• Home
• /
• Cricket

Table toppers Deccan Chargers look for a win against Super Kings

For Super Kings it is just the opposite. They are on a two-match winning streak and will be hoping to make a hat-trick of wins, which was done by Deccan Chargers early on in the league.

Deccan Chargers, despite their last two losses, are a formidable outfit and are one of the favourites to win the title and atone for their dismal performance in the first edition, where they finished at the bottom of the table.

This time under a new captain in Adam Gilchrist, Deccan Chargers have forced everyone to stand up and take notice of their performance. Their batting has looked solid with Gilchrist leading the charge. Youngsters like Rohit Sharma and Azhar Bilakhia have also come out with good innings.

The bowlers also have done well, especially fast bowlers Rudra Pratap Singh and Fidel Edwards. Rudra Pratap is the second highest wicket-taker in the IPL while Edwards has checked the run flow. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has been one of the most successful spinner in the second IPL and was chief architect in Chargers’ win over Mumbai Indians.

Gilchirst showered praises on the fast bowlers and said: ‘They have good experience and they have expectedly led from the front. They have laid the platform in each game for the rest of the attack to come in consolidate.’

Batting and bowling aside, Deccan Chargers’ fielding has been exceptional. Live wire fielders like Herschelle Gibbs and Sharma have really set the benchmarks on the field.

Gilchrist said: ‘That is an area we have put a lot of effort and it clearly showed we have improved. Saving runs and holding on to catches is an essential ingredient to succeed in this format. Of the areas we identified to improve at the start of the season, fielding was on top and the hard work is paying of.’

Not doubt it will be a challenge for the Super Kings to put a challenging total on board. Their opening pair has been a problem. While the veteran Matthew Hayden has been in fine nick, he hasn’t got good support from the other end. Parthiv Patel looked out of sorts and his replacement Murali Vijay was a misfit in the Twenty20.

Except Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath, big names like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel are due for a big score.

But the bowlers have come up with good performances. Saturday night little known Shadab Jakat spun Super Kings to a terrific win over Daredevils. Sudip Tyagi and the wily Muttiah Muralitharan have been economical.

With both the teams eager for a win,an exciting clash at the Buffalo Park in on the card.