Thursday, April 30, 2009

My first full IPL Match (on TV)

Hi friends

Although I am writing this a bit late, this is about the first ever IPL match that I happened to see on TV the whole 40 overs it was played. It was the match between the Deccan Chargers and the Chennai Super Kings in this IPL-2 on Monday, 27th April, 2009. And it was the best "opening" match I could have ever imagined!

Since I was rooting for the Chargers, I was not disappointed that day! First it was the controlled bowling of the spinner Ojha and the great bowling of Fidel Edwards, coupled with excelling fielding, that restricted the Super Kings to just 165 in 20 overs. Through sheer tactic, Ojha managed to get both Hayden and Dhoni in the same over, something which restricted the total of the CSK team, which looked like reaching atleast 180. But Gilly has been a great captain and used his bowlers effectively. Infact, Ojha, who is perhaps the main DC bowler, was used for just 2 overs! Although he admitted it was a mistake, I feel it was a good move not to use Ojha much, and test the abilities of the other players. Who knows what can happen in the later stages of the tournament. Perhaps he could have contained Oram, whose last-minute hitting actually helped CSK to a respectable total. But he would have hit anyone, so the decision was good.

Then Gilchrist and Gibbs came to bat, and I have to say, this pair went berserk! From the very first ball Gilchrist made his intentions clear: "The ball is there to be hit; And I shall hit it!t was raining only 4s and 6s! The cheerleaders must have been cursing this explosive start, as they has to come on the stage every 2 balls! By the way, the cheerleaders make for a special viewing in this form of the game. I liked the way they work so hard just to entertain the spectators, and they were more than just "eye-candy". More on them later.

Well I was privileged to see the fastest ever 50 in the entire IPL history (scored of just 3.3 overs) and Gilchrist rattled the scoring with 44 from just 19 balls! After he was out, the scoring rate fell to such an extent that at the end of 10 overs, the Chargers were scoring at a rate slower than that of the CSK! But Gibbs held his nerves and stayed till the end of the innings. Rohit sharma and Dwayne Smith had their cameo innings to support him, but Gibbs played well for his runs. In the end, Bilakhia scored the winning boundary for the Chargers! Their 4th consecutive win! And currently they are the only team to be unbeaten in the tournament yet! YIPEE!

The game was so exciting till the end that I was barely able to sit on my seat at home. I was jumping and walking ans shouting, as if I was in the stadium itself. Next year, I will go and see one IPL match for sure! 

The current DC team has won matches both playing first as well as chasing under lights. They have played full matches and hence they have an advantage going into today's match against Delhi. But the DD team is raring for a comeback after their shock loss to Jaipur on Tuesday. I just hope that even my second IPL match turns out to be a golden win for the Chargers!

My next post will be on the current Election Drama in India, and I will write it on the lines of the Fake IPL Player style of writing, with nicknames and stuff. It will take sometime to write it though as I am not good at these things... But I will make an attempt!

Ciao till the next time!

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