Henry revels in Barca success

Champions League

Thursday 28th May 2009

Thierry Henry feels he made the right decision staying at Barcelona following a disappointing first season with the club.

The France international recovered from a knee injury to play in the Champions League Final last night, and achieved one of his career goals by winning the European title as the Catalan club secured a 2-0 triumph over Manchester United.

"I didn't arrive at Barcelona just to win the Champions League but to win everything," he said.

"The coach (Pep Guardiola) wanted me to stay. He was the man that convinced me to stay."

Henry played against Barcelona in the Champions League Final three years ago with Arsenal but was on the losing side.

He was a doubt for this week's showdown with United but recovered from a ligament injury to his right knee that had kept him out since early May.

Henry is not just celebrating a European title but a treble as Barcelona are the first team in Spain to win the Primera Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in the same season.

"This is incredible," he said. "I had wanted to win the Champions League for a long time.

"It´s something that I was missing. It´s a special feeling because to win a treble in modern football is not easy and yet we have done it.

"No Spanish team has achieved what we have, to win a treble, and I think everyone will remember this Barca side.

"I´m delighted because I always wanted to make history at this club and we've done just that.

"Now we will celebrate."

Henry is also relieved that he was able to overcome his injury in time.

"For me it´s wonderful to have been able to make it to the final and play," he said.

"It's not easy to come back after several weeks out of action but just like Andres Iniesta, we were determined to play."

Henry insisted that nothing came easy for Barcelona this season.

The Spanish champions went into the final without four regular defenders, with central duo Rafa Marquez and Gabriel Milito out injured and backs Eric Abidal and Dani Alves both suspended.

But the strength of Pep Guardiola´s side is such that numerous other players were able to contribute.

"I think this game is a mirror of a season." he said. "It doesn´t matter which player plays, it is the team as a whole that has done the job.

"Our strength was doing what we have done all season, which is to keep possession, play touch football and recover balls.

"We executed our plan of attack, as usual.

"I don´t know if we won the tactical battle, but Manchester United also played attacking football.

"The whole team played well.

"We had several players injured and suspended but those who came out to play did a great job.

"I knew before the game that I had never lost in Rome. Rome for me is a great city."

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West Indies labour in huge chase

England v West Indies, 3rd ODI, Edgbaston

25 overs West Indies 110 for 4 (Chanderpaul 32*, Ramdin 6*) need 219 more runs to beat England 328 for 7 (Prior 87)

Matt Prior continued his fine form with a career-best 87 to put England on course for a huge total  

England moved closer to a series win as West Indies laboured to 110 for 4 at the half-way point of their huge run chase at Edgbaston. Stuart Broad and James Anderson continued their impressive form with an early wicket each, while Runako Morton was run out in a hopeless mix-up with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and West Indies' problems deepened when Dwayne Bravo was trapped lbw after a sparky 26.

If they were to have any realistic hope of chasing down 329, West Indies needed a big innings from their captain, but after two early boundaries Chris Gayle fell in the third over when he spooned an attempted pull to mid-on. After a brief shower, Ramnaresh Sarwan opened his account with consecutive fours off Broad only to fall in the next over when he miscued a drive to cover where Andrew Strauss held a smart one-handed catch jumping to his left. With two key players gone, Chanderpaul just tried to make sure that no more damage was done as he and Morton played cautiously.

Broad gave Chanderpaul a real working over from around the wicket, beating him three times in two overs with the line that has caused problems all tour. Broad may have had the wicket for his effort if Strauss hadn't had the one slip stood very wide when the edge was found and flew to third man.

Tim Bresnan helped maintain the pressure created by the opening pair and Morton was itching to try and break the shackles, but a breakdown in communication cost him his wicket. After pushing the ball into the covers he raced back for a second only to see Chanderpaul planted firmly in his crease and Morton had no chance to get back.

Bravo finally brought some spark to the innings with a punchy start to his knock, getting off the mark with a straight six off Dimitri Mascarenhas followed by an effortless flick through square leg. In Mascarenhas' next over Bravo launched him over wide long-off for another six, but England missed a chance to dismiss him when Matt Prior failed to gather a stumping chance in Graeme Swann's first over. But it didn't prove costly as Bresnan trapped him leg before on the back foot in the next over to confirm that this match is only heading one way.

England 328 for 7 (Prior 87, Shah 75, Strauss 52, Taylor 3-59) v West Indies

Two days ago the England bowlers excelled to set up a winning position at Bristol; this time it was the turn of the batsmen to put their side in sight of a series win at Edgbaston. Matt Prior hit a career-best 87 and added 149 in 20 overs with Owais Shah, to build on the solid base provided by Ravi Bopara and Andrew Strauss, as England amassed an imposing 328 for 7, the highest ODI total at the ground.

