Glory Days: Gilchrist's Year with Deccan Chargers

(Deccan Chargers team celebrating after winning the IPL Trophy)

Since the start of the Indian Premier League, this generation has got a lot of memories with them of this beautiful game. With Brendon McCullum starting the IPL with a bang to MS Dhoni’s captaincy retirement, they have seen it all. And one such thing that remains fresh in the minds of the cricket fans is the way the Deccan Chargers played in the IPL. The team from Hyderabad who ruled the game in the 2009 season, Deccan Chargers was one such team that gave the fans memories to cherish forever, From their theme song to their jersey, everything was perfect with this team and the 2009 season proved to be their year when Adam Gilchrist led them to their maiden IPL title.

2008 IPL season for Deccan Chargers

With the start of the IPL 2008, there was a team auction where a team from Hyderabad came into existence and it was named as Deccan Chargers. Purchased by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd. for US$107 million in January 2008, the team adopted a charging bull as its logo. They changed their jersey colour from beige and black to sparkling silver and blue, along with updating their logo to white and blue starting from the 2009 season. Notably, there was no Icon Player, as V.V.S. Laxman declined the offer to allocate funds towards nurturing young talents. The idea of forming the team arose during discussions between K. K. Tiwari and BCCI officials on November 11, 2008. Named "Deccan Chargers," it was inspired by owner Ramoji Rao's desire to give back to society and his passion for horse racing, evident in his business, "Deccan Horse Racing."

(Deccan Chargers team in the 2008 season)

In 2008, the team acquired the services of players who were at the top of their career at that time. The franchise made some big signings at the start, bringing in star players like Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Scott Styris, and Herschelle Gibbs. They also strengthened their bowling lineup with R.P. Singh, Nuwan Zoysa, and Chaminda Vaas. Among the Indian players were Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, and Pragyan Ojha. This mix of experienced international talent and promising local players formed a solid foundation for the team.

However, the team wasn’t able to do well in the season and finished at the last position in the points table. Out of the 14 matches that they played, the team was able to win only 2 of them and ended up losing the other 12. From the team, Adam Gilchrist proved to be their best batter in that season, amassing a total of 436 runs from the 14 innings at a strike rate of 137.1 while among the bowlers, it was RP Singh who registered 15 wickets to his name in the 14 matches played. Overall, it was a poor season for the Deccan Chargers and hence the management decided to make some changes for the next season.

2009 IPL season for Deccan Chargers

With the new season on the horizon, Deccan Chargers made the decision of appointing a whole new management and they started with changing their captain as Adam Gilchrist took on the reins from VVS Laxman while Darren Lehmann took on the coaching duties. Moreover, the team discontinued their ties with Shahid Afridi and went on to sign some new players. The team signed Queensland all-rounder Ryan Harris. During the auction, Deccan Chargers acquired West Indian players Fidel Edwards for $150,000 and Dwayne Smith for $100,000. The team also enlisted seven new domestic players, including batsmen Tirumalasetti Suman and Abhinav Kumar, as well as bowler Shoaib Maqsusi, known for their consistent performances in domestic cricket. Baroda batsman Azhar Bilakhia and two fast bowlers from Punjab, Jaskarandeep Singh and Harmeet Singh, were also added to the squad.

(Rohit Sharma and Scott Styris celebrating after taking a wicket in the IPL 2009)

The 2009 season started with a bang for the Deccan Chargers as with a new roster the team started having the victories in their corner. Out of the 14 matches played by them, they managed to win 7 of them and finally entered the next round of the tournament. In the first semi-finals, they managed to win against Delhi Capitals and entered their first Finals of the tournament where they were scheduled to play against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. For them, Adam Gilchrist again was the leading run-scorer as he got 495 runs from the 16 matches played while RP Singh registered the figures of 23 wickets in just 16 innings.

Finals against Royal Challengers Bangalore

At the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, the Deccan Chargers played against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Finals of the 2009 IPL season on 24th May. In the high-profile game, RCB went on to field first and had belief in their chasing ability. Their decision proved to be correct as they got Adam Gilchrist for a duck but it was Herschelle Gibbs who made sure that the team reached a safe total of 143 runs with the loss of 6 wickets in their 20 overs. Rohit Sharma also played an innings of 24 runs from just 23 balls and along with Andrew Symonds who scored 33 runs from 21 balls, they managed to get at the top of the game now. Anil Kumble was the star for the RCB team in the Finals as he got 4-16 in his 4 overs.

(Deccan Chargers team lifting their maiden IPL Trophy)

Royal Challengers Bangalore also got off to a poor start as Jacques Kallis was dismissed early on and after that, RCB kept losing wickets on a regular basis. It was Roelof van der Merwe who scored 32 runs from 21 balls and after that, there was no one who stepped up for the team. Players like Virat Kohli, Mark Boucher, and Robin Uthappa failed to capitalize on the moments and hence the team was able to make only 137 runs from the 9 wickets in their 20 overs and hence lost the match by 6 runs. Pragyan Ojha proved to be the difference between both the teams as he claimed 3 wickets in 4 overs and gave away just 28 runs.

How did Deccan Chargers fare in the next 3 seasons?

After succeeding in the 2009 IPL season, Deccan Chargers had the best chance to keep their legacy going by performing the same in the upcoming seasons. However, they failed to make an impact in the 2010 season. After finishing at the 2nd position in the points table, they failed in the playoffs as they lost to Chennai Super Kings and hence finished at the 2nd position. Talking about the 2011 season, was a complete disaster for the Deccan Chargers as they finished at the 7th position in the points table.

(Deccan Chargers team in the 2012 IPL season)

The same thing happened in the 2012 IPL season as they finished at the 8th position and hence it was a disappointing end to their campaign before being terminated from the IPL. Despite their initial triumph, Deccan Chargers struggled to maintain their momentum, facing challenges and ultimately failing to replicate their earlier success in subsequent seasons.