There is no doubt that the Mumbai Indians were struggling to come to grips with all that hullabaloo that has surrounded the team after the happenings in Mohali, and unless the seniors like Pollock and Jayasuriya were going to come up with something special and show the way, the younger players in the team were not going to be able to pull it off on their own. Abhishek Nayar and West Indian Dwayne Bravo did give it a go but a team needs a tally closer to 200 to stay in the fight.

In the end, the way Gilchrist toyed with the bowling, maybe that too wouldn’t have been enough, for the Deccan Chargers won with overs to spare. Importantly, from the net run rate point of view they did it without losing a wicket too, and if they keep the same tempo up they could well surprise a few people in much the same manner as the Rajasthan Royals are doing.

It was no surprise that Adam Gilchrist came up with the fastest century so far in the DLF Indian Premier League, and the third fastest in the Twenty20 format. He had just seen teammate Andrew Symonds smash an incredibly quick one just a few days earlier, and he must have been itching to get his name on that exclusive list. That ton put paid to the Mumbai Indians’ hopes of reviving their fortunes in front of a capacity crowd.

Under the charismatic Shane Warne, the Royals have been the pick of the tournament so far with some great team efforts. Here is a team that has grown in confidence as the tournament has progressed and has looked extremely competitive all the time. They have a good mix of the experienced and young players and with Warne to guide them they are a joy to watch. Seeing spinners do well in this format may surprise some but with an all time great like Shane Warne showing the way, even someone with little experience like Salunke is holding his own. The same with Piyush Chawla, and how wonderful it would have been for Indian cricket if the big hearted youngster was in the same side as the great Australian. He would have picked up not just many a bowling trick but also the fantastic temperament that has made Warne the great he is.

Elsewhere, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings are demolishing all before them and even the Kolkata Knight Riders had to bow to them, but maybe the tables could be turned when it is their turn to play at the Eden Gardens.Most of the teams who have the Australian players will lose them as they leave for home for a short camp before going to the West Indies, and that might even out the contests a bit, for there is no doubt that the DLF Indian Premier League has been dominated by the Australians who have left a great footprint which will be hard for others to follow.

Source: sify.com