World Of T20 Cricket

The match was hurtling towards a dull climax when Irfan Pathan tried to pull off the improbable with an audacious innings, but eventually Deccan Chargers prevailed and sealed their first win against Kings XI Punjab in IPL history. Set 171 to win, Punjab were dawdling along at 104 for 7 in the 17th over when Irfan exploded to create some excitement.

Irfan hit two sixes and two fours in that 17th over bowled by an errant RP Singh, and suddenly the equation read 46 from 18 balls. RP returned in the 19th over to give away 14 runs, which included a six over long-on and a cover-driven four from Irfan, and the equation came to 19 from the final over. Jaskaran Singh, who was unused until then, pleaded with Adam Gilchrist that he be given a bowl and he struck with his first ball, getting Irfan to hole out to deep midwicket. Game over.

Irfan might have succeeded in reducing the margin, but it couldn’t mask an otherwise lacklustre performance from Punjab. They are yet to click together as a unit in this IPL, and nothing changed tonight. Their bowling was good in the first game, their batting better in the second, and tonight it was only the bowlers who turned up. All Deccan had to do today to register their first home win was to ensure they reached a competitive total, and they managed it courtesy a fiery cameo from Gilchrist and a responsible hand from Andrew Symonds.

When Deccan batted, it was as if there were two games out there: Deccan against pace and Deccan against spin. They looted runs against the seamers and struggled against the spinners to reach a competitive score.

Match Meter DC Manic start from Gilchrist: In 17 violent minutes, Gilchrist ran away to 33 and his mood was best captured in a leg-side assault against Sreesanth in the second over which went for 24 runs. DC KXIP Canny Yuvraj: Yuvraj came on in the 11th over and turned in an economical spell that read 4-0-21-2, to restrict Deccan to 170. DC Double strike by Vaas: Chaminda Vaas took the game away from Punjab, getting two big wickets early. He bowled Kumar Sangakkara with a slow off-cutter in the third over, and soon after lured Yuvraj to slice a catch to cover. The chase was going nowhere. DC KXIP Irfan explodes: At the start of the 17th over the equation read 67 from 24 balls. Irfan repeatedly swung RP Singh through the leg side in his last two overs, to reduce the margin to 19 from the final over. However he fell, swinging the first ball to deep midwicket and the chase ended. Advantage Honours even

Whenever Deccan required some quick runs to get some momentum going, Sreesanth seemed ready to gift them some easy runs. His first largesse came in the second over when he went for 24 runs with Adam Gilchrist plundering two fours and two sixes. A stunning six hit on the up to straight boundary was the highlight.

Gilchrist’s 17-minute manic knock charged Deccan to 43 in 3 overs. Although they lost VVS Laxman almost immediately – he was forced to retire hurt after being hit on his wrist by a wayward throw from Shalabh Srivastava – Gilchrist’s effort allowed them to reach 84 for 1 in nine overs. This is where Sreesanth entered the picture to give his second offering to Deccan. This time around he leaked 16 runs, with Symonds hitting a typically muscled six over long-on, and two fours.

At this point things could have gone horribly wrong for Punjab, but Yuvraj Singh slipped in a tidy spell that read 4-0-21-2 to peg back Deccan. It was the typical bag of tricks from him – variation in pace and the alteration in trajectory – but it was enough to slow down proceedings on this slow track. In the 11th over, he removed Herschelle Gibbs with an arm-ball and saw a slow-off-the-blocks Rohit Sharma run himself out. Bipul Sharma and Piyush Chawla slipped in a couple of relatively quiet overs, and when Yuvraj induced Symonds to hole out to long-on, Deccan had reached 144 for 5 in 17 overs.

If Gilchrist’s was an adrenalin-charged innings, Symonds’, barring that explosion against Sreesanth, was more measured. He played the spinners with relative caution, often checking his drives, and making sure he didn’t throw his wicket away.

Punjab didn’t find either a Gilchrist or a Symonds when they chased. Only Ravi Bopara offered some fight with a 32-ball 38, but the rest succumbed meekly. The seniors were the main culprits – none of Kumar Sangakkara, Yuvraj and Mahela Jayawardene could get going. Chaminda Vaas took care of Sangakkara with a slower one and induced Yuvraj to slice an intended big drive to cover. When Symonds bowled Jayawardene, who went for a fatal paddle sweep, the game was all but over. Or so one thought. Irfan threatened to pull off an improbable heist but it proved too much for him in the end.