It was another depressingly poor show from West Indies who couldn't maintain any consistency with the ball, gave away free-hits and often fielded with little conviction. England, though, were again on top of their game as they paced the innings impressively, compiling 81 off the first two Powerplays then making use of the batting option by adding 55 in five overs as Prior and Shah made the most of the fielding restrictions. Some clean late striking meant England took 98 off the last 10 overs and it will take a huge effort for a dispirited team to chase down the target.

Bopara and Strauss began watchfully to judge how much assistance the pitch offered after all the recent rain, but it soon became clear that it was a pretty lifeless surface. Ravi Rampaul struggled with his line to gift England some early momentum, although Jerome Taylor was a more threatening prospect. Bopara found the early boundaries, but Strauss got into his stride with consecutive fours off Rampaul - a strong cut and a well-timed pull - as the bowler continued to serve up a poor mixture.

Fidel Edwards, recalled after surprisingly missing the Bristol game, was introduced for the tenth over and nearly removed Strauss, on 16 at the time, with his third ball, but Kieron Pollard spilled a tough chance at point. He'd made good ground to reach the ball, but couldn't hold on as his elbows hit the ground.

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Deccan snatch title in tense finish

Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers, IPL final, Johannesburg

Deccan Chargers 143 for 6 (Gibbs 53*, Kumble 4-16) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 137 for 9 (Ojha 3-28, Symonds 2-18) by six runs

Andrew Symonds was gutted when he got out, but made up with his aggressive fielding and body language, and smart bowling © Associated Press

Deccan Chargers invoked the bull in their emblem to successfully defend a modest total, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore and win a tournament they had ended up last in the previous season. They bowled with fire, fielded aggressively and sledged and hustled - almost literally - to victory in a final that twisted and turned and lived up to the occasion.

The last of those turning points was the 15th over, bowled by Andrew Symonds, who matched his verbal skills from earlier in the night with the wickets of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off back-to-back deliveries. Bangalore were 99 for 6 when the over started, and Taylor had looked dangerous during his 20-ball 27. That Symonds over, though, was symbolic of the night: every time a batsman got away from the bowling, a breakthrough pulled the batting side back.

Defending a total three less than what Bangalore chased easily in the semi-final, Deccan came out pumped, their energy reflecting in their behaviour. Symonds shadowed the latest tyro, Manish Pandey, all the way from the dugout to the crease. Pandey was a marked man during his innings. Symonds followed him wherever he went, giving him lip. Ryan Harris matched the aggression with the ball, clocking 145kmph constantly in the first over, a maiden.

Jacques Kallis looked to take the pressure off his 19-year-old partner. In Harris' next over Kallis took two boundaries to get the chase going. RP Singh brought the balance back when Kallis pulled onto his stumps but out came Roelof van der Merwe, who used adrenalin to push Bangalore further towards the target.

van der Merwe got a mouthful from Symonds and Harris, but he responded by hitting two sixes off one Harris over. Despite the maiden, Harris had gone for 23 in three overs. Even after Pragyan Ojha got Pandey with the first ball he bowled, van der Merwe's pyrotechnics kept Deccan at a distance.

One ball summed up the adrenalin rush van der Merwe was feeling. Beaten in the flight by Ojha he managed an edge which saved him from being stumped but he also dropped his bat. He picked his bat up as he ran the first run, and turned a two into a three, saving himself from the run-out by sprinting down the middle of the pitch and diving into the stumps at the non-striker's end.

One six later the adrenalin got the better of van der Merwe as he jumped out to Ojha and was stumped. The tension was palpable, and it sort of got to a senior pro like Rahul Dravid too. As Bangalore targeted Harmeet Singh, Dravid missed a scoop and was bowled. Bangalore still held the edge, though, with Taylor and Mark Boucher in.

Taylor looked like taking Bangalore home coolly, hitting three fours and a six, until Symonds got him on the pull, with a touch of extra bounce. Adam Gilchrist pulled off a smart stumping down the leg side next ball, and it was all down to Boucher now.

Gilchrist tried to get through Harmeet's last over, during which the youngster claimed Boucher on the cut. The bowling allocation was planned perfectly: RP had two left, and Ojha and Harris one each. Bangalore, with two wickets in hand, needed 27 from the last two overs, and 15 from the last, but RP Singh and Ryan Harris kept their cool despite a six from Robin Uthappa.

