Dominant Chennai seal title
A rampant Chennai Super Kings crushed the Warriors by eight wickets to win the Champions League Twenty20 final at the Wanderers
A rampant Chennai Super Kings crushed the Warriors by eight wickets to win the Champions League Twenty20 final at the Wanderers
The players run out to the middle and the celebrations begin. Rudi Koertzen, umpiring in his final game, has a congratulatory word with Dhoni. This is the last time a lot of these players will play together as one team. A perfect follow-up the IPL victory this year. They huddle up, pose for the cameras while the Warriors gradually retreat into their dug out. Aniruddha Srikkanth leads the cheers for Chennai. Three rather one-sided final knockout games this tournament, contrary to what was expected as they were fairly closely-matched on paper. Stay tuned, we'll get you the details from the presentation in a short while.
Ravi Shastri, as usual, is there, introducing an endless presentation panel.
Vijay is the Man of the Match for his half-century:"After we limited them to 120-odd, we just wanted to go out there and play our natural game. The pitch was a bit on the slower side. Hussey and I just tried to play naturally and did it. I've been working hard, and it's a great tournament to be part of. It's an amazing crowd here today and I'd like to thank them for their support."
The match officials collect their medallions now. Koertzen is one of them.
R Ashwin's the Man of the Series for his 13 wickets. His only lapse was that Super Over defeat. Ashwin: "Nothing more special than finishing the tournament with a victory. The match I played after that Super Over defeat was the best of my life this far. Always bowling with Murali gives you an edge because the batsmen go after you and that gives you a chance to pick wickets."
Vijay gets the golden bat, Ashwin gets the golden wicket.
The Warriors collect their silver medallions now.
Jacobs is given the runners-up cheque of US$1.3 million.
Jacobs: "Disappointed. They beat us twice in the competition and they deserve to win it. We got off to a good start but their spinners tied us down. We lost wickets and some momentum and never recovered from there. We couldn't get over the line but we're happy."
Chennai collect their medallions to big cheers from a crowd that Jacobs reckoned was 60-40 in Chennai's favour.
Chennai take home US$2.5 million.
Dhoni: "It's a big amount. It's the last time we're playing as a unit. Can't end it better, winning the IPL and now the Champions League. It's a very emotional moment for us. Fleming took over as coach and we wanted to create an atmosphere that was good for the younger players. The senior players have really done a good job. Am really happy with the performance in the knockout stages. We had banked on the spinners throughout, but the line that Ashwin bowled with Murali was crucial. Balaji was very good as well. The start of the tournament, a few of the players were infected with flu. The environment has been superb, we got a lot of support in Durban. It was 50-50 support for both sides here. It can't get any better than this."
The fireworks begin, the champagne starts flowing and Dhoni raises the trophy. A richly-deserved win for Chennai here. An entertaining tournament and we'll soon shift focus to Test cricket with India taking on Australia in early October. Thanks for tuning in and sending us your feedback. We've enjoyed your company and it's been a pleasure bringing you our coverage. Do join us again for what promises to be a start of an enthralling set of Test series. India take on Australia, Pakistan play South Africa in the UAE, there's the Ashes Sri Lanka meet West Indies and there's India's tour of South Africa. Plenty of cricket coming up and we look forward to having you with us again. Until next time, it's goodbye from all of us at Cricinfo. Sleep and eat well.
The Chennai players are getting ready for the celebrations
Albie's getting ready in the dug-out
On the night, Chennai were the better team by a margin rather greater than eight wickets
ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the day from the Champions League Twenty20 final between Warriors and Chennai Super Kings in Johannesburg
Some critics argue that MS Dhoni is more lucky than good as captain. He doesn't care; he just keeps winning
Despite the disappointment of losing in the Champions League final, Warriors captain Davy Jacobs was proud of his side's achievement
The Warriors are hungry for success but standing between them and Champions League glory is a Chennai team that is determined to triumph for one last time