Home sweet home for Deccan

Chipli scores 61,Steyn scalps three as Chargers crush RCB to register first IPL win in own backyard

After defeats in its first two matches,Deccan Chargers finally registered their first win of IPL 2011 and indeed first ever win at home as they crushed a surprisingly underwhelming Royal Challengers Bangalore outfit. Deccans 33-run win was achieved thanks to a strong batting effort built around former Bharat Chipli’s 35-ball 61,and a display of searing pace and movement with the new ball that reduced the visitors to 29 for four. Dale Steyn and Manpreet Gony took three wickets each,and Ishant Sharma looked unplayable at times,often crossing the 150kph mark.

Bright prospect

In his early cricketing days,Bharat Chipli was counted among Karnataka’s brightest prospects. So far,however,his career has been a tale of unfulfilled promise,with his last Ranji game coming three seasons ago. At 28,having been discarded from the Royal Challengers squad after scoring just 20 runs in three innings during the first season,he gave his former team a painful reminder of his talent. Having walked in with Deccan 70/2,Chipli treated Bangalore’s off spinners with disdain,swinging Tillakaratne Dilshan,once,and Ryan Ninan,twice in successive balls,beyond the midwicket ropes.

When Zaheer Khan came on,he drilled him for three fours in three balls,the best of them a searing hit straight over the left-armer’s head. Chipli put on 43 for the third wicket with Kumar Sangakkara and 55,in just 4.4 overs,with JP Duminy.

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The loss of Chipli was,of course,far less significant to Bangalore in the grand scheme of things than the loss of Dale Steyn,the world’s best fast bowler.

Bowling with all the pace and hostility expected of him,the South African quickly disabused Bangalore of any idea that they could chase down 176.

Zak,the pinch-hitter

It isn’t clear why Daniel Vettori sent in Zaheer Khan at the fall of Bangalore’s first wicket,but whatever plans he had in mind quickly came undone. Twice he swished at Steyn’s outswingers and missed. The third ball he faced was a full toss,but a fast,swerving full toss on middle stump that he had no chance of connecting with. In his second spell,Steyn ended whatever faint hopes Bangalore may have harboured,with the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Johan van der Wath off successive balls.

The Chargers bowling attack is full of Indians looking to prove a point. An impressive first season for Chennai Super Kings saw Manpreet Gony win two ODI caps in 2008,before fading away. Ishant Sharma,meanwhile,is on a quest to regain his ODI spot for India. Together with Steyn,these two towering seamers ran through the Bangalore top order on a wicket that offered them bounce and movement.

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The third member of this point-to-prove trio was leggie Amit Mishra,who has seen a host of other bowlers get ahead of him in the queue to become India’s second spinner in the ODIs. An unforgiving Virat Kohli took to him late in the game,and spoiled his figures,but one for 44 does not quite describe how well Mishra bowled.