Rohit recharges Deccan campaign

DHARAMSALA: Deccan Chargers’ hopes of reaching the semifinals got a lift here on Friday as they beat Kings XI Punjab by five wickets at the picturesque HPCA stadium. With 14 points from 13 matches, they are now breathing easier at the fourth position in the points tally.
Chasing 175 on a tricky track which was assisting seamers, was never easy. But Rohit Sharma (68 not out, 38b, 6x4, 3x6) led the run chase with clinical perfection; he didn’t panic after Juan Theron castled Andrew Symonds with Chargers still needing 48 runs in 33 deliveries.The in-form batsman paced his knock beautifully, never allowing the asking rate to creep over nine.
Chargers began the chase on a shaky note with skipper Adam Gilchrist holing out to Theron at cover off Irfan Pathan in the second over. But new batsman Tirumalasetti Suman hit a quickfire 43 (31b, 3x4, 3x6) to ensure Chargers stayed in the hunt. The job was completed by Rohit in style. Apart from hitting some good-looking shots down the wicket, he smacked Irfan through midwicket for a four and a six off successive deliveries when Chargers needed 19 runs in two overs. Those two shots ended any hope the Punjab outfit was nursing of pulling off a thriller.
Earlier, put into bat, a special innings by Mahela Jayawardene (93 not out, 62b, 13x4, 2x6) helped Punjab post a decent 174 for 3. Gilchrist’s decision looked correct with the green wicket offering good bounce and movement. The bowlers too backed their skipper and, for a change, the ball missed the edge more than it sailed over the ropes in the initial stages.
However, a dodged 86-run second wicket stand between skipper Kumar Sangakkara (52, 37b, 11x4, 1x6) and Jayawardene (93 not out, 62b, 13x4, 2x6) bailed Kings XI out of trouble after Shaun Marsh edged Ryan Harris to Gilchrist in the first over.
The Sri Lankan duo then got into damage control mode. While Sangakkara played some crisp cuts before throwing away his wicket, Jayawardene continued to play some elegant drives and ran hard between wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking.