IPL cricket update: Chennai Super Kings beat Deccan Chargers by 19 runs

Chennai Super Kings scored an emphatic 19-run win over Deccan Chargers at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. Electing to bat first, CSK built its innings with contributions from Michael Hussey (46) and Suresh Raina (59) to post a challenging total of 165. Sunny Sohal (56 off 36 balls) provided a rollicking start to the Chargers adding 71runs for the first wicket with Shikhar Dhawan. Sohal hit Doug Bollinger for six and four, before launching into Albie Morkel for a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4 in the third over as Chargers raced to 64 at the end of six overs. But Sohal’s undoing came in the seventh over when his reverse-heave a full toss from Shadab Jakati proved fatal. Sohal’s quickfire 56 was studded with six fours and four sixes. Thereafter, the Chargers never recovered from the loss of Sohal as Dhawan (19) and Bharat Chipli (17) fell in quick succession. Requiring 51 off the last six overs, Chargers skipper Kumar Sangakkara (15), Cameron White (13) and JP Duminy (17) tried to go past the target with good starts but failed to get going. However, in the 16^th over Bollinger bowled Sangakkara with a full length delivery that disturbed the middle stump, leaving Chargers 44 to win off 25 balls. White got out to Morkel in the penultimate over to signal the end of Chargers' chase, which saw the five wickets fell for 28 runs in the last five overs as Chennai’s tight bowling and brilliant fielding thwarted the chase on 146 for eight. Morkel’s all-round effort with the bat and ball (3/38 and 19 off 6 balls) earned him the Man-of-the-Match award while Jakati (two for 23) and Bollinger (two for 26) proved the pick of Chennai's bowlers. Earlier, Chennai stuttered to 34 in the first six overs with the loss of Murali Vijay (3) off Pragyan Ojha. Hussey and Raina consolidated the innings by adding 50 runs off 47 balls in 8.3 overs for the second wicket.  Amit Mishra bore the brunt of assault of Hussey and Raina, who smashed a flurry of boundaries off the leg-spinner. But soon Hussey (46, 41 balls, 5x4) got out to a pull shot off Harmeet bringing Skipper Dhoni (21 off 22 balls), who got off the mark with a boundary off Harmeet and the last five overs yielded 69 runs for CSK. Raina and Dhoni added 58 in 5.2 overs before Raina perished to Ojha for 59 off balls with six fours and two sixes. Thereafter, Morkel (19 off 6 balls) demolished Ishant's bowling hitting him for three consecutive sixes in the 19th over. Morkel was run out going for a non-existent run in the final over, but by then Chennai had posted a challenging target.