Our Band Of Merry Men

Crown Begets Booty

ICC prize money to winning team $490,000
BCCI to each of the 15 players Rs 80 lakh
Sahara offers apartment to each Rs 25 lakh
Yuvraj Singh Rs 1.8 cr (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Rs 1 cr*, Porsche car)
Joginder Sharma Rs 1.05 cr (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Haryana Govt Rs 25 lakh)
Irfan, Yusuf Pathan Rs 1.01 cr each (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Gujarat Govt Rs 5 lakh, Baroda CA Rs 11 lakh, Gujarat CA Rs 5 lakh)
Rudra Pratap Singh Rs 92 lakh (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, UP Govt Rs 10 lakh UP CA Rs 2 lakh, Kanshi Ram Award, car by Neosports)
Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar Rs 90 lakh each (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Maharashtra Govt Rs 10 lakh)
Robin Uthappa Rs 88 lakh (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Karnataka Govt Rs 5 lakh, Kerala Govt Rs 3 lakh)
V. Sehwag, G. gambhir Rs 85 lakh each (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Delhi Govt Rs 5 lakh)
Sreesanth Rs 85 lakh (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Kerala Govt Rs 5 lakh)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni Rs 80 lakh (BCCI Rs 80 lakh, Jharkhand Ratna award and a ‘surprise gift’ from Jharkhand Govt)

Tales Of The Doughs

ESPN-STAR received Rs 110-115 crore through ad sales for the final match, out of which Rs 40 crore was contributed by sponsors.
The final saw an all-time high ad rate of Rs 7.5-10 lakh per 10 seconds. TRPs were at an astronomical 15-20%.
Ad rates had fallen by 40% after the 2007 World Cup debacle. They are now back to the pre-World Cup level.
The upcoming India-Australia series already has a good line-up of two presenting and six associate sponsors.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Led from the front with the composure of a seasoned skipper and the open-mindedness of a freshman. Played three solid innings, wisely focusing on preserving his wicket rather than play shockrooper. Thus, despite his timing deserting him, managed to help team skewer the Aussie bowling for 128 runs in the final 10 overs. Total runs: 154.

Yuvraj Singh: Continued his tremendous form throughout the event, except the final. A classical striker of the cricket ball, Yuvraj's six sixes off Stuart Broad galvanised the team and quite appropriately had a mythical ring about it. Before Yuvraj played it, such an innings existed only in schoolboy dreams. He finished with 148 runs, a dozen sixes and a strike rate of 194.73. Thank god for schoolboys.

Gautam Gambhir: The mainstay of the line-up, he scored three half-centuries, but became a hero by making nearly half the runs his team scored in the final. Performing consistently, he denied rival bowlers early wickets. After his controlled aggression at the top, he can lay claim to an opening slot in the ODI squad. Gambhir made 227 runs, and hit 27 fours and five sixes.

Virender Sehwag: Returning to the team and (quite visibly) leaner by 12 kg, Sehwag made his mark with blazing innings against New Zealand and England. His appetite for runs was apparent. A hamstring strain in the semis against Australia kept him out of the grand finale but make no mistake, a charged-up Viru will be back. He scored 133 runs.

Robin Uthappa: Typifying the youth brigade with his infectious verve, Uthappa became the first Indian to score a T20 fifty. A positive player, his bristling confidence makes him an asset. His direct hit that run out Imran Nazir in the final was termed the turning point by Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.

Rohit Sharma: A callow lad to start with, but the find of the tournament for India. His unbeaten knocks of 50 against South Africa and 30 in the final are testimony to his unflappable temperament and tremendous talent. Those innings earned him the respect of his peers and endeared him to his seniors as someone who belonged to the elite few in India. A superb fielder to boot.

Irfan Pathan: Has come back very strongly. He was charged up and accurate—turning in great spells in the semi-final and the final. He handled the responsibility of bowling the middle overs skilfully, and his three for 16 against Pakistan earned him the man of the match prize and confirmed that he is well and truly on the comeback road. He finished the tournament with 10 wickets.

Joginder Sharma: This relative unknown emerged as a surprise weapon, taking over the role of the fifth bowler from an expensive Ajit Agarkar. He came back very strongly after being clobbered by Australia in his opening over. Joginder held his nerve and delivered a fine final over in that semi-final and was in charge of that now-classic last over—a cricketing photofinish—in the final as well.

Harbhajan Singh: Also on the comeback trail, Bhajji amazed everyone by bringing in Test match quality bowling to the T20 format. He kept Afridi quiet in the opener, put up his hand for the critical 18th over in the semis, conceding just three runs. He handled the pressure overs and delivered the goods.

S. Sreesanth: Mercurial, quirky but penetrative when it mattered. Notwithstanding steaming brows and flared nostrils at the end of each delivery, he bowled quick, with incisiveness and got wickets. His magical spell against Australia, when he bowled Hayden and Gilchrist, made the Aussies grudgingly concede his effectiveness. The date with match referee Chris Broad was forgiven.

Rudra Pratap Singh: He was India's champion bowler, delivering wickets upfront and coming back to bowl a tight over when his captain called upon him. His spell of four for 13 in the key game against South Africa sent the home team packing. He is growing in stature with every game and is for sure a long-term asset. Was India's leading bowler with 12 wickets.

Yusuf Pathan: He was waiting in the wings, and only a hamstring injury to Sehwag during the semifinal against Australia opened the door for him to make his international debut and play beside his more well-known brother. His first scoring shot was a straight six off Mohammed Asif and buoyed up India. He also showed that he could be a handy off-spinner.

Dinesh Kaarthick: The consummate team man, his chirpy nature is an antidote to apathy and tension. He did not get to do much with the bat, but his one-handed reflex catch at second slip to dismiss South African captain Graeme Smith was, indubitably, the best of the tournament.

Ajit Agarkar: Played the first three matches, but was unable to leave his miserable form behind in England. He gave away plenty of runs against Pakistan and New Zealand and made way for the younger Joginder Sharma in the last four games.

Piyush Chawla: The young leg-spinner who shone in the ODIs in England did not get to play a game. And to make things worse, he picked up an ankle injury as well. He kept his chin up and cheered his team-mates from the sidelines.