Deccan Chargers beat Chennai by 31 runs

Defending champions the Deccan Chargers recorded their first win of the third season of the Indian Premier League as they beat the Chennai Super Kings by 31 runs.

DC captain Adam Gilchrist once again gave his team a stunning start as he clobbered 38 quick runs. Gilly was supported by Herschelle Gibbs (45) and Andrew Symonds(50) as the Chargers posted a dominant 190 for four. The defending champions then restricted Chennai to 159 for nine at MA Chidambaram stadium, thanks to a devastating spell by Chaminda Vaas who dismantled the Chennai top order as he took 3 wickets for 21 runs.

Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Albie Morkel each scored 42 runs for the hosts but the effort was not enough to overhaul the DC's score. Pragyan Ojha (2/28) and Symonds (2/29) took two wickets apiece as Chennai kept losing wickets regularly. Vaas dismissed Murali Vijay (3) and Suresh Raina (6) in his second over and then took out the dangerous Matthew Hayden (17). Ojha then sent back S Badrinath (5) to leave Chennai tottering at 32 for four. Justin Kemp provided CSK fans some relief with his 22 but he could manage only a 38 run stand with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The latter himself was clean bowled by Symonds, and by then the hosts' doom was sealed.

Earlier in the day Symonds scored his second IPL fifty before being run out. Rohit Sharma and Suman piled on 32 runs in the last eleven balls, with 22 in the last over. The DC batting was helped by Gilchrist who was particularly harsh on Morkel and Tyagi. Dhoni was forced to bring on Muttiah Muralitharan earlier than usual, and the latter almost had Laxman out in his very fourth ball.