The Ultimate Leveller

Few would have thought last year's bottom of the barrel would make it to the finals for this year's IPL. There were leadership changes in both the teams. Even half through this year's edition, Bangalore had no clue on how to win a match, after upsetting Rajasthan. But as purists say, sticking to the basics, had paid them off in a big way. Hyderabad ran away from the beginning, before Rajasthan could stop them. They are riding high with in-form Gilly and inconsistent Gibbs. Gilly, Gibbs and Symo combination is enough to take on any team. Added to that the disciplined bowling of RP and Ojha.

For Bangalore, there had been stars for each game. Ross Taylor blasted off KKR, Rahul Dravid came up good against Rajasthan Royals, even the worst performer of RCB Robin Uthappa came good against the pre-tournament favourites, Mumbai Indians. What is more startling is the local talent Manish Pandey. Nobody had even heard about him, until he blasted off a century, (the only Indian centurion in the 2 IPLs) and despatched the balls beyond the ropes against CSK. RCB would bank on him in a big way. Pity that India announced its team for the T20 world cup, before IPL ended. 

If at all the matches failed to raise the levels of adrenalin being pumped, the results table did provide that excitement. Every team took the top spot atleast once, with the last match still deciding who would make it to the top 4. Two teams that were written off had made it to the finals and it is this uncertainity that keeps the game going. Whoever wins,  I would be glad.