Amid the tension of the second innings one felt for Anil Kumble, who spent the most of the last over at the non-striker's end and saw his dream crash. Earlier Kumble had celebrated like a teenager but bowled like the veteran champion he is, and kept Deccan down to a manageable target.

He bowled the first over of the match, took Gilchrist out, then came back in the ninth to dismiss Symonds. That wicket was crucial because Symonds had been dropped on 5 by Dravid, and was reminding Bangalore eerily of the line his batting partner Herschelle Gibbs was apocryphally told during the 1999 World Cup. Kumble again came on in the 17th over to break a dangerous 52-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Gibbs, when the two had taken Deccan to 110 for 3.

Towards the end Gibbs played a bizarre little innings. He had been inconspicuous in his struggle to score runs earlier, and didn't make much effort to farm the strike in the end. He faced only six balls in the last three overs, and kept taking twos in the last over to hand the strike over to Harris. He had batted the whole 20 overs for less than 60, much like Sachin Tendulkar, in more trying conditions, had in the first match of the tournament. Somehow they both ended up winning.

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Efficient Bangalore outplay Chennai

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings, IPL semi-final

Royal Challengers Bangalore 149 for 4 (Pandey 48, Dravid 44) beat Chennai Super Kings 146 for 5 (Parthiv 36, 2-38) by six wickets

It was Pandeymonium again for the bowlers 

Last things first. Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers, placed at the bottom last year, will face each other in the IPL final tomorrow. And lightning does strike twice. Ask Chennai Super Kings. They had shot under by setting Bangalore 147, but would have thought of it as a fighting total. Manish Pandey, who came out of nowhere and scored a century in the last game, didn't think so. His 35-ball 48 almost killed the chase, and a minor hiccup later Bangalore were in the final.

If anything this was an even better innings, both in terms of the quality of strokeplay and in terms of this being a far bigger match. He got going with a square-drive in the first over, following a ball both wide and full. As if to say it was no fluke, he brought out a more classical square-drive, down on one knee, to the next delivery. Jacques Kallis matched that start with back-to-back square-cuts of equal ferocity and beauty in the second over.

But within seven deliveries Bangalore lost Kallis and Roelof van der Merwe. To pull them out of the shock Pandey produced boundaries with a back-foot punch and a drive on the run in two deliveries in the fourth over. Out of habit the slogs came out in the next two overs, but he cleared the leg-side field with them. By the end of the Powerplays Pandey had reached 29 off 14 deliveries, six fours, four of them along the ground, and Bangalore needed only 88 from 84.

Pandey had batting with him the best man possible, Rahul Dravid, whose classical strokeplay and superb planning had a calming effect on the 19-year-old at the other end. His straight-drive off Shadab Jakati and flick off Albie Morkel were shots as good as any played in the night. The key moment was always going to be when Muttiah Muralitharan, held back by MS Dhoni, would come on to bowl.

Murali started off with a big lbw shout against Pandey, and after that Dravid made a conscious effort of keeping the youngster away from the fox. Pandey finally fell when he went to slog-sweep the other spinner, Jakati, and a turnaround was in the offing. Fifty-three were required in 45 balls then, and Dravid seemed to have it under control until Murali came back and got him lbw in the 16th over. After an asphyxiating over, Bangalore required 35 off four overs.

Chennai needed a gamble then, after all other bowlers had been taken for runs. Suresh Raina bowled the next over, and both Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli took a six off him. The decisive, and the most symbolic, blow came in the next over when Kohli read a doosra, stepped out to Murali, and hit him straight down the ground for a big six. Bangalore's fifth win in a row was all but sealed.

The win, though, looked far away when Parthiv Patel stunned them after they had put Chennai in. The whole talk before the semi-final centered around the orange cap holder Mathew Hayden and whether he would be back for the big match. But Bangalore were hit from an unexpected quarter. It's not often you go outscoring Hayden in good form, and if you do you better be playing exceptionally. That's precisely what Parthiv did for a brief while.

Parthiv was attacked with short bowling, but he brought out the pulls, the cuts, and the upper-cuts. In the first six overs Chennai raced away to 52, and Hayden hadn't even warmed up by then. In fact Parthiv had reached 32 off 20 deliveries, while Hayden was still 13. What odds would punters get for that?

But Anil Kumble and Bangalore regrouped fast. Smart bowling changes and smart bowling thereafter kept pulling Chennai back whenever they threatened to move too far out of reach. The result? A late assault never came. It was Kumble, who brought some control to the proceedings, coming in to bowl the sixth over. And then when Hayden went for one six too many off R Vinay Kumar and mis-hit to long-on, Kumble seized the opportunity.

