Shane Warne will be a very pleased man tonight. Widely regarded as a man who would have become one of Australia’s greatest captains had he been given the honour, Warne has silenced all his critics by guiding a team who, at the beginning of the tournament, were regarded as nothing more than cannon fodder for the others, to the inaugural DLF Indian Premier League title.
The Rajasthan Royals started this tournament off on the worst possible note. They were humiliated by Delhi in the opener, and pundits were already awarding them the wooden spoon. But in an amazing comeback, they won all their seven home IPL, lost only two more ( An abject surrender to Mumbai, and a loss to Kings XI in Mohali), and proved that their league campaign was not a fluke by winning the tournament. As the Knight Riders, Royal Bangalore Challengers and the other teams started to lose slip, the Royals went from strength to strength.
So when did this turnaround really begin ? I believe that we need to go back to the game that the Royals played against the Deccan Chargers. Andrew Symonds had a perfect match, but muffed up the last over as Shane Warne took the requisite 19 off it to guide the Royals home. Not only was that the highest total chased successfully by a team batting second, but it also gave the Royals confidence that they could bring the Big Boys to their knees with sheer hard work and determination.
Anyway, coming back to this game, Suresh Raina will be a crestfallen fan. And the same goes for Chamara Kapugedera. The former dropped Yusuf Pathan when he was on 12, and the latter failed to make good use of the long handle towards the end of the CSK innings. Indeed many Chennai fans will be asking the same question- Why was Badrinath not sent ahead of Kapugedera ? Badrinath made 6 off 2. Kapugedera made 8 off 12. And in the end, 10 extra runs could have easily netted the Super Kings an extra .6 million USD in prize money.
The BCCI seems to be laughing all the way to the bank. So are Sony, telecasters of the league.
And the BCCI is talking of allowing the franchisees to change their city if they wish. How odd would be it be to see the Chennai Super Kings play in Mohali and the Kings XI Punjab at Chepauk ? :p
And coming back to the Royals, they seem to have won the hearts of all the Marwadis around the country. Apparently, they lived up to the “Kanjoos” tag by underspending in the first round 
. And they have brought recognition to the community and to a state that has never managed to win the Ranji Trophy despite boasting of some word class players in Rusi Surti, Vijay Manjrekar and co.
Congratulations Warnie !!!