Chennai Super Kings beat Deccan Chargers by 19 runs

Fielding made the difference between Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. While the Chargers had to pay for dropping a few genuine chances from the bats of Mike Hussey and Suresh Raina, CSK were brilliant in the field, refused to give up and made it difficult for the Hyderabad players to chase down a formidable target of 166.

The Chargers, who had beaten CSK twice here before, failed to carry on after a rock-solid start and lost by 19 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

Though the Chargers' hard-hitting opener Sunny Sohal (56; 30b 4x6, 6x4) showed tremendous intent, DC's star-studded middle-order failed to rise to the task.

Bharat Chipli (17), Kumar Sangakkara (15), Cameron White (13) and JP Duminy (17) all got starts but failed to get going. Albie Morkel (3-38) was the most successful bowler for CSK, who scripted the most amazing comeback in the second half of the game.

Earlier, the Chargers' Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara took a cue from Dhoni when he opted to open the Chargers' bowling with part-time spinner Duminy. Though the move took the Chepauk crowd by surprise, Duminy did not disappoint and helped restrict CSK in the initial stages.

Shrugging off the initial hiccup, CSK came back to score165 for five in their stipulated 20 overs. Raina (59; 35b, 4x6, 2x6), Hussey (46; 41b, 4x5) and Morkel (19; 6b, 3x6) made full use of their opponents' fielding lapses and guided CSK to a massive score.

Sangakkara used his bowling resources accurately as Ishant, Daniel Christian, Harmeet Singh, Ojha and Amit Mishra maintained a tight line. But they conceded extra runs at the death which proved crucial.