Symno` helps Deccan tame Daredevils

Deccan Chargers defeated Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs in an IPL league encounter.

Zeecric Bureau/Pratik Dogra

Cuttack: Brilliant bowling at the death by Andrew Symonds and Chaminda Vaas helped Deccan Chargers romp home to their third consecutive victory, while condemning Delhi Daredevils to a hat-trick of losses in a thrilling Indian Premier League encounter at Cuttack here on Sunday. With 20 runs required off the last 2 overs and Daredevils captain Dinesh Karthik going great guns, Symonds produced a gem of an over. He not only removed Karthik, with a sensational caught and bowled effort, and Amit Mishra off consecutive deliveries, but conceded just 6 runs to put Chargers into the driving seat. Veteran Chaminda Vaas, the purple cap holder so far, then provided the knock-out punch to the Daredevils with the wicket of Yogesh Naggar and run-out of Umesh Yaday, off successive deliveries again, as the visitors were restricted to 161/9 from their allotted 20 overs, falling 10 runs short in the end.Earlier, chasing 172 runs for victory, Daredevils lost the key wicket of Virender Sehwag cheaply for just 3 runs off 7 balls, when trying to break through the shackles, the marauding mauler’s drive was latched onto by Herchelle Gibbs at deep extra cover off Pragyan Ojha’s bowling. Despite Sehwag’s fall, Daredevils maintained a healthy run-rate, racing past 50 runs in just the 7th over, thanks to early exploits of David Warner who took apart RP Singh for 20 runs off his first over. Deccan Chargers stormed back into contention with wickets of David Warner and AB de Villiers as Daredevils suffered a middle-order collapse. Warner’s wicket was gifted to Chargers as the southpaw was run-out going for a non-existent single. The Australian’s presence was looking ominous for the hosts as with 4 fours and 4 sixes in his 33 ball 57 run effort; he looked to be settling the issue in Daredevils favour. If his dismissal looked like a gift, AB de Villiers manner of dismissal was literally a lottery for the Chargers as having looked solid throughout his stay, the South African failed to connect to a low juicy full toss. He left the crease after scoring 27 runs from 26 balls as the Daredevils slumped from 85/1 after 10 overs at one-stage to 105/3 from 14 overs at the time of the final strategic time-out of their innings. Mithun Manhas (8 runs off 8 balls) succumbed in the first over after the break but Karthik and Moisis Henriques kept the Daredevils in hunt with some gusty hits. After Henriques soft dismissal (11 runs off 5 balls), Karthik stepped on the charge but his spirited fightback was put to an end by Symonds’s brilliance in the second last over of the match. Karthik scored a fighting 46 off 27 balls, hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes in his cameo. Symonds with 3/21 from his 4 overs churned out yet another match-winning effort. Deccan Chargers make 171/6 from 20 overs Riding on crucial cameos from Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds, Chargers, despite losing wickets throughout their innings, managed to post a competitive 171/6 from their 20 overs. Though a lot of batsman got off to starts for the Chargers, none failed to convert their innings into something substantial, as Daredevils’ skipper kept rotating his bowling recourses to good effect on the slowish Cuttack track. In the afternoon, Kathik’s ploy of opening the bowling with a spinner- Amit Mishra had paid dividends when the latter’s googly deceived Chargers’ opener Monish Mishra in the very first over. Monish fell for just 1 run. Sarabjit Ladda then struck against the run of play when he plucked out the priceless scalp of Adam Gilchrist, to leave Chargers were 44/2 in the fifth over. Charging down the wicket to the young leggie, Gilchrist, who had won the toss earlier, just managed a top-edged, which was gleefully latched onto by his opposite number Dinesh Karthik. The breakthrough was timely as Gilchrist and Herchelle Gibbs seemed to be plundering runs at will. Gilchrist too had got off to a start, having plundered 24 runs with 4 fours and a mighty six in his 14-ball knock until his dismissal. The ‘curse of strategic break’ struck Chargers when in just the second ball after the time-out (taken by Delhi Daredevils after 9 overs), Yogesh Nagar removed the dangerous looking Herchelle Gibbs. Gibbs failed to get his square-cut right, slashing a catch to Moisis Henriques at backward point after contributing 31 runs to the Chargers’ cause. He had slammed 2 fours and 2 sixes in his 26 ball cameo. Halfway through the innings, Deccan Chargers were 77/3, with Andrew Symonds holding their innings together. Andrew Symonds was the next wicket to fall, but not before the burly Australian’s belligerent 35 run-knock has propelled Chargers past the 100 run-mark. His fiery 24 balls stay, that contained 3 fours and 2 towering sixes stay, had ended when he scooped up a simple catch at short cover to AB de Villiers off Moisis Henriques’ bowling. Following his dismissal in the 14th over, Chargers took the strategic time-out, and at 108/4 after 14 overs, platform firmly launched for the final assault. Lusty blows by Sharma and T Suman then pushed the Chargers not only past 150, but helped them post a competitive total in the end. Sharma’s 45 runs came off just 30 balls and were studded with 3 fours and 3 sixes while Suman 29 runs came off 19 balls. He hit 3 fours and a solitary six as well. For the Daredevils, Mishra repaid his captains faith by conceding just 12 runs from his 3 overs besides picking up a wicket. Infact barring Umesh Yadav, all the 5 bowlers pressed into attack chipped in with a wicket each.Teams: Deccan Chargers: AC Gilchrist*†, MD Mishra, HH Gibbs, A Symonds, RG Sharma, Y Venugopal Rao, R Sharma, TL Suman, PP Ojha, WPUJC Vaas, RP Singh Delhi Daredevils: DA Warner, V Sehwag, AB de Villiers, KD Karthik*†, MC Henriques, M Manhas, A Mishra, DP Nannes, U Yadav, S Ladda, Y Nagar