CUTTACK 01-May-2012 158
A whirlwind knock of 82 by skipper Kumars Sangakkara and his record 157-run partnership for the third wicket with Cameron White gave Deccan Chargers’s dying IPL campaign a new lease of life as they edged past a fighting Pune Warriors by 13 runs in their return match here at Barabati Stadium today.
Electing to bat, Deccan Chargers overcame a horrible start _ they lost the wicket of Parthiv Patel in the first ball of the innings _ to compile a formidable total of 186 for five. In reply, Pune Warriors, who were seeking a revenge of their defeat in the first match at home, made a valiant attempt before being restricted to 173 for five.
This was the second victory for the beleaguered Deccan Chargers, who, however, remained at the bottom of the nine-team league table with five points from nine games. Sourav Ganguly-led Pune Warriors also held on to their seventh spot with eight points despite suffering third defeat in a row and sixth overall in 10 matches so far.
Sangakkara, who dropped himself in Deccan Chargers’ previous match against Mumbai Indians, made a memorable return to the playing XI with his 52-ball majestic knock, which was embellished with 10 hits to the fence and two over it.
Deccan Chargers, who were struggling at 91 for two after the end of 14th over, suddenly stepped on the top gear with Sangakkara hitting Marlon Samuels 19 runs, including four fours in the 15th over. The fireworks picked up momentum in the 18th and 19th overs, yielding 25 runs each.
Joining the carnage, White blasted Ganguly for 24 runs, including three successive sixes and a four in the 18th over. Sangakkara then smashed Nehra for two fours and as many sixes to put Barabati Stadium on fire.
The duo stitched together the highest partnership in the ongoing fifth edition of the IPL before departing in successive balls. Sangakkara was castled by Nehra, while White was caught by Steven Smith off Waine Parnell for a 45-ball 74, which was studded with four boundaries and as many sixes. The ruthless attack of Sangakkara and White produced an unbelievable 117 runs in eight overs (12 to 19).
Pune also started their chase on a disastrous note, losing opener Manish Pandey in the very first ball of the innings. In the same over Ganguly was dropped at square leg by Asish Reddy. But Ganguly and Aussie skipper Michael Clarke, who made his debut in the IPL, steadied the innings, stitching together 90 runs for the second wicket. Clarke was severe on Deccan pace spearhead Dale Steyn, hitting him for three successive fours in his second over. Steyn was unusually expensive today, erring in line and length, conceding 25 runs in his first two over.
But Pune Warriors’ victory hopes started to evaporate in the 12th when Clarke departed making 41. Though he got a life with Shikhar Dhawan flooring an easy catch at point, luck did not support him for long and he was run out while taking the second run off the same ball. Ganguly departed in the next over, hitting straight to White at cover for 45.
Though Steven Smith and Robin Uthappa added 62 run for the fourth wicket, it was too late for Pune Warriors to overhaul the massive target. Deccan bowlers performed well in the death overs to help their side register their third win in four matches at Barabati, one of their three home venues.
Notwithstanding the fighting win, Deccan Chargers continued to put up poor performance in the fielding department, dropping catches and gifting away runs through misfielding.
Deccan Chargers did a good business as the match drew large crowd. Incusion of Odisha all-rounder Biplab Samantaray for the first time in the Deccan Chargers playing XI also made the crowd happy. Making his IPL debut, Samantaray remained unbeaten on two.
SCOREBOARD:
DECCAN CHARGERS: Parthiv Patel b Samuels 0, Shikhar Dhawan b B Kumar 13, Cameron White c Smith b Parnell 74, Kumara Sangakkara b Nehra 82, JP Duminy (not out) 4, Biplab Samantaray (not out) 2; Extras (b-2, lb-8, nb-1) 11
Total (4 wkts, 20 overs) 186
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-23, 3-180, 4-180
Bowling: Marlon Samuels 3-0-33-1, Warne Parnell 4-1-25-1, Ashish Nehra 4-0-41-1, Bhubaneswar Kumar 4-0-22-1, Murali Kartik 2-0-16-0, Sourav Ganguly 3-0-39-0.
PUNE WARRIORS: Manish Pandey c Sangakkara b A Sharma 0, Michael Clarke (run out) 41, Sourav Ganguly c White b Dhawan 45, Steve Smith (not out) 47, Robin Uthappa c sub (Harris) b Reddy 26, Mithun Manhas c Sangakkara b VP Singh 7, Marlon Samuels (not out) 1; Extras (lb-1, nb-2, w-3) 6
Total (5 wkts, 20 overs) 173
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-90, 3-96, 4-158, 5-172
Bowling: Ankit Sharma 2-0-9-1, JP Duminy 3-0-25-0, Veer Pratap Singh 4-0-31-1, Dale Steyn 4-0-46-0, Amit Mishra 3-0-20-0, Asish Reddy 3-0-32-1, Shikhar Dhawan 1-0-9-1
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PHOTO: Deccan Chargers captain Kumara Sangakkara in action during his dashing knock at Barabati Stadium on May 1, 2012.
