The final of the DLF Indian Premier League couldn’t have been scripted better. The Rajhastan Royals-Chennai Super Kings match had everything - pulsating moments, unexpected twists and tense overs. The cricket-mad public of India couldn’t have asked for more.

Yes, the Royals took the trophy off the last ball, but the Super Kings deserve a lot of praise.

One of my teachers would tell us to live within constraints. The Super Kings are the apt example of this philosophy.

'The team flourished with home-grown players like Suresh Raina, Subramanian Badrinath and Manpreet Gony'


The team's performance graph signifies a roller-coaster ride - they started off with a bang posting 200-plus in the first two games. At that stage of the tournament the team had batting heavyweights like Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey. But when these players, along with Jacob Oram, left the side for national duty, the problems started.

Yet with limited resources at his disposal and with a side struggling to perform with bat and ball, MS Dhoni did a commendable job in leading the team into the finals.

And after the Aussies' exit, the team flourished with home-grown players like Suresh Raina, Subramanian Badrinath and Manpreet Gony. And 'foreigners' Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini and Stephen Fleming all played their part.

Players like Badrinath have been knocking at the door of international cricket for some time and the selectors should be taking a serious look at him. In fact, the only player who was off colour in the CSK team was Lakshmipathy Balaji. Despite his hat-trick, his performance on the whole was less than satisfactory  - he went for plenty of runs in too many matches.

CSK’s journey to the finals has been a quiet one with no foreign star performances to boast about, especially in the latter part of the tournament. This was in stark contrast to he Deccan Chargers which boasted of some of the biggest hitters in cricket like Shahid Afridi, Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs and still ended up at the bottom of the table.

CSK won the hearts of millions of people and it was no coincidence that they were recognised for their on-field behaviour. It was a case of so near and yet so far but I am sure they can win the trophy next time if they play to their full potential.