Manish Pandey says he's indebted to Rahul Dravid

Manish Pandey, the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman who became the first Indian to make a century in the IPL, has thanked his state and IPL team-mate Rahul Dravid for inspiring him.

"I always look up to him as a cricketer," Pandey said on returning from South Africa. "Dravid really motivated me on and off the field ... I'm really indebted to him.

"I was fortunate to bat with him in the semi-final against Chennai Super Kings ... I grew up watching him and Sachin Tendulkar so I feel lucky to have played with them."

The 19-year-old Pandey shot into the limelight after making 114 against Deccan Chargers in the final league game before top-scoring with a composed 48 against Chennai Super Kings in the semi-final, both performances fetching him Man-of-the-Match awards.

"I am more confident now," Pandey, who had had few opportunities in the tournament before the game against Deccan, said. "The IPL is a big stage and the performance will surely help me go further. It's a turning point in my career."

He was also looking forward to a strong showing in the inaugural Champions League in October.

We wish him all the best for the Champions League T20.

A heart-breaking loss for RCB

Without taking any credit away from the Deccan chargers, it must be said that Kumble was very unlucky not to have got the Trophy in his hands this time. A modest man, he never really had the moments when he could lift a Trophy with the designation of a Captain.And now here he was, with the golden opportunity of taking the IPL trophy in one of the most dramatic finishes we could ever have seen. But as it turned out for all the RCB fans, that wasn't to be the case.
The last of those turning points was the 15th over, bowled by Andrew Symonds, who matched his verbal skills from earlier in the night with the wickets of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off back-to-back deliveries. Bangalore were 99 for 6 when the over started, and Taylor had looked dangerous during his 20-ball 27. That Symonds over, though, was symbolic of the night: every time a batsman got away from the bowling, a breakthrough pulled the batting side back. Pandey was a marked man during his innings. Symonds followed him wherever he went, giving him lip.
van der Merwe got a mouthful from Symonds and Harris, but he responded by hitting two sixes off one Harris over. Despite the maiden, Harris had gone for 23 in three overs. Even after Pragyan Ojha got Pandey with the first ball he bowled, van der Merwe's pyrotechnics kept Deccan at a distance.
The tension was palpable, and it sort of got to a senior pro like Rahul Dravid too.
As Bangalore targeted Harmeet Singh, Dravid missed a scoop and was bowled, and to me, it was the deadly blow, THE BLOW. I was completely shattered. How badly had i wanted to see this man score and win the final. He's my favorite batsman and i love seeing him play. I could feel the tension and it got to me like anything.

Amid the tension of the second innings one felt for Anil Kumble, who spent the most of the last over at the non-striker's end and saw his dream crash. Earlier Kumble had celebrated like a teenager but bowled like the veteran champion he is, and kept Deccan down to a manageable target.

He bowled the first over of the match, took Gilchrist out, then came back in the ninth to dismiss Symonds. That wicket was crucial because Symonds had been dropped on 5 by Dravid, and was reminding Bangalore eerily of the line his batting partner Herschelle Gibbs was apocryphally told during the 1999 World Cup. Kumble again came on in the 17th over to break a dangerous 52-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Gibbs, when the two had taken Deccan to 110 for 3.

I felt for Kumble the most. How difficult it would have been for him to see the dream crash right in front of his eyes. I couldn't bear the pain, and admittedly i had teary eyes for a long time after that. Emotions took over seeing Kumble, who himself didn't show any signs of depression, but one could feel his disappointment.

I only hope RCB come bigger and go one step better in the next season and may Anil fulfill the unfinished job.

Kumble says One more win will be nice

And we completely agree with him.After a disastrous start to the season, Royal Challengers Bangalore have reached the final on the back of a five-game winning streak, and captain Anil Kumble has asked for one more victory to cap their resurgence. "One more win will be nice," he said after Bangalore outclassed Chennai Super Kings in the semi-final on Saturday. Kumble said the tight bowling at the death - only 42 runs were conceded in the final six overs - and the 72-run partnership Manish Pandey and Rahul Dravid for the third wicket were the keys to Bangalore's victory. "We really bowled well to restrict them to 146. Manish and Rahul batted brilliantly. Manish is a fantastic talent."
The 19-year-old Pandey's brisk 48, which helped Bangalore recover from the early loss of two wickets, earned him his second consecutive Man-of-the-Match award. "Last match was good and today I had the confidence," he said. "It was a good experience scoring against . It was good to bat with Rahul and we tried to rotate the strike as much as we could."

A complete turnaround of the Tables!

And so, as a blockbuster second season of the IPL reaches its summit, two of its biggest success stories clash in the finale in Johannesburg. They also happen to be the two most unlikely sides given how they fared in 2008. Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore were the two bottom-placed teams then, now they've busted out of the basement and made the house their own.
The major factor in Bangalore's rise has been Anil Kumble, who took over the captaincy from Kevin Pietersen.Bangalore's younger Indian players didn't start off well at all, but the seniors' performances started to rub off. Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and Virat Kohli have chipped in with vital contributions to keep the team buoyant in the competition. This has been a team that has paid a lot of attention to preparation.
Bangalore are a confident side and will be boosted by the knowledge that they beat Deccan last time.Manish Pandey's rise has been exceptional. Hardly given a run last season, he delivered with the first IPL century by an Indian and followed up with another Man-of-the-Match effort in the semi-final. Statistically and psychologically Pandey's form will worry Deccan, because that century came against them. Cameos from Taylor and Kohli have come at right times, and Kumble and Roelof van der Merwe have delivered in pressure situations with their varieties of spin.

Bangalore outplay Chennai to reach the Finals!!!

Resurgent Bangalore ended Chennai SuperKings IPL dream by knocking them off in the semis by 6 wickets, and making the finals of this year's IPL. Interestingly, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers, placed at the bottom last year, will face each other in the IPL final.
Manish Pandey scored a 35-ball 48 to help the Innings get some momentum.If anything this was an even better innings in terms of the quality of strokeplay and this being a knockout match,as compared to the last one. Pandey got going with a square-drive in the first over, following a ball both wide and full. As if to show it was no fluke, he brought out a more classical square-drive, down on one knee, to the next delivery.By the end of the Powerplays Pandey had reached 29 off 14 deliveries with the help of six fours, four of them along the ground, and Bangalore needed only 88 from 84.Pandey had batting with him the best man possible, Rahul Dravid, whose classical strokeplay and superb planning had a calming effect on the 19-year-old at the other end. His straight-drive off Shadab Jakati and flick off Albie Morkel were shots as good as any played in the night.
Bangalore required 35 off last four overs.Chennai needed a gamble then, after all other bowlers had been taken for runs. Suresh Raina bowled the next over, and both Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli took a six off him. The decisive, and the most symbolic, blow came in the next over when Kohli read a doosra, stepped out to Murali, and hit him straight down the ground for a big six. Bangalore's fifth win in a row was all but sealed.
Kumble handed over India's Test captaincy to Dhoni but today he had managed to outfox his younger counterpart.
Wish Team RCB all the very best, may the dream come true!!!