IPL-2 CHAMPIONS:DECCAN CHARGERS

Deccan Chargers were crowned Indian Premier League champions tonight after Pragyan Ojha led a spirited bowling display to help seal a six-run victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Johannesburg.
Adam Gilchrist's men, who finished last at the inaugural tournament in 2008, posted a below par 144-victory target, but scraped home thanks to the slow left armer's three wickets as well as good performances from Andrew Symonds (two for 18) and Harmeet Singh (two for 28).
Earlier it was Anil Kumble (four for 16) who helped restrict Deccan, despite Herschelle Gibbs hitting a patient half-century in the tournament finale at the Wanderers.
But Kumble failed to get the required support from his batsmen with only Roelof van der Merwe (32) and Ross Taylor (27) managing to momentarily threaten, before Bangalore fell narrowly short.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, veteran India spinner Kumble decided to himself open the bowling and it proved an inspired move.
After just three deliveries, he had opposite number Adam Gilchrist, the second highest run scorer in the competition, stumped by Mark Boucher for a duck after charging down the track.
Three overs later Vinay Kumar (two for 30) had Tirumalasetti Suman caught off a leading edge by Manish Pandey running back from point for 10.
Symonds came in and, after being dropped by Rahul Dravid at slip early on, looked dangerous right through his 21-ball stay.
He struck four fours and a massive six, before he too perished - albeit to an unfortunate bouncing delivery from Kumble that hit him on the arm and then fell onto the stumps sending him on his way for 33.
Deccan, though, managed to reach the halfway stage without any further trouble with Gibbs and Rohit Sharma adding some much needed stability.
The pair continued batting together until the 17th over putting on 52 in 43 balls, before Pandey took a well-judged catch off Kumble on the long-off boundary to see off Sharma for 24.
Kumble struck another blow four balls later sending Venugopal Rao (nought) on his way, but Gibbs finished unbeaten on 53 off 48 balls to help his side reach 143 for six.
Jacques Kallis and Pandey began cautiously in response taking just five runs in the first five overs, before the South African finally opened up with two boundaries off Ryan Harris' second over.
But he went for a shot too many in the next over against purple cap wearer RP Singh - the IPL's leading wicketkeeper - and dragged the ball onto his stumps for 16.
Van der Merwe was sent in next and took two sixes from another Harris over, before the introduction of Ojha spelt the end of Pandey with his first delivery - the young opener feathering behind to Gilchrist for four.
Ojha continued to weave his magic and the wicket of Van der Merwe, stumped by Gilchrist, left Bangalore reaching the strategy break at 69 for three
After the restart Dravid (nine) did not help their cause when he walked across the stumps and was bowled around his legs by Harmeet.
Bangalore needed 65 from 50 balls at that stage, with Taylor and Virat Kohli looking in control after a 20 run stand, but Symonds stirred up a new twist when he dismissed the pair in successive balls at the start of the 15th over.
Harmeet then claimed another key man in Boucher (five), who cut straight to Gibbs at point, before Praveen Kumar (two) and Vinay (eight) fell in quick succession leaving their side needing 15 from the final over.
It proved a task too big for Robin Uthappa (17 not out) and Kumble (one not out), who managed just eight.

Turning Point of the Match:

Andrew Symonds' two wickets in two balls. It was the quality of the batsmen he got, and the point of the match at which he got them. In the space of two balls, Bangalore had gone from cruising to struggling.

SO-CALLED TEST TEAM-BANGLORE THROUGH TO THE IPL-2 FINAL BEATING CHENNAI

The uncertainties of the T20 format witnessed two teams, placed in the bottom of the points chart during the last edition of the IPL, storm to the finals much to everybody's surprise. After the Adam Gilchrist blitzkrieg at the SuperSport Park, the stage shifted to the 'Bullring' for the second semifinals of the IPL which the saw an exuberant Bangalore side emerge victorious.

Having been good chasers during the IPL, Anil Kumble won the toss for Bangalore and elected to bowl first.With a belter of a track on offer, Parthiv Patel played out of his skin, outscoring Matthew Hayden at the start of the innings, while the bulky Australian, returning from an injury, took his time to get into the groove. Parthiv looked in fine touch, with sweetly timed strokes flourishing off his bat. Hayden got through his sober start and started playing his brand of cricket. However, an attempt to hit Vinay Kumar over the top resulted in his dismissal. With a good start in hand, MS Dhoni promoted himself up the order at the fall Hayden's wicket.

Bangalore pulled things back with one more wicket when the ominously looking Patrhiv Patel was trapped LBW by Kallis. The twin blows resulted in a drought of boundaries for Chennai with Dhoni and Raina failing to find the fence. Raina ended the dry spell, scoring a boundary and a six off Vinay Kumar. However, the left-hander got out to his Uttar Pradesh team-mate Praveen Kumar, top edging his delivery to the safe hands of Boucher. While Chennai were trying to up the ante towards the death overs, Bangalore maintained a disciplined line, not giving away the boundary balls. Bangalore's tight bowling resulted in the dismissal of MS Dhoni, who got out trying to hit van De Merwe over the top.After a couple of good blows towards the end, Oram was dismissed in the last over, holing out to Uthappa off Vinay Kumar's bowling. Morkel finished off the innings with a four and Chennai ended with a competitive total of 146/5.

once again went in with the teenaged centurion Manish Pandey and the experienced Kallis to open the innings. Pandey started off from where he left in the previous match, with explosive shots coming like bullets off a gun. Kallis gave him good company as Bangalore were off to a rapid start. Chennai attempted a come back with two quick wickets of Kallis and van De Merwe. However, that did not deter the in-form Manish Pandey, who kept the shots coming off his bat. He had the right partner in 'The Wall' Dravid, who provided the youngster the ideal support. Together, they maintained a good run-rate, taking Bangalore to the realms of victory. The fielding woes continued for Chennai with a spate of dropped catches and mis-fields. With nothing going their way, the Superkings had a stroke of luck when Manish Pandey, attempting a slog off Jakati, missed the ball and the stumps were castled. He departed two short of a well deserved fifty. Meanwhile, the level-headed Rahul Dravid played a calculated knock, piling on the runs for Bangalore. Just when Bangalore were looking well on way to enter the finals, the team had a jolt when Rahul Dravid was out LBW to the wily Muralitharan after scoring 44 runs. Dravid's dismissal was vital for Chennai, who stemmed the flow of runs, putting the pressure back on the Challengers.

The Kiwi sensation Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli turned the tables by scoring 3 sixers between them. Their cameos resulted in Bangalore requiring 12 runs off 12 balls. MS Dhoni employed Oram to bowl the penultimate over which proved to be a costly move. Ross Taylor started the over with a six and Virat Kohli finished it off with a boundary, taking Bangalore to a well deserved final berth.

Interesting facts:

Parthiv Patel scored 36 against Bangalore, his highest score this season from 9 games.Matthew Hayden and Parthiv Patel put on 61 runs for the first wicket. It was the fifth time that CSK had a fifty-plus opening stand.Bangalore were 59/2 after 6 overs, their highest score at the end of the powerplay in IPL 2009.The 72-run stand between Rahul Dravid and Manish Pandey was the highest third-wicket partnership for Bangalore in IPL (both seasons).

Manish Pandey won his second consecutive Man of the Match award, the second Bangalore player after Ross Taylor to achieve that feat.Bangalore have now won 5 games on the trot, their longest winning streak in the IPL. (both seasons).In a surprising turnaround, the two bottom-placed teams from last year, Bangalore and Hyderabad have made it to the finals.