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Rohit takes Deccan to a crucial win
by CricketArchive Staff Reporter


Ground:Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharmasala
Scorecard:Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers
Player:RG Sharma, DPMD Jayawardene, KC Sangakkara
Event:Indian Premier League 2009/10

DateLine: 16th April 2010

 

Deccan Chargers needed to win this match to stay in contention for the semi-final spot and thanks to Rohit Sharma's fifty they managed to do. Deccan Chargers managed to sneak into the top tier of the table as they defeated Punjab by five wickets.

 

Gilchrist won the toss and elected to field first stating that he wanted to see how the wicket behaves. The wicket had a mixture of grass as well as barren area giving uneven bounce. Harris made use of the grassy patch as he produced a brilliant delivery that Marsh (0, 1b) just feathered it behind. Mahela Jayawardene was joined at the crease by his skipper Sangakkara and the two set about giving the innings momentum. With Jayawardene struggling to get his timing right Sangakkara took up the mantle of scoring the runs and the Kings XI Punjab began to soar.

 

Sangakkara's batting has being a pleasure for the purists and he did not disappoint his fans as he unleashed some glorious strokes to all parts of the ground. Jayawardene slowly joined the run-making party and the pair added 86 in 10.3 overs before Sangakkara (52, 37b, 1x6, 9x4) attempted an ill-advised reverse-sweep only to be dismissed.

 

Jayawardene who was dropped on 21 by Rahul Sharma began to find his old fluency back and began to strike the ball into different parts of the ground. Though Yuvraj (20, 20b, 1x6, 1x4) never looked like getting on top of the bowling Jayawardene slowly shifted his mode of batting. Though he retained his silken strokes he added an element of power as he cleared the ropes twice and also got the boundary ropes thirteen times. The pair added 86 in 8.3 overs as the Deccan bowlers had no answer to the onslaught. RP Singh was the worst hit as he leaked 51 runs in four overs which included an over that consisted of five boundaries. Punjab made a more than a competitive total in their 20 overs as they reached 174 for the loss of three wickets.

 

Deccan did not enjoy a good start as Gilchrist (9, 5b, 2x4) once again failed to fire with the bat. Mishra (20, 21b, 4x4) after playing some thumping drives was unlucky to be trapped leg-before and it seemed that the home side had a slight opening. Suman who has being in some fantastic form continued his good run as he along with Rohit Sharma steadied the innings. The plan was very simple as they kept the scoreboard moving with singles and doubles and to keep up with the run-rate used the long handle.

 

The pair added 66 in 6.5 overs as they slowly snatched the match away from the grasp of Punjab. Though Suman (43, 31b, 3x6, 3x4) and Symonds (4, 6b) fell in quick succession it seemed that they might once again spoil the run chase. But this time Rohit Sharma (68, 38b, 3x6, 6x4) kept a cool head as he steered his side to a crucial win.

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