Pune Warriors continued their resurgence in the Indian Premier League (IPL), winning their second match on the trot after beating Deccan Chargers by six wickets. The IPL newcomers, suffering from a prolonged losing streak earlier in the tournament, registered their fourth win in 11 matches.
Sourav Ganguly made his IPL comeback with a useful run-a-ball 32 that guided the team home as Pune chased down Deccan’s 137-run target. The initial impetus to the innings was given by openers Jesse Ryder (35) and Manish Pandey who put on 55 in quick time.
Pandey top-scored with 49, his innings laced with six boundaries and two maximums. Deccan bowlers failed to make an impact defending a modest total, with Daniel Christian’s two-wicket haul being the highlight for the hosts.
Earlier, Deccan failed to capitalise on a fine start given to them by openers Shikhar Dhawan (24) and Dwaraka Ravi Teja (30) who put on 51 for the first wicket. Yuvraj Singh provided the breakthrough for Pune as he dismissed Dhawan, which proved crucial in breaking the hosts’ momentum. Mitchell Marsh then took centre-stage for the visitors bowling a superb spell and picking up four for 25.
Chennai put up all-round show
Chennai Super Kings moved to the number two spot in the IPL after thrashing Rajasthan Royals by a convincing margin of 63 runs.
Doug Bollinger’s three-wicket burst led the defending champions’ bowling effort as the 2008 winners were bundled out for a paltry 133, chasing Chennai’s mammoth 196. Ajinkya Rahane’s superb 36-ball 52 turned out to be a futile effort, as none of the other batsmen were able to withstand disciplined bowling by the Super Kings, which enabled them to make regular inroads into Rajasthan’s batting line-up.
Earlier, put into bat by the hosts, Chennai gave a wonderful exhibition of powerful hitting, with their top four making the bowlers toil. Michael Hussey (46) and Murali Vijay put on a 77-run opening stand in only 9.2 overs. Vijay top-scored with 53 of just 40 deliveries, hitting two fours and three maximums. The openers’ good work was carried on by Suresh Raina (43) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41*), with Johan Botha remaining the pick of the bowlers picking up one for 23.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