Hyderabad celebrates Chargers’ victory

HYDERABAD - Celebrations broke out in this southern city after Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs to lift the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the New Wanderers in Johannesburg Sunday.

Hailing the victory of the home team, the fans burst crackers and came out on the streets raising slogans.

As R.P. Singh bowled the last ball, the fans went wild and gathered on the roads, congratulating each other. Those watching the match live on giant TV screens at pubs, restaurants and hotels hugged each other, hailing the achievement of Adam Gilchrist and his boys.

Young fans were seen enjoying the moments before the giant screens at pubs. Dancing to the tunes of popular Bollywood numbers, they celebrated the fall of every Challengers wicket.

The celebrations peaked as Chargers mounted pressure on team Bangalore after the strategic break.

“The wicket of Rahul Dravid was the turning point. Earlier, it appeared as if Dravid and Ross Taylor would walk away with the match,” said Sunil Kumar, a young software engineer watching the match at a popular pub.

Fans termed the victory historic, saying this had brought fame and glory to the city. “It is a fantastic victory for this city as it will bring more laureals,” said Waseem Hyder, a class 12 student.

Diehard fans felt the Chargers deserved the victory as they worked very hard from the start and came back in the tournament despite losing a few matches in the middle.

“The team should have won the first edition of IPL but it was bad luck that it ended at the bottom. This time, it has got its deserved position,” said T. Ramna, a young cricketer.

Earlier, the fans were disappointed when Gilchrist was out for a duck in the very first over of the match as they were expecting fireworks from him after his aggressive match winning knock against Delhi Daredevils in the semifinals.