Hyderabad which is a landmark for creating several sporting stars like Mohammed Azharuddin, VVS Laxman, Sania Mirza.., is also the home for the Deccan Chargers. The team was brought by the print media group – Deccan Chronicle for 107.1$ million. . Later, another media group, Group M India picked up a 20% stake in the franchise. It does not have any icon player, as VVS Laxman rejected the icon status so as to give more opportunities to the younger players. This team has high profile foreign players like Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, Dwayne Smith.., and prolific Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao & RP Singh.
Performance in IPL 2009:
The reigning title-holders of the second edition of the IPL, Deccan Chargers had a fairytale second season. Plagued by poor performances, the team was placed at the bottom of the table at the end of IPL's opening season. But then they scripted an incredible turnaround in the second edition, claiming the title. Most of the credit for their success story goes to their captain Adam Gilchrist. His compatriot Darren Lehmann joined the team as their coach for the second edition. Deccan's pace attack is led by the fiery Fidel Edwards and the steady RP Singh.
Their first wins came off their first four matches but they couldn’t keep up their consistency and they lost a few close matches. But Rohit Sharma and Symonds regaining their form got them back into the race. With pacer RP Singh taking consistent wickets and good support from Fiedel Edwards and Ryan Harris kept the bowling attack consistent.
On their way to the final, luck favoured the chargers as Kings Punjab and Rajasthan Royals lost critical matches. This placed Chargers in the semi-finals facing off the Delhi daredevils. Gilchrist’s stupendous innings with 85 runs of 35 deliveries comprising 10 fours and 5 sixes pushed chargers to the final.
In the final, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, even though they lost Gilchrist for a duck in the first over, they managed to make a convincing total of 143 for 6 as Gibbs took charge. The bowlers came out with all guns blazing right from the first ball, and this spirited effort ensured that they successfully defended the total, winning the game by 6 runs and lifting the prized IPL trophy.
Players in the spotlight:
Adam Gilchrist: He has been leading the chargers from the front, both with his captaincy and his saber which gave him the “Best Player of the
Season” award.
RP Singh: This left arm pacer took the highest number of wickets to win the “purple cap”.
Rohit Sharma: This youngster won the “Best Under23 Player” for 362 runs and 10 wickets.
New Players to the team for this season:
Kemar Roach: This West Indian fast bowler was bought for a staggering USD 720,000 at the 2010 auction.
Harmeet Singh: This youngster is a player from the U19
Indian team.
Pros of the team:
The strength of the team is its fierce bowling attack.
The presence of hard hitters like Gilchrist, Symonds, Gibbs and Rohit Sharma is their plus.
Cons of the team:
The lack of depth in the batting line-up is the major problem for the chargers.
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