Deccan Chargers make a winning start by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Scorecard:	Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders
Player:	BJ Hodge, RP Singh

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DateLine: 19th April 2009

 

Deccan Chargers were the side who would like to prove a lot to all following the Indian Premier League, and they couldn’t have asked for a better beginning that the one they got against Kolkata Knight Riders. An eight-wicket win for the Hyderabad side was possibly the best thing that happened to them in terms of morale, following up on what was a disastrous first edition.

 

As for Kolkata Knight Riders, their beginning this time around was a complete antithesis of what they had managed before, as they ended for a pathetic 101 all out. But given the large-scale change in command and venues, one can understand that things are going to be different, as they have proved so far. Chasing 102 to win, Deccan Chargers were pretty much on the ball for most of their innings. They did seem to be losing a bit of steam in the middle of the innings, losing skipper Adam Gilchrist and former captain VVS Laxman, but Herschelle Gibbs and Rohit Sharma ensured that there were no alarms as they saw their side through.

 

KKR’s bowling never was much of a threat. There was no way they could have restricted the Deccan batting, so taking wickets was priority and that just did not happen. Ishant Sharma didn’t quite look at his best while Ashok DInda and Ajit Agarkar also had little to offer. Murali Kartik was restrictive without being penetrative, and with just 101 to defend, that was never going to be enough.

 

It would seem like that all the sides that had poor outings in the first edition of the tournament had come out with some sort of promise and plan, ready to exorcise the ghosts of the disaster of the first edition. Deccan Chargers, under Gilchrist, have also come in with fresh determination and it showed in their body language. For KKR, things have been rather trying for the past few weeks, with the vexed captaincy issue being dealt with in a rather silly manner. Incumbent skipper McCullum obviously had some consultancy with coach John Buchanan but whatever their logic to bat first was, it did not work. McCullum’s was a soft dismissal and post that KKR never really ever got any momentum. Chris Gayle is a player all would love to come good, but the West Indian skipper, who didn’t get even one game last time around, was beginning to look good before he miscued RP Singh to long-off.

 

But the bowler for the Hyderabad was without doubt Fidel Edwards. The West Indian was sensational and his spell of 4-2-6-0 was what made the difference between a decent total and a poor one. Sourav Ganguly, the centre of so many controversies off late, was completely at sea against Edwards, as were the other batsmen. It was indeed Edwards’ spell that gave Ganguly’s wicket to Harmeet Singh, as the left-hander tried to make the most of the medium-pacer’s lesser speed and bounce.

 

With the top order taken care of, the middle-order had very little in terms of Plan B. Not one of them is a hitter of the calibre of McCullum or Gayle and while Brad Hodge did try his level best, he had very little in terms of company. For the Deccan Chargers, there were many contributors. While Rudra Pratap Singh picked up the wickets, Edwards was the star there while Harmeet was steady. Pragyan Ojha also got into the act with two classic left-arm spinner’s deliveries, which took care of Aakash Chopra and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. One more person who really made a mark was Rohit Sharma, who made the cover area his, taking a sharp catch off Scott Styris to take care of Moses Henriques. Then he latched on to a powerfully drive by Ajit Agarkar and threw the stumps at the non-strikers’ end down with only one stick to aim at. That pretty much reflected how things went for Deccan Chargers.