<div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><div><b>Deccan Chargers looked a gift horse in the mouth and wasted excellent starts to go down to champions Chennai Super Kings by 19 runs in their Indian Premier League game at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here Sunday.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">The Super Kings overcame a hesitant start to make 165 for five on the back of a half-century by Suresh Raina (59 off 35 balls) and hectic hitting by Albie Morkel (19 off six balls) at the death, when 69 runs came in the final five overs.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">In reply, the Chargers stumbled to 146 for eight after a rollicking innings by opener Sunny Sohal (56 off 30) as the Super Kings yet again kept their nerve to chalk up their fifth win in eight matches while the visitors slumped to their fourth defeat in eight outings.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Morkel completed a fine outing with a haul of three for 38 while left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati and fast bowler Doug Bollinger chipped in with two wickets apiece to author a thrilling win.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">For the Super Kings, it all boiled down to the death overs that they capitalized on to the fullest extent with Morkel striking some unbelievably massive sixes, three of them off consecutive deliveries.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">The 69 runs that the Super Kings scored in the last five overs gave them a challenging total on a pitch that was getting progressively slower.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Earlier, it was more a crawl as the Chargers bowled well to keep the Super Kings batsmen on a tight leash and the early dismissal of opener Murali Vijay further slowed down the hosts.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Hussey was lucky to be let off twice, first by Chargers skipper Kumar Sangakkara, a difficult chance off Ishant Sharma and then by White at square-leg when on two and 10, off Pragyan Ojha.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">The Australian southpaw did his best to get some momentum going and rode his luck to the fullest to score some useful runs in the company of Raina, who opened out after a slow start.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Raina was the dominating figure in the partnership and Hussey proved an excellent foil with his nudges and pushes with an occasional big hit.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Yet, it was only after Hussey's dismissal and the advent of Dhoni that the innings gained momentum. Raina and Dhoni went hell for leather with some massive blows that eventually helped the Super Kings to cross the 150 mark.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">However, Raina perished, chancing his arms once too often, but his exit only triggered a tsunami of sixes by Morkel, as Ishant Sharma went for 21 runs in the 19th over.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">The Chargers gained some reprieve in the final over bowled by Ojha as Morkel was run out and Dhoni stumped as he conceded just eight runs.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">The start of the Chargers chase was as bizarre as it can get, but more importantly, the first three overs fetched them 38 runs following a sequence of unintended boundary hits and sliced sixes to the off-side; in all, two sixes and four boundaries.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Amidst all this mayhem, the Super Kings missed a run-out despite both Sohal and Dhawan stuck at one end following a misunderstanding.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Sohal continued with his rampaging innings and reached his 50 in no time before overdoing the reverse hit to be bowled by Jakati, who was brought in for the seventh over at 64 without loss.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">His dismissal saw the Super Kings gradually getting a hold on the proceedings and despite the occasional big hit by the Chargers, the tide seemed to be turning the hosts' way.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Dhawan and Bharat Chipli did not make much of an impact and it was left to Sangakkara and Cameron White to build on the early momentum.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">With the pressure mounting, Sangakkara departed attempting an ugly shot against Bollinger, who came on for the 16th over. The dismissal virtually saw the beginning of the end of the Chargers' challenge.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; ">Morkel then delivered the death blows by removing White and Jean-Paul Duminy in his last over, the 19th of the innings, to effectively close the match in Super Kings' favour.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; "><br /></div></font></div>        

In a sensational comeback, Chennai Super Kings held their nerve to beat Deccan Chargers by 19 runs in their Indian Premier League match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here Sunday.    Set to score 166, Chargers could only reach 146 for eight in their 20 overs.    Sunny Sohal gave Chargers a stupendous start by scoring a 30 ball 56 but the rest of the batsmen couldn't maintain the momentum.    Chennai all-rounder Albie Morkel took three wickets for 38 runs and also scored a quick-fi

CSK pull off thriller against Deccan Chargers

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CSK pull off thriller against Deccan Chargers

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