Twitter
Advertisement

IPL 2009 moment: Rahul Dravid is bowled round the legs, RCB’s hopes blown away

Royal Challengers Bangalore were in a great position in the final against Deccan Chargers in IPL 2009 but Rahul Dravid’s dismissal changed the course of the match and resulted in heartbreak.

Latest News
article-main
Rahul Dravid was bowled by Harmeet Singh in a pivotal moment as Royal Challengers Bangalore collapsed and they lost the IPL 2009 final to Deccan Chargers.
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Royal Challengers Bangalore had a poor IPL 2008 when they finished second from bottom. In 2009, Anil Kumble started things in style when he picked up 5/5 to help Royal Challengers Bangalore win against defending champions Rajasthan Royals. However, they lost five games on the bounce and the captaincy changed from Kevin Pietersen and was handed over to Kumble. Royal Challengers Bangalore defied expectations and they won consistently against all teams to progress to the final where they would square off against Deccan Chargers. Chennai Super Kings, who had reached the final in 2008, lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-final while Rajasthan Royals ended the tournament on a disappointing note.

The setting

The two bottom-ranked teams in IPL 2008 were now clashing in the summit meeting in 2009 in Johannesburg. Deccan Chargers won the toss but they lost Adam Gilchrist in the third ball of the match. Herschelle Gibbs dropped anchor and batted through and he got good support from Rohit Sharma. The 52-run stand gave Deccan Chargers hope and Gibbs reached his fifty. Deccan Chargers ended on 143/6, with Anil Kumble taking 4/16.

In response, RP Singh sent back Jacques Kallis but Roelof van der Merwe responded with a quick 32 off 21 balls which included three sixes and a four. Royal Challengers Bangalore were on course but Pragyan Ojha struck twice, removing Manish Pandey and van der Merwe. Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor steadied the innings and with 65 needed off 50 balls with seven wickets remaining, it was Royal Challengers Bangalore’s game.

The tragedy

Dravid was batting on 9 and Harmeet Singh, one of the new faces in the Deccan Chargers side, was running into bowl. Harmeet floated a full and slow leg-cutter down the leg side and Dravid was looking to paddle sweep the ball! That was the magic of the IPL. A classical batsman looking to paddle sweep a medium-pacer. Dravid missed and Harmeet got the opening. Virat Kohli, still not THE Virat Kohli who finished games for India in a chase, was stumped off Andrew Symonds.

There was a period in the match when Royal Challengers Bangalore lost four wickets for 11 runs in 14 balls. The floodgates had opened after ‘The Wall’ was breached. Deccan Chargers had won the match by six runs and a miraculous redemption was scripted in the IPL.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement