JOHANNESBURG, May 24: In the end, the all round strength and combative spirit of the Deccan Chargers proved to be the difference. Chargers beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs to claim ownership of the glittering IPL Trophy.

With 45 runs required off 41 balls, the road that looked easy and straight for the Royal Challengers was made difficult the moment Ross Taylor chose to pull a ball that got a bit high on him. Venugopal Rao accepted the catch at deep square leg and off the next delivery Virat Kohli lost his balance and Adam Gilchrist whipped the bails off in a flash. Andrew Symonds in a matter of two balls gave a twist to the final that would not be unwound. Full credit to Harmeet Singh for picking two crucial wickets and holding on to an excellent catch under pressure.

If ever there a template can be followed when defending a below-par score, following what the Deccan Chargers did on Sunday at the Wanderers will not be a bad idea. Emerging from the dug-out like men possessed the Chargers put up an admirable display in the field. Ryan Harris provided pace, and R.P. Singh seam and swing. Jacques Kallis after a few streaky boundaries chopped one onto his stumps. Roelof van der Merwe walking in at three and Manish Pandey under a verbal barrage struck on gamely.

Harris who repeated his maiden over act as against Delhi was struck for two mighty sixes by van der Merwe and the heat in the middle intensified. What the players exchanged will never get the MCC’s approval. Pandey trying to cut a ball close to the stumps nicked to Gilchrist and van der Merwe after adding another six was flummoxed by Pragyan Ojha who went a little overboard with his celebration. The match hung on a razor edge at the halfway mark.

Pressure can do strange things even to the most experienced. Rahul Dravid in trying to beat the man at 45 was castled. Ross Taylor ensured the asking rate did not rise by much when he struck Ojha for a six and four. The target ahead was not difficult the key was to keep wickets intact, but the Royal Challengers were unable to.

Earlier, Anil Kumble did what he had done successfully all his career — stare the opponent in the eye. Winning the toss and electing to bowl, he sprang a surprise. But it was a surprise only for those who don’t know Kumble as he came on on in the first over itself against Gilchrist. It was the mother of all contests, two fine leaders against each other. Kumble tossed one up and Gilchrist took the bait and played over the ball. Kumble had handed over the advantage to his team exactly two minutes after play started.

Herschelle Gibbs struggled for timing, looking short of confidence to play the big shots. T. Suman started well but a leading edge when he closed the bat early ensured Andrew Symonds walked in much before he would have expected.

Bangalore had their tails up, runs were hard to come by and the Chargers, usually accustomed to blazing starts were pegged back. If Dravid had latched on to a simple offer at first slip, the Chargers would have been in dire straits.

Symonds shifted gears and Dravid would have died a thousand deaths. For the first time in the game Kumble was forced to rack his brains. A bowling captain has his own line of thinking so Kumble re-introduced himself and breached Symonds’ defence (the ball hitting the thigh and rolling on to the stumps) collected his cap and walked away to thunderous applause at fine leg. It was exemplary leadership and a clinical reading of the game.

Kumble packed off Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao in his last over. Sharma, after sharing a 52-run stand off 47 balls, perished trying to clear the extra cover boundary. Rao fell in similar fashion as Kumble returned figures of 4/16.

Gibbs who picked momentum after flicking a six off Praveen tried hard to make up for lost time. There was little time left, but he maximised the opportunities driving Praveen for another six in the penultimate over to bring up his half-century. For the second day running Kumble used only five bowlers. Bangalore reaped the rewards of a planned effort.

The last over from Vinay produced nine runs as Chargers closed at 143/6. Gibbs was unbeaten on 53.