Bal pips Chappell to the post in thrilling finish

A repeat of Star Wars IPL 2009

	Tillakaratne Dilshan's rare failure cost Chappell the winner's post © Getty Images

Sambit Bal does it again. After having snatched victory from Ian Chappell on the final day of IPL 2009, Sambit pulled off a repeat on the day of the World Twenty20 final. And it was a victory by the slimmest of margins - 17 points.

What worked in Sambit's favour was his choice of trump. He went for Sanath Jayasuriya, who may have not scored many with the bat, but made up with his performance in the field, fetching 158 points. Then the double blow for Ian: he didn't have Jayasuriya in his team, and his trump, Tillakaratne Dilshan, disappointed for once, giving him a negative of 20. "It seems like it is compulsory for my trump to make a duck in the final," said Ian. "I had a worse day at Lord's than the Sri Lankan top order. Congratulations to Sambit, he's becoming a last-day specialist."

Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal and Angelo Mathews were common picks for Ian and Sambit, but Ian's other picks disappointed - Younis Khan and Mahela Jayawardene fetched him a combined total of just one point. Sambit's picks had a slightly better day - Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahzaib Hasan, Jehan Mubarak, Saeed Ajmal and Ajantha Mendis gave him a total of 64 crucial points. "I was sweating a bit with Ian's lead gradually increasing and my trumps not coming good recently, but I was confident because I had more transfers in the bank," said Sambit. "Jayasuriya was a gamble. I saw that Ian didn't have him, so I made him trump. He's a big-match player and even though he didn't click with the bat, he did the job for me. Winning two in two on the last day, is a reflection of how much this game can swing. It also shows this game is all about tactics"

It was Sanjay Manjrekar who had the best day in terms of points - 326 from Afridi, who was his trump, and 99 from Kumar Sangakkara. He finished with 5411, just 33 points behind Ian. "It was a good day for me in terms of points, but sadly I fell short," said Sanjay. "In hindsight, it was a few incorrect trump picks that cost me. But congratulations to Sambit, he played a smart game."

David Lloyd finished at No. 4 with 4189.

Dilshan keeps Chappell on top

The top two are separated by a little over 200 points with one game to go

	Tillakaratne Dilshan's 96 off 57 balls gave Ian Chappell 400 points © Associated Press

With one game to go in this World Twenty20, it's still Ian Chappell at No. 1, leading Sambit Bal by 219.

Ian struck gold with his trump - Man-of-the-Match, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who gave him a whopping 400. But the rest of his picks disappointed - Lendl Simmons, Mahela Jayawardene, Dwayne Bravo and Suleiman Benn fetched him a combined total of just 72 points.

Sambit, on the other hand, had Ajantha Mendis as trump, who accounted for 180. Apart from Bravo, Benn, Jayawardene and Dilshan, Sambit also had Jehan Mubarak and Sanath Jayasuriya, but they didn't account for much yielding just 26.

And once again it could all come down to the transfers - Ian has just two left while Sambit has five.

Sanjay Manjrekar is at No. 3 with 4793 and at No. 4 is David Lloyd with 3635.

Kallis boosts Chappell

It's Ian Chappell entrenched at No. 1 more strongly than ever

	Kallis may not have won his team the semi-final, but he fetched Ian Chappell plenty of fantasy points © Getty Images

Pakistan may have beaten South Africa in the first semi-final, but it was Jacques Kallis who helped Ian Chappell consolidate his position as No. 1.

Ian had picked Kallis as trump, who did not disappoint, yielding 172. But the rest of his picks had an ordinary day - Herschelle Gibbs (5), Younis Khan (24), Wayne Parnell (35), Kamran Akmal (45), and Umar Gul (10). Sambit Bal had a low-key day apart from Akmal, who he had picked as his trump. He had Gibbs, Saeed Ajmal (35), Johan Botha (-5), Shoaib Malik (49), and Misbah ul-Haq (0). But what could work in Sambit's favour are the number of transfers left. He has seven left, compared to Ian's three.

However, none of our league members had Shahid Afridi, who was the star with both bat and ball for Pakistan on Thursday, though he had figured in both Sambit's and David Lloyd's teams in the early stages of the tournament.

Meanwhile Sanjay Manjrekar is at No. 3, 35 points adrift of Sambit, and David Lloyd is at No. 4 with 3228.

Battle for semis heats up

It's Ian Chappell at No. 1, leading Sambit Bal by 118 points

	Johan Botha's 3 for 16 gave Sambit Bal 104 points © Associated Press

It's the end of the Super Eights and as we go into the final three games of the tournament, it's Ian Chappell at No. 1 in the Star Wars league, leading Sambit Bal by 118 points.

The first game between Sri Lanka and New Zealand was a good one for Ian. He had Tillakaratne Dilshan as trump who yielded 176. While Sambit had Dilshan, he also had Sanath Jayasuriya (trump) and Jehan Mubarak but they disappointed, fetching just 68. The second game between India and South Africa was a low-scoring affair for Ian with Herschelle Gibbs (5), Rohit Sharma (39) and Wayne Parnell (0). Sambit had a better game - while he had Gibbs, he also had Johan Botha who gave him 104.

Sanjay Manjrekar had Man-of-the-Match AB de Villiers in his team who gave him 178. Sanjay is now 103 points adrift of Sambit. "It's getting very close now between the top three and could be anybody's game," says Sanjay. "And once again it has come down to the number of transfers, which hopefully, for me, will make the difference."

Chappell consolidates lead

No change at the top at the end of the Super Eights

It's the last day of the Super Eights, and Ian Chappell has consolidated his position at No. 1 - he now leads Sambit Bal by 163 points.

Both Ian and Sambit had Kamran Akmal as trump for the Ireland-Pakistan game, and he did not disappoint, yielding 318 with his Man-of-the-Match performance. Ian also had Umar Gul and Younis Khan, who fetched him a total of 135. However, it was Sambit who had a better game - Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq fetched him 171.

But the West Indies-England game allowed Ian to extend his lead. Ravi Bopara, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo and Suleiman Benn gave Ian a total of 195. Sambit had both Benn and Bravo, and he had Owais Shah as well, who disappointed with 20, which meant that Sambit managed just 125 from the game.

Sanjay Manjrekar is at No. 3 with 3791 and David Lloyd is at No. 4 with 2645.