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Super Kings crush Deccan Chargers by 78 runs

Chennai Super Kings 178 for three in 20 overs (Matthew Hayden 43, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 58 not out; Shoaib Ahmed 1-14)

Deccan Chargers 100 all out in 14.4 overs (Dwayne Smith 49, Shadab Jakati 4-22, Muttiah Muralitharan 2-11)

In this action-paced innings, Chennai go top of the table on the back of three consecutive victories. How miraculous it was to see the formidable Deccan who crumbled to 1/3 as Gibbs and VVS fell for ducks. Smith and Rohit tried to change the game by brutal butchering. Deccan's innings fell apart when their batsmen went for the big hits against the spinners. Jakati was superb as he picked up 4 wickets to extend his dream run in the tournament.

Chennai hoisted a solid start with Vijay batting sensibly from one end and Hayden tearing the bowling apart from the other. They never really looked choked as runs continued to trickle without too many risks. Dhoni promoted himself to number three in a bid to find some form and he did so by getting a fine half century. His last over exploits and Raina's role provided the impetus to the innings. Raina carried on with his good form and played some magnificent shots. His small part actually helped the Channai's score to move from the fighting zone to the challenging zone. Is this total challenging enough? It is big question. Wait and see.

Chennai Super Kings, last year's finalists Chennai Super Kings, have bounced back well after some close losses in their initial games, but the inability of their big hitters to fire is a worry. They seem to have already sorted their bowling problems by the discovery of Shadab Jakati who can form a game-changing spin partnership with Muralitharan. The bowling of Sudeep Tyagi has been good too, and with Raina and Hayden in sparkling form, they will always pose a threat.

Deccan Chargers smooth start has been derailed a little, but they will not be panicking, although they rely on their batting a little too much for comfort. They will also be looking for an adequate replacement for Edwards who did a stellar job for them in the first 6 matches. It also remains to be seen how RP Singh performs if he doesn't have the kind of support Edwards gave him at the other end. However, if Gilchrist and Gibbs play well , their worries will automatically disappear. Despite the two defeats, however, Deccan are still on top of the league but another loss against a resurgent Chennai will bring them closer to the rest of the pack.

Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni are wicket keeper captains. They both have a good cricketing brain. Who will out-think and out-perform the other? RP Singh and Suresh Raina are both among the star performers for their teams

Deccan Chargers (Playing XI): Adam Gilchrist(w/c), Herschelle Gibbs, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Tirumalsetti Suman, Dwayne Smith, Ryan Harris, Venugopal Rao, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Shoaib Ahmed

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram, Shadab Jakati, Sudeep Tyagi, Laxmipathy Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan