After the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League in 2008, Deccan Chargers (DC) turned out to be the most potent lineup on paper.
They housed the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and many others.
However, their inaugural season in 2008, culminated into a disappointment after finishing at the bottom of the table.
Therefore, the Gilchrist-led team needed to make a come back in the subsequent edition held in South Africa. The Chargers went on to lift the IPL title in the second edition.
Well, it was not smooth sailing for Gilchrist and Co. throughout the entirety of the tournament. There were instances when the legendary wicket-keeper batsman lost his cool, as mentioned by former teammate RP Singh.
During the semi-finals of IPL 2009, the Chargers faced Delhi Daredevils (now: Delhi Capitals) and had to chase down a moderate target of 154.
Gilchrist led from the front with his explosive knock of 85 off just 35 balls. But, was dismissed by the 10th over and the score at 102/3. In RP Singh’s words, Gilchrist appeared furious at himself as he failed to finish the game for his side.
“Gilchrist was furious with himself despite playing a match-winning knock of 85 runs in the 2009 semi-finals. He came back to the dressing room after the knock but was angry and furious. I was surprised and asked him what’s the matter and why was he angry after that great knock. Gilchrist said he wanted to finish the game and needs to learn to finish games for the team,” Singh revealed while going through the highlights of the match on Star Sports.
Rudra Pratap then opened up on the strange superstition he had with Harmeet Singh in the side. “Adam Gilchrist was superstitious about Harmeet Singh. Harmeet was considered as the lucky mascot for the Deccan Chargers. Gilchrist believed that if Harmeet plays, Deccan wins the game,” added the former Indian fast bowler.
RP was accompanied by Pragyan Ojha while detailing the inside story. The recently retired off-spinner shared how Gilchrist influential leadership, along with VVS Laxman’s support from the bench, helped the squad in believing in themselves, against all the odds.
