Champions League T20 2013
A very Indian Champions League
The final of the Champions League T20 ended up being an all-IPL team affair, but it assumed a larger significance. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were given guards of honour by their teams as they played their last matches in the format•BCCI
.. and Harbhajan Singh shrugged off ordinary form in the tournament with a match-winning over to trip up Rajasthan Royals' spirited chase•BCCI
The same was true for Kandurata Maroons from Sri Lanka, who apart from this shot, failed to create a flutter. New Zealand's Otago Volts and India's Sunrisers Hyderabad progressed to the next stage•BCCI
There were two South African teams as well - Titans and Lions - but despite a few good individual performances, they failed to make it to the semi-finals•BCCI
The tournament was not just about the batsmen though. The bowlers had their say too •BCCI
Sunil Narine continued to bamboozle batsmen. He was the second-highest wicket-taker with 11 wickets in the tournament•BCCI
But there could have been only one perfect ending. Mumbai Indians put up a mammoth total of 202 with a scintillating display of power hitting•BCCI
Mumbai Indians won their second CLT20 trophy, making it a perfect parting gift for Tendulkar•BCCI
The start of the main round coincided with wet weather. Ahmedabad was splattered by torrential rains and some of the matches had to be moved to the drier weather of Jaipur•BCCI
Chennai Super Kings, one of the favourites, played some of their matches in MS Dhoni's hometown, Ranchi. Sporting a mohawk, Dhoni played one of the most blistering innings - 63 off 19 balls - of the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad, during which he took 34 runs off a Thisara Perera over•BCCI
Rajasthan Royals' young seamers made an impression•BCCI
And Pravin Tambe, the 41-year-old legspinner, ended the tournament with the most wickets - 12 - at a miserly economy rate of 4.10•BCCI
The tournament, though, started with much less fanfare, in Mohali, where four teams fought for two available slots in the main draw. Faisalabad Wolves, the lone team from Pakistan, appeared short on experience as, apart from Misbah-ul-haq who hit the most sixes - 13 - in the tournament, no one else left a mark•BCCI
The main draw had two Australian teams - Brisbane Heat and Perth Scorchers - who came into the tournament without their best players and struggled to compete with stronger sides•BCCI
But the highest score of the tournament came from Otago's Neil Broom, who smashed 117 off 56 balls against Perth Scorchers to take the team to 242 - the highest total in CLT20 history•BCCI
But the batsmen had most problems facing the 'spin' music•BCCI
In the end, in a tournament played in India, the IPL teams enjoyed success. Three of the four IPL franchises made it to the semis, with Mumbai Indians going all the way to add to their IPL title this year•BCCI