IPL Cricket: Deccan Chargers win fourth game

DURBAN: Deccan Chargers sustained their winning run with a six-wicket victory against last year’s finalists Chennai Super Kings in a gripping game that went down to the final over at Kingsmead here on Monday. With four victories from as many games, Deccan Chargers took top spot in the table while Chennai Super Kings stays with three points from five games.

Aware that he had made a mistake in under-bowling Pragyan Ojha, Adam Gilchrist launched a stunning assaul on the Chennai Super Kings as if to make up for that. He made 44 off 19 balls (five fours, three sixes) and set his team on the way, creating a platform for the patient Herschelle Gibbs to steer the side home with three balls to spare. Gibbs responded with an unbeaten 69 not out (56 balls, six fours, two sixes) that won him the man of the match award. But more importantly, his knock held the innings from coming unstuck against some crafty bowling by Suresh Raina and Muttiah Muralitharan who finished with combined figures of three wickets for 35 runs in eight overs. There was a rash of wickets with VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma and Dwayne Smith following Gilchrist to the pavilion but Gibbs stayed calm through the crisis and stuck a six off the first ball of L Balaji’s final over to ensure the team would get home and dry.

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni was left with few options after Manpreet Singh Gony and Joginder Sharma together conceded 34 runs in one over each. He was left hoping for some firepower upfront to stop Deccan Chargers, who themselves had Fidel Edwards in top form.

He was also left wondering why his team was unable to build on the 64-run stand that Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina strung together after Parthiv Patel’s dismissal to the second ball of the match. He could zero in on himself as one of those who could have got the team to a bigger score. Pragyan Ojha scalped him and Hayden in one over to pull his side back into the game.

Gilchrist admitted he got his calculations wrong, allowing his best bowler Pragyan Ojha just two overs and pulling him out of the attack when Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel were at the crease. That allowed Chennai Super Kings to pick up 20 runs off young fast bowler SM Shoaib to lift their score to 168 off 20 overs and give their bowlers something to bowl with.

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