IPL Team Of The Season '09

The Deccan Chargers were crowned champions of the 2nd Indian Premier League last night, and deservedly so. The Chargers came back after an embarrassing opening season last year to notch up some memorable performances in South Africa, and completed the dream turnaround by holding their nerve in a tense final in Jo'berg.

One can't help but feel for Bangalore, their skipper Kumble, whose dejected walk back to the pavilion after the final delivery was heartbreaking to see, and owner Vijay Mallya as well, who skipped the most important F1 race of the year to be with this team. However, Gilly's men deserved their victory, as they stayed calm when it mattered, and won all the 50-50 moments when it came to the crunch.

The tournament has seen some brilliant performances with bat and ball, but before I get to my favourite performanced, I've listed my own "IPL Team of the Season '09" below. Go on, have a look, and leave your own team in the comments.

Matthew Hayden (CSK/Aus) - The burly Queenslander was at his imperious best throughout the tournament, and was perhaps why the Chennai Super Kings got as far as they did. The team's middle order didn't perform up to scratch, but Hayden's form made all of that irrelevant. He wore the Orange Cap right through these 6 weeks, even though he played only 12 games in all. How Australia would be wishing he hadn't retired, especially with the Ashes coming up.

Adam Gilchrist (DC/Aus) - It's an all-Aussie opening pair, and one that's won many a match for the Baggy Greens. Gilchrist has done a "Warne", if I may say so, this season. Even though the Chargers have their match-winners, the team had embarrassed itself last year, and it required an entirely new coaching staff, along with the formal declaration of Gilly as captain, to turn it all around. Perhaps the absence of Shahid Afridi also helped (Grin). And as a batsman too, Gilly shone the brightest in his team, with his semi final knock being the innings of the tournament. Also, he is my captain for this XI.

Suresh Raina (CSK/Ind) - If there's one established Indian batsman who has truly done himself any justice with his performances in this IPL, it's Raina. He notched up 434 runs, behind only Hayden, Gilly, and De Villiers, and hence was the highest Indian run-scorer in the tournament. At the same time, he scored all those runs at a highly impressive strike rate of 140, which makes him a perfect No.3 in this team.

AB De Villers (DD/SA) - The Delhi Daredevils' batting order has been something of a mixed bag. Last season, while Sehwag, Gambhir, and to an extent Dhawan were going all guns blazing, De Villiers, Dilshan, Karthik and co struggled. This year, it's the exact opposite, with the South African being their top scorer, with a series of crucial knocks which saved the team from the capital, including the brilliant century, the first of the tournament.

Tillakaratne Dilshan (DD/SL) - I never rated Dilshan too highly before this tournament, but I stand corrected. He and De Villiers's combined for more than 43% of Delhi's runs, and the Sri Lankan looked like a man on a mission whenever he went out to bat. He threw caution to the wind almost all the time, going gung-ho, especially on the off side. If there was one player in the Delhi side who really wanted to win this tournament, it was Dilshan, and it showed on his face and in his body language in every game. He ended up as the Daredevil's second-highest run scorer, and was economical in his bowling as well.

JP Duminy (MI/SA) - One of the rising stars in world cricket, big things were expected of JP Duminy when the Mumbai Indians snapped him up at the 2nd IPL auction for a whopping $950,000 , and he didn't disappoint. He was one of the few expensive players who lived up to their auction price, and scored five fifties in the tournament, along with bowling at an economy rate of 5.31. Andrew Symonds was also a contender for the spot, but Duminy, having played the entire tournament, seemed the better choice.

Irfan Pathan (KXIP/Ind) - Irfan Pathan is a world-class cricketer, more so in T20 cricket. His batting is perfectly suited to the shortest format of the game, and he's developed a knack for picking wickets and keeping his cool when bowling in tight situations. He picked up 17 wickets in all, and scored 196 runs at an average of almost 20, which is commendable for a man coming in at No.7, mostly towards the end-overs.

Pragyan Ojha (DC/Ind) - Ojha's gone from strength to strength since he emerged in this very tournament last year, and should definitely be in India's first XI in the World Twenty20 coming up in England. His run-up and action aren't as smooth as they should be, but it doesn't matter, as he outwits the batsman time again with his variations in flight and pace, and can turn the ball a long way too. He topped it all off with a fine performance in the final, picking three crucial wickets to help his side defend a modest total.

Anil Kumble (RCB/Ind) - It's been one hell of a roller-coaster ride for India's very own Mr.Cricket in the last 6 weeks, which unfortunately ended in heartbreak. The way he led the Bangalore side in the second half of the tournament was admirable, and was probably why the team did start performing well, and even a sterling performance with the ball in the final didn't turn out to be good enough. Even a Hyderabad fan wouldn't have liked to see Apple Crumble lose, but the fact that he could get his side into the final, and complement that with some fine bowling performances, speaks volumes of his talent and character, even at this age.

RP Singh (DC/Ind) - RP Singh is just one of those bowlers who looks like he's got nothing special in his armoury, but manages to pick up bucketfuls of wickets. Ravi Shastri always describes the U.P lad as a "skiddy customer", which is possibly true. He's got that gift of picking up wickets, but he's also added a bit of intelligence to his bowling, which meant that he went for fewer runs per over than last season. Another one who should start every game for India in the upcoming World Cup.

Lasith Malinga (MI/SL) - To be fair, I could have chosen either Nehra or Nannes for this spot, but I've gone for Malinga to lend a bit of variety to the attack, and also for his excellent economy rate. He didn't have the best second half of the tournament, but was phenomenal in the first month, which probably explains why Mumbai's challenge was on course midway through, but petered out towards the end.