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The big names who didn't fire
Player Total points Cost (US$) Points per $ x 100
Ricky Ponting 1.56 400,000 0.004
Jacob Oram 17.39 675,000 0.03
Mohammad Asif 83.24 650,000 0.13
Sachin Tendulkar 150.70 1,121,250 0.13
Herschelle Gibbs 83.71 575,000 0.15
Jacques Kallis 164.09 900,000 0.18
I could have told them that he was not going to be any good at this form of the game!
I could have told them that he was not going to be any good at this form of the game!
There are only 120 balls in each innings! He normally takes that many to get his eye in
Not me - semis tonight and tomorrow, then finals on sunday. Mmm mmm.
Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils, 1st semi-final, IPL
Watson helps Rajasthan march into final
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
May 30, 2008
Rajasthan Royals 192 for 9 (Watson 52, Yusuf 45, Maharoof 3-34) beat Delhi Daredevils 87 (Dilshan 33, Watson 3-10, Munaf 3-17) by 105 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Shane Watson's all-round show turned the match into a one-sided affair (file photo) © AFP
This was Shane Watson's match. Imposing himself on the first semi-final, he boosted Rajasthan Royals with an electric fifty before rattling Delhi Daredevils' top order with an outstanding opening spell. Shane Warne had complained about being deprived of home advantage but his side adjusted perfectly to the conditions at the W.A.N.K.hede Stadium, putting on a show that illustrated exactly why they have been the stand-out team in the competition.
Delhi were like a side struck with stage fright. Their bowlers were rattled by a brand of unconventional strokeplay - even the peerless Glenn McGrath went wicketless for 38 runs - before their batsmen succumbed against a disciplined attack. Virender Sehwag decision to field may come under scrutiny but Rajasthan's ruthless efficiency might have steered them to the final either way. The farcical end to the match - when Mohammad Asif took an age to get his bat into the crease - summed it up.
The scorecard may indicate a hopelessly one-sided contest but Rajasthan had their shaky moments. Losing the toss meant facing up to Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif on a juicy pitch and three quick wickets for Farveez Maharoof pushed them from 65 for no loss to 76 for 3.
Graeme Smith, who was aided by a runner once his hamstring injury resurfaced, and Swapnil Asnodkar, who broke a window pane at fine leg with an audacious pull, provided the early impetus but the innings could have easily lost its way with Maharoof, utilising the bounce and movement on the surface, luring the top order into loose strokes.
Watson's arrival put the innings back on track. From the moment he took 21 off the 11th over, with two ferocious pulls for six, only one team bossed the contest. With the high, straight back-lift that's been the feature of his batting in the tournament, Watson swung through midwicket and square leg. He targeted specific bowlers and went through with shots even if he wasn't to the pitch of the ball, allowing the timing to take care of the rest.
Amit Mishra, the legspinner, teased with his flight and loop but Watson was intent on spoiling his rhythm - going down on one knee, he slog-swept him over midwicket, a technique that Yusuf was to pick up later.
Such a commanding total wouldn't have been possible without the final flourish. Yusuf celebrated his recall to the one-day squad with a blistering 21-ball 45, an innings where four mighty sixes dripped off his bat. Without the Watson back-lift, without too much initial movement, he showed what brute force could do, blasting over long-on and midwicket. He spotted slower balls too, smearing Mcgrath over midwicket for the shot of the evening.
Delhi have their fielders to thank for avoiding further embarrassment but their effort was put in the shade by some acrobatic catching by Rajasthan. Shikhar Dhawan pulled off a diving catch to dismiss Smith but it was Tauwar Kohli's peach of a dive, throwing himself to the right of cover to latch on to a Gautam Gambhir slash, that will stick in the mind.
Watson may have top scored for his side, but his job wasn't done yet. Up against one of the most formidable opening combinations in the IPL, he cranked up his pace. Sehwag was done in by the extra bounce, holing out to deep point, Gambhir was frustrated into slashing in the air and Dhawan pulled straight to square leg. Every wicket was accompanied by an ecstatic expression - one that indicated the triumph of a well-laid plan.
Tillakaratne Dilshan's furious swinging was never going to be enough against a constantly mounting asking-rate and he kept losing partners who misread the bounce in the track. Manoj Tiwary top-edged a bouncer from Munaf Patel and Yo Mahesh struggled against a short one directed at the shoulder. The rest were clueless against Warne's fizzers.
