoroughly open and could go either way.

www.sportshero.com (24/5/09)