	Deccan Chargers innings (20 overs maximum)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	AC Gilchrist*†	c Jayawardene b Srivastava	33	12	4	2	275.00
	2.6 against the run of play! Short again from the left-armer, Gilchrist was into the pull, probably a little early and it took the top edge and ballooned to short midwicket, where Mahela Jayawardene took a nice running catch. Big wicket – Gilchrist looked menacing in those 17 minutes. 43/1
	VVS Laxman	retired hurt	10	7	1	0	142.85
	19.6 Sreesanth to Jaskaran Singh, its all happening! goes for an almighty hoick, mis-hits it and it goes really high, probably out of Srivastava’s sight before coming back down, and he fails to gather the catch at midwicket. But he fires in a good throw to hit the stumps down at the striker’s end. The batsman’s just made his ground though. Sreesanth is quite disappointed with the drop. 170/7
	HH Gibbs	b Yuvraj Singh	23	23	2	0	100.00
	10.2 and he’s got him! Short ball, but ramrod straight, Gibbs looks to mow it down to cow corner, but can’t make connection. Stumps are down. Yuvraj’s picked a huge wicket. 100/2
	A Symonds	c Bipul Sharma b Yuvraj Singh	53	38	3	3	139.47
	16.4 top catch from Bipul at long on! Symonds looks to hoist Yuvi over the ropes, but can’t get enough elevation. Bipul runs in, dives forward and picks it an inch above the turf. The umpires took a few looks at it, but that’s out. 142/5
	RG Sharma	run out (Jayawardene)	1	2	0	0	50.00
	10.5 from Yuvraj Singh, superb piece of fielding by Mahela Jayawardene from point! Rohit steers it down to point and takes off for a tight single. The throw was fired in to the non-striker’s end and Rohit had to put in the dive, but it was all over. Third umpire completes the formalities and Deccan have lost two here. 102/3
	Anirudh Singh	c †Sangakkara b Bipul Sharma	0	1	0	0	0.00
	11.4 another one bites the dust! Anirudh is gone for a duck. Straight length ball, he tried to work it down to the offside and got a faint edge, which Sangakkara held well. Punjab are pegging Deccan back with these quick strikes. 112/4
	TL Suman	run out (†Sangakkara)	26	22	2	1	118.18
	19.2 Sreesanth to Jaskaran Singh, great work from Sanga! The attempted guide to third man goes to his right. Sanga gathers, does not bother with trifles like removing the gloves and calmly under-arms a throw to hit down the stumps at the striker’s end. 163/7
	WPUJC Vaas	c Bipul Sharma b Pathan	16	10	1	1	160.00
	18.5 and he’s got a wicket! Punjab have come back really well in the end overs. This time, it is short of a length and wide of off stump. Vaas looks to hoist it over long off, but that is quite far from him and he gets no timing. Bipul runs in to take another nice catch. 161/6
	Jaskaran Singh	not out	3	3	0	0	100.00
	RP Singh	not out	4	2	0	0	200.00
	Extras	(w 1)	1
	Total	(7 wickets; 20 overs)	170	(8.50 runs per over)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	IK Pathan	3	0	16	1	5.33
	18.5 to Vaas, and he’s got a wicket! Punjab have come back really well in the end overs. This time, it is short of a length and wide of off stump. Vaas looks to hoist it over long off, but that is quite far from him and he gets no timing. Bipul runs in to take another nice catch. 161/6
	S Sreesanth	4	0	51	0	12.75	(1w)
	SJ Srivastava	4	0	39	1	9.75
	2.6 to Gilchrist, against the run of play! Short again from the left-armer, Gilchrist was into the pull, probably a little early and it took the top edge and ballooned to short midwicket, where Mahela Jayawardene took a nice running catch. Big wicket – Gilchrist looked menacing in those 17 minutes. 43/1
	PP Chawla	3	0	24	0	8.00
	Bipul Sharma	2	0	19	1	9.50
	11.4 to Anirudh Singh, another one bites the dust! Anirudh is gone for a duck. Straight length ball, he tried to work it down to the offside and got a faint edge, which Sangakkara held well. Punjab are pegging Deccan back with these quick strikes. 112/4
	Yuvraj Singh	4	0	21	2	5.25
	10.2 to Gibbs, and he’s got him! Short ball, but ramrod straight, Gibbs looks to mow it down to cow corner, but can’t make connection. Stumps are down. Yuvraj’s picked a huge wicket. 100/2 16.4 to Symonds, top catch from Bipul at long on! Symonds looks to hoist Yuvi over the ropes, but can’t get enough elevation. Bipul runs in, dives forward and picks it an inch above the turf. The umpires took a few looks at it, but that’s out. 142/5

