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An efficient allrounder performance by the Deccan Chargers saw them beat the Delhi Daredevils by 16 runs in match 19 of the Indian Premier League Season 4. Sunny Sohal and Kumar Sangakkara set a great platform for the Chargers at the start, but Delhi fought back in the second half of the first innings to restrict their visitors to 168. David Warner for the second game running gave Delhi cause for optimism, but the strong bowling attack of the Chargers reigned supreme, exposing the lack of solidity in the Delhi batting line up. A third defeat of the campaign for Delhi sees them stick to 9th place in the League table and the former powerhouse appear doomed for a season of disappointment. 

Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers, who have been bearing the weight of the entire points table, clashed at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium, Delhi on Tuesday. On a hot and breezy afternoon, the Chargers won the toss and chose to bat. Australian Cameron White, who has not had the best run with the bat recently, was a slight surprising replacement for the left-handed JP Duminy on a flat track that looked perfect for batting. In the Delhi camp, Matthew Wade and Umesh Yadav made way for the fit again Morne Morkel and all rounder Yogesh Nagar.

Deccan lost their opener Shikhar Dhawan (8 from 5 balls) cheaply in the third over to Irfan Pathan as the former Delhi boy failed to but one over his former side. Captain Sangakkara and Sunny Sohal built a solid partnership, playing cautiously against Irfan Pathan and Morne Morkel, before hammering the rest of the bowling. They took the score to a respectable 43/1 at the end of powerplay before letting loose a torrent of a aggressive shots against the likes of James Hopes, Yogesh Nagar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Ashok Dinda. They took DC to the 100 run mark in the 11^th over, smacking the dangerous Pathan to the boundary no less than three times that over.

Dinda then bowled a brilliant come back over drying up the runs prompting Sangakkara to go for a desperate heave only to hole out just. The Deccan skipper had scored 49 off just 35 balls leaving the Chargers comfortable placed at 106/2 in 12. While the good overs and the bad ones came alternately for both teams, Delhi got the wickets of both well set batsmen when Nadeem had Sohal caught in the outfield for an excellent 62 from 41 balls.

The stage was set for a blitzkrieg from Cameron White, but he played a patchy knock, struggling to time the ball intermitently while sometimes finding the fence. Some good end overs from the Delhi bowlers ensured that what could have well been a 200+ score was restricted to just 168/4. Dinda, Pathan, Hopes all picked a wicket a piece, but the pick of the bowlers for Delhi Daredevils was spinner Shabaz Nadeem who finished with 3-0-24-1, coming back well after giving away 16 in his first over. This made sure, Sharma, Steyn & Co. would have their work cut out for them, defending a target that looked just about par.

Things started off as per script for Delhi as openers Virender Sehwag and David Warner intimidated the Deccan bowlers with some good strokes. Harmeet Singh, brought on at first change, bowled a dream first over, getting Sehwag (12) to slash the ball to backward point. Daniel Christian trapped Naman Ojha (2) in front of the leg stump the very next over. Giving Delhi absolutely no time to recover, Harmeet Singh came back to pick up the wicket of the dangerous Aaron Finch for naught, leaving Delhi struggling at 38/3 at the end of the powerplay.

The experienced Venugopal Rao joined David Warner and they proceeded to steady the ship hitting some brilliant shots along the way. Just as things seemed to go Delhi’s way, Amit Mishra had Rao smash a ball straight to Daniel Christian who took a stunner in the deep that would become the turning point of the game. Rao had scored 21 of 23 balls that included 3 boundaries.

Shikhar Dhawan bowled his first over of the season picking up David Warner on a day when DC could do no wrong. Warner, who scored an able 51 off 48 deliveries, was caught at the boundary to leave Delhi reeling at 99/5 in the 15th over. A few big hits from Hopes, Nagar and Morkel entertained the crowds for the next five overs but Deccan always had the chase under control by taking wickets periodicaly. Harmeet and Christian picked up two wickets a piece while Ojha, Mishra and Dhawan took one each. The Delhi Daredevils managed to score only 152/7 and as part of this mythic punishment, they shall bear the burden of the entire points table until they win a few more matches.

The Daredevils face the rejuvenated Kings XI Punjab on April 23rd in their next encounter while Deccan play the Mumbai Indians at the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad a day later on Sunday. The 'Little Master' Sachin Tendulkar turns 38 on that very day and he will look to make a statement on his special day.

The Daredevils are just a place off the bottom of the table, ahead of only the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Deccan Chargers on the other hand move upto 4th, having played a game more that the other teams around them in the standing. Deccan will be excited about the fact that their local players are clicking and displaying their talents, while all of Delhi will be praying that Viru clicks real soon as his form is quintessential for their aspirations.

Teams:

DD: V Sehwag, D Warner, Aaron Finch, Yogesh Nagar, Venugopal Rao, I Pathan, J Hopes, M Morkel, S Nadeem, A Dinda.

DC: S Sohal, S Dhawan, K Sangakkara, B Chipli, C White, D Christian, Ravi Teja, A Mishra, D Steyn, P Ojha, H Singh.

Mini Scorecard:

Deccan Chargers 168/4 (20 overs, 8.4rpo)
Sunny Sohal 62 (41) S Nadeem 1-24
Kumar Sangakkara 49 (35) I Pathan 1-28

Delhi Daredevils 152/7 (20 overs, 7.6rpo)
David Warner 51 (48) H Singh 2-27
Yogesh Nagar 23 (11) D Christian 2-38

Deccan win by 16 runs