Gilchrist will also have to thank right-arm medium-pacer Ryan Harris, who did a superb job by scalping three for just 18 including the prized wicket of Suresh Raina.
The cool and calculative Andrew Symonds acted as responsibly as a bank manager to ensure Deccan Chargers didn’t make a mess of a paltry target against Chennai Super Kings here on Saturday. But that was after Tirumalasetti Suman reposed faith in the team management — which sent him in at No.3 yet again — by cracking yet another half-century to hand Adam Gilchrist & Co a six-wicket win.
Gilchrist will also have to thank right-arm medium-pacer Ryan Harris, who did a superb job by scalping three for just 18 including the prized wicket of Suresh Raina.
Symonds may have scored only 27 off 22 balls, but his cameo had far-reaching implications. First things first, DC, who now have 10 points from 11 games, remain alive in the tournament. Their victory also means that Dhoni & Co, who were on a winning run, are now faced with the quandary of winning all their remaining games.
Chasing 139 on a wicket that was way slow for any batsman’s liking, Deccan were in trouble at 35/2. Suman (55) then added 26 with Rohit Sharma, before the latter played a horrendous shot to short third-man when on 8. Suman then shared a 46-run stand with Symmo to take the total to 107 after 16 overs. The Hyderabadi, who battled cramps finally holed out to Suresh Raina in the deep. Raina gave Suman an earful for some reason, but victory must have tasted sweeter for the 26-year-old who batted like a champ two days back as well.
New man Dwayne Smith (13*) ensured there was no more hanky-panky as he and Symonds added 30 in three overs to take DC home.
Earlier, Dhoni’s boys stuttered their way to 138 for eight thanks to Raina’s scratchy, but effective half-century. The slowness of the wicket coupled with some effective and purposeful bowling also played their part. Raina’s 42-ball 52 was studded with two huge sixes, one each off Pragyan Ojha and Andrew Symonds, besides four boundaries. Barring Hayden, Vijay and Raina, no other Chennai batsmen registered double-digit scores.
Meanwhile, Chargers, who held the dubious record of conceding most runs (average) in the last five overs in IPL III, wrote a new chapter by giving away just 28, but more importantly, picking up 4 wickets.
Matthew Hayden’s Mongoose fetched him just five out of 19 runs before wilting and melting in the Nagpur heat. The first powerplay saw CSK garner 55 runs for the loss of Hayden, but Gilchrist looked more like a schoolboy skipper after having used as many as five bowlers in just six overs.
Raina, while on 1, lobbed one awkwardly to deep square-leg off Dwayne Smith only to be dropped by Mohnish Mishra.
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