	Kings XI Punjab innings (target: 171 runs from 20 overs)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	RS Bopara	c Symonds b Sharma	38	32	5	0	118.75
	11.6 things are going all pear-shaped for Punjab here in Cuttack! Bopara goes now, looking to find the midwicket boundary, but the flat hit finds Symonds, who somehow catches the ball between his left forearm and chest. 68/6
	MS Bisla	run out (Suman)	0	7	0	0	0.00
	2.2 Vaas to Bopara, Bisla is run out! It’s amazing how often close lbw appeals force batsmen to run like headless chickens! Nice offcutter from Vaas, rapped him on the pads and he let out a huge appeal. The ball dribbled to point where Suman swooped and threw down the stumps to catch Bisla well short. He had gone halfway down and turned back. Good throw, though there was time to relay it. 10/1
	KC Sangakkara*†	b Vaas	0	3	0	0	0.00
	2.6 Vaas gives his Sri Lankan mate with a beautiful off cutter! Beat’s Sanga’s forward prod and sneaks in between bat and pad to disturb timber. Vaas has struck a purple patch in the IPL and it’s only fair, he now has the Purple Cap, with six wickets! 11/2
	Yuvraj Singh	c Gibbs b Vaas	4	6	1	0	66.66
	4.6 oh Yuvi, Yuvi, what have you done here! It’s outside off this time, short of a length and he looks to play a nothing shot without getting anywhere near the pitch of the ball. It balloons up towards cover point for a simple catch. Big blow! 22/3
	DPMD Jayawardene	b Symonds	14	9	3	0	155.55
	7.4 takes the cheekiness a step too far! Tries to sweep a straight and fast ball, misses and the stumps are down. No need to play that shot given the situation. Punjab are in big trouble. 46/4
	AB Barath	c Sharma b Ojha	7	10	1	0	70.00
	10.1 caught in the deep! Pitched up by Ojha and Barath looks to go over long off, but sadly he’s no Symonds, he’s actually around half his size. It loops up to long off and is taken comfortably inside the ropes. 57/5
	IK Pathan	c Symonds b Jaskaran Singh	60	29	3	5	206.89
	19.1 and Irfan goes, what a tragedy! Length ball again on off stump, and Irfan looks for the fence over cow corner, but he has the small matter of getting past that man, Andrew Symonds. Ain’t happening today, Symmo takes the catch easily and Irfan has to go. Huge wicket and belatedly, one believes the last nail on the coffin. 152/8
	PP Chawla	c Ojha b Singh	9	13	1	0	69.23
	16.1 well, Punjab surely did not need the time out, since Piyush goes first ball after the break. Looks to pull fine, but it goes straight to the short fine-leg fielder. 104/7
	Bipul Sharma	not out	8	6	1	0	133.33
	S Sreesanth	not out	12	5	3	0	240.00
	Extras	(lb 10, w 2)	12
	Total	(8 wickets; 20 overs)	164	(8.20 runs per over)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	WPUJC Vaas	4	0	27	2	6.75	(1w)
	2.6 to Sangakkara, Vaas gives his Sri Lankan mate with a beautiful off cutter! Beat’s Sanga’s forward prod and sneaks in between bat and pad to disturb timber. Vaas has struck a purple patch in the IPL and it’s only fair, he now has the Purple Cap, with six wickets! 11/2 4.6 to Yuvraj Singh, oh Yuvi, Yuvi, what have you done here! It’s outside off this time, short of a length and he looks to play a nothing shot without getting anywhere near the pitch of the ball. It balloons up towards cover point for a simple catch. Big blow! 22/3
	RP Singh	4	0	43	1	10.75	(1w)
	16.1 to Chawla, well, Punjab surely did not need the time out, since Piyush goes first ball after the break. Looks to pull fine, but it goes straight to the short fine-leg fielder. 104/7
	A Symonds	4	0	22	1	5.50
	7.4 to Jayawardene, takes the cheekiness a step too far! Tries to sweep a straight and fast ball, misses and the stumps are down. No need to play that shot given the situation. Punjab are in big trouble. 46/4
	PP Ojha	4	0	31	1	7.75
	10.1 to Barath, caught in the deep! Pitched up by Ojha and Barath looks to go over long off, but sadly he’s no Symonds, he’s actually around half his size. It loops up to long off and is taken comfortably inside the ropes. 57/5
	RG Sharma	3	0	19	1	6.33
	11.6 to Bopara, things are going all pear-shaped for Punjab here in Cuttack! Bopara goes now, looking to find the midwicket boundary, but the flat hit finds Symonds, who somehow catches the ball between his left forearm and chest. 68/6
	Jaskaran Singh	1	0	12	1	12.00
	19.1 to Pathan, and Irfan goes, what a tragedy! Length ball again on off stump, and Irfan looks for the fence over cow corner, but he has the small matter of getting past that man, Andrew Symonds. Ain’t happening today, Symmo takes the catch easily and Irfan has to go. Huge wicket and belatedly, one believes the last nail on the coffin. 152/8

written by Swapnil \\ tags: Deccan Chargers, IPL, Kings XI Punjab