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Raging Gilchrist carries Deccan into the final

Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils, IPL semi-final, Centurion

Deccan Chargers 154 for 4 (Gilchrist 85) beat Delhi Daredevils 153 for 8 (Dilshan 65, Sehwag 39, Harris 3-27) by six wickets

Adam Gilchrist made the semi-final his own

There's no rust on this baby. Adam Gilchrist didn't just blow the Delhi Daredevils out with a blitzkrieg but also backed up his vow at the end of a disappointing 2008 to give fans in Hyderabad more to cheer for in 2009. Gilchrist played a pivotal role in bringing last season's wooden spoon holders this far and tonight, in the cauldron of a semi-final, he treated Centurion to a stunning display of hitting. His assault on Delhi's bewildered bowlers turned what threatened to be a tricky chase into a no-contest as Deccan chased down 154 with six wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare. Deccan have duly earned the right to be in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Gilchrist had looked like a man with a plan when, at the toss, he said Deccan would field and try and keep the opposition to an achievable target. With teams not always chasing down totals in the vicinity of 160 easily under lights at Centurion, Deccan's chase wasn't expected to be an easy one. It took Gilchrist five deliveries to dismiss such thoughts. Dirk Nannes, one of the success stories of this IPL, was flayed for five consecutive boundaries in the first over, Gilchrist pulling, cutting and driving with power. Nannes was not needed again until the 11th over by which time Deccan were well on their way.

That assault set a trend that continued through Gilchrist's innings as he made the semi-final his own. Ashish Nehra bowled Herschelle Gibbs for a duck but Gilchrist was in a hurry, clobbering Pradeep Sangwan's first three balls for four, four and six. No frills, just excellent bat speed and powerful wrists. In three overs Deccan were 41 for 1, out of which Nehra's first over cost just three.

Nehra's second was nowhere as controlled. Gilchrist drove a no-ball for four and drilled the free hit for a straight six to raise Deccan's fifty in 23 deliveries - his contribution being 48 from 14 balls. His half-century needed just 17 balls, the fastest of the IPL. Virender Sehwag came on for the first and last time in the tournament, with Gilchrist plundering three successive sixes in a 25-run over. It was the Gilchrist of old, the man who put the fear of God in bowlers the world over.

Why Sehwag brought himself on before Amit Mishra and the crafty Rajat Bhatia on a sluggish track will go down as one of the IPL's blunders, because the legspinner struck almost immediately. Gilchrist fell for a superb 85 from 35 balls one delivery before the strategic break, but the damage had been done. Mishra then cut Andrew Symonds off before he could finish the job, finishing with 3 for 19. Rohit Sharma walked out with 17 required from 38 balls and closed the deal in T Suman's company.

Matters had veered to and fro throughout the first half of the match but Deccan's reining Delhi in to 153 ultimately proved decisive. Tillakaratne Dilshan had played a crucial hand, holding it together after Delhi's openers fell to Ryan Harris in the first over, and then providing the momentum as well when quick runs were needed. Deccan regrouped through Symonds and Harmeet Singh initially and Harris and RP Singh thereafter, only allowing Delhi 70 in the last ten overs.

A scoreline of 0 for 2 had little bearing on Dilshan. He led a charmed life, pulling his first ball just over deep backward square leg's fingertips for six and edging the second between gully and slip for four. Sehwag nearly ran him out next ball when he punched the ball to midwicket and then changed his mind.

While Sehwag got tall to work the ball to the leg side, Dilshan preferred to back away and squeeze it through backward point and third man. He used the uncomplicated strategy of judging the length early and then slapping it either off the back foot or front. When Pragyan Ojha slowed his pace and offered room Dilshan flayed him for boundaries, and when Symonds did the same he was cut away. Gilchrist was given a tough time in setting a field for Dilshan, who was adept at picking runs anywhere in the park. A drop behind the stumps when Dilshan was 30 didn't help.

After a maiden first over, Delhi scored 83 in nine. Runs came thick and fast and Gilchrist turned back to Symonds, who finally broke an 85-run alliance with a straighter one that Sehwag needlessly tried to paddle. Symonds and Harmeet choked runs and Deccan did well to take four wickets, including two run outs in the 20th over that only cost eight. Sehwag would have been pleased with 153 after Delhi were 0 for 2 but that was before Gilchrist stepped up. Delhi have now been thrashed in consecutive IPL semi-finals after dominating the league stages.

Gilchrist's praises have been sung in this tournament - he came into the game leading their run list - and tonight he deserved no less than a chorus.

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