Watch Streaming IPL Cricket South Africa

vs

Johannesburg 24 May 2009

Match Begins 20:00 IST | 16:30 SA | 14:30 GMT

Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist lit up the night with his boyish enthusiasm and glowing brightness long before the fireworks went off around SuperSport Park at the end of the semifinal of the DLF Indian Premier League here on Friday. His 35-ball knock of 85 runs (10 fours and five sixes) will stay etched in the minds of all those who were privileged to watch it here or from the comfort of their drawing rooms or on their computers.

It seemed he had single-handedly powered his team into Sunday’s final with a six-wicket win over the fancied Delhi Daredevils. But the truth is that his bowlers had done well to stop Delhi Daredevils at 153 for eight in 20 overs after Virender Sehwag and Tillekeratne Dilshan took the team batting first to 83 for two in 10 overs.

esilience is the word that springs to the mind. They started off with a good win but ended up with four straight defeats and their critics started sniping at them again. But the team won skipper Kevin Pietersen’s farewell game and Anil Kumble, who took over, tweaked in some changes to ensure that the team stayed in the frame, Jacques Kallis relished the chance to open the innings and made telling contributions while Ross Taylor played a couple of amazing match-winnings knocks; others like Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli have played supporting roles – and Manish Pandey emerged with a century in the final game to make the team’s batting look well settled. Kumble has been the star bowler for the side with Kallis and Praveen Kumar doing efficient jobs with the new ball. And yes, Roelef van der Merwe has been a great support bowler with his brand of left-arm spin.