White fires as Deccan pull off maiden win in IPL V

Pune, Apr 27: Cameron White scored a quickfire half century to help Deccan Chargers register their first win in the tournament, beating Pune Warriors by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here today.

White smashed a strokeful 78 off just 46 balls and together with JP Duminy (26 not out) added crucial 75 runs for the fifth wicket to power Deccan to 177 for four after electing to bat.

And then Deccan bowlers rose to the occasion for the first time in IPL season five as Pune lost wickets at regular intervals to be retstricted to 159 for seven at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium.

Debutant Ashish Reddy (2/32) and Rusty Theron (2/37) starred with the ball for Deccan, picking up two wickets apiece.

The victory is Deccan first win in this year’s IPL after five straight loses and a wash out game.

Pune’s run chase started on an awry note as they lost both their openers—Jesse Ryder and Manish Pandey—inside the 50-run mark.

While dangerous Ryder fell early with the scoreboard reading just 15, young Pandey showed some sparks in his 21-run knock before being bowled by Theron in his opening over at the team score of 43.

Pune captain Sourav Ganguly (23), who was dropped by Duminy at point in the first delivery of the 10th over by Manpreet Gony, failed to capitalise on the chance as fell three balls later, caught brilliantly by substitude fielder Daniel Harris at short cover.

Reddy then struck twice in the 14th over to derail Pune’s chase.Reddy first bowled Robin Uthappa as he went for a cheeky shot and then four balls later accounted for a struggling Marlon Samuels, caught by Deccan skipper Kumar Sangakkara.

Delhi ready to consolidate against an upbeat Mumbai

New Delhi, Apr 26: A thrilling victory against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali must have provided the much-needed boost to Mumbai Indians but hosts Delhi Daredevils still remain favourites when the two teams square off in a return-leg IPL match, here tomorrow.

With tournament reaching mid-way stage, Virender Sehwag’s men have looked most compact among the nine sides in the fray and the Daredevils will certainly like to consolidate their position as table toppers.

The last time the two teams locked horns at the Wankhede Stadium, Delhi pacers had steamrolled over the ‘Men in Blue’ but that was a match that didn’t feature Sachin Tendulkar.

Both teams had contrasting victories in their previous matches.

While Daredevils romped home courtesy a typical Sehwag innings against Pune Warriors, Mumbai Indians had to depend on Robin Peterson’s innovations and Piyush Chawla’s profligacy to get their campaign back on track.

Even as Tendulkar’s form in the two matches, since his comeback from finger injury, has been reassuring, Mumbai Indians’ bowling is still a cause of worry with no Lasith Malinga to bowl those menacing toe-crushers at the death.

Skipper Harbhajan Singh’s extended ‘wicket-drought’ has also affected the team very badly. The veteran of 98 Tests and 229 ODIs has managed only one wicket in seven games so far.

Worse, Harbhajan has been leaking runs regularly and has not contributed well with the bat.

The Daredevils, on the other hand, have been pretty consistent throughout.