He admitted he would have bowled first if he had won the toss but would have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of turn and bounce the surface offered. He toyed with the tailenders, mixing legbreaks and sliders as if this was a Test, and he could afford to wear an impish smile through the spell, considering the match was long gone
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Go Warney and team\o/The cheapest team, Rajastan won the IPL by 4 wickets
.Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals, final, IPL
Rajasthan champions after cliffhanger
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
June 1, 2008
Rajasthan Royals 164 for 7 (Yusuf 56) beat Chennai Super Kings 163 for 5 (Raina 43, Yusuf 3-22) by three wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Rajasthan managed to get a breakthrough every time Chennai were forging a partnership © Cricinfo Ltd.
League or knock-out there was only one champion. It was fitting that the most consistent side in the tournament held their nerve to clinch a thriller. The Chennai Super Kings summoned every ounce of their reserves to take the match till the last ball but a calm swat from Sohail Tanvir, when one was needed off the last ball, sparked some heady celebrations in the Rajasthan Royals' dug-out. The least expensive side in the league had completed the coup that had them winning 13 of their 16 matches.
A galaxy of international stars might have added fizz to the IPL but it was India's most improved domestic player who sparkled in the tense final at the DY Patil Stadium. Few outside India might have heard of Yusuf Pathan before this tournament but he imposed himself on the grand stage, snaffling three wickets before smashing a scintillating 56, setting the stage for the inspirational Shane Warne to pull off the last-ball nailbiter.
Chasing 164 wasn't going to be easy on the slightly two-paced surface and Rajasthan were hobbling at 42 for 3 but the 65-run stand between Yusuf and Shane Watson provided the impetus. Another mini-collapse put them in a spot but Warne and Tanvir put on 21 in a harum-scarum final leg. Chennai's sloppy fielding didn't help but the batsmen ensured they didn't lose their head.
L Balaji, who got a pasting in the first three overs, was brought on with eight needed off the final over. Three tight deliveries piled on the pressure before a costly wide, which also produced a bye, tilted the balance. With three needed off 2 balls, Tanvir hurried two to deep midwicket before settling the victory in the final ball. The best bowler of the tournament did his side a big service with the bat. Warne's mighty embrace suggested much.
The base was set by Yusuf's ballistic, yet fortuitous, fifty. Chennai will rue the chance they missed in the 11th over - Yusuf tried to loft Muttiah Muralitharan but Suresh Raina, one of India's best fielders, couldn't latch on to the skier after running from mid-on. With the asking rate approaching 10, that could have been a big blow. Murali had no answers against him in the next over, though, when he was blasted for two successive sixes over wide long-on.
Yusuf soon pounded Balaji, backing away and blitzing thunderbolts down the ground, and looked more like a veteran accustomed to such high-pressure situations. He looked set to run away with the match but Raina's dart-accurate throw from gully added another twist.
Yusuf was instrumental with the ball too. Just as Chennai appeared to be building partnerships he pegged them back with his fastish offbreaks. S Vidyut holed out to deep midwicket, Parthiv Patel snicked to the wicketkeeper, and Albie Morkel top-edged towards short fine leg. Not only was he the most effective of the bowlers but also the most economical one - showing the ability to raise his game at the crunch.
Chennai weren't outclassed, not by a long way. Against an efficient bowling attack, with a slow outfield to consider, they strung together a fighting total. Raina and Parthiv, the duo who took them to victory last night, put on a useful 25-run stand through accumulation rather than attack, ensuring that the platform was laid for the rest of the order.
Morkel's two sixes injected some verve into the innings before Raina and Dhoni upped the ante. What could have cost them is the decision to send Chamara Kapugedera ahead of S Badrinath. Kapugedera pottered around for a 12-ball 8 and it was left to Dhoni to up the rate. The 17th over, bowled by Watson, where he conceded just three and picked up a wicket, appeared to tilt the scales but a few mighty hits from Dhoni pushed them to 163. It was the highest total at the DY Patil Stadium but only for a couple of hours.
And warne did
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Annual affair with many cricket boards making place for it in their schedule because the players want the big bucks
