IPL 2009 teams

Founded: 2008

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Profile: The city of Hyderabad undoubtedly had the best team at the start of the tournament, but they were to fall apart like ninepins. With arguably the three best Twenty20 specialist all rounders in their ranks - Andrew Symonds, Scott Styris and Shahid Afridi - the team had what was needed to rock the scene.

However, Afridi disappointed like he had no business to. He came and perished almost with an uneasy preciseness, that did his "Boom Boom" image no good.

Andrew Symonds notched up a thundering hundred during his stint but his stay with the Deccans was too short to make a lasting impact.

Another big let down was the way Herschelle Gibbs played. He just failed to fire and that had a severe impact on the team's performance.

The Deccans also lost skipper VVS Laxman early, thanks to an injury, allowing Gilchrist to step in as captain.

Gilly did a wonderful job of giving the team some explosive starts with breathtaking consistency. But there was not much he could have done when stars like Afridi, Gibbs and Styris failed.

The surprise package was Rohit Sharma, who joined the party with Gilly to make a name for himself. He stood up and got counted and got noticed when the bigger stars fizzed out.

Afridi may have been a disappointment with the bat but made up with the ball, getting some prized wickets, getting the ball to rip, bounce and turn.

The rest of the bowlers took some hammering with Sri Lankan pace spearhead Chamindaa Vaas and Indian left arm seamer RP Singh being hit around ruthlessly.

The fielding was top notch with the likes of Gibbs, Afridi, Sharma and Symonds sprinting around like leopards on the prowl and with Gilchrist joining them for the full season there should have been no looking back.

Unfortunately, the team never looked ahead.

Coach: Darren Lehmann

Captain: Adam Gilchrist

Colours: Midnight Blue & Silver

Home Ground: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium

Capacity: 40,000

Owner: Deccan Chronicle

Official Website: http://www.deccanchargers.com/