Dhawan, Duminy set up strong total

Deccan Chargers 196 for 2 (Duminy 58*, Dhawan 52) v Rajasthan Royals

	Shikhar Dhawan laid the foundation for Deccan Chargers' 196© AFP  Enlarge

After a break of eight days Deccan Chargers batsmen returned refreshed to pile on a massive total against Rajasthan Royals. Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dhawan did the groundwork, with an opening partnership of 94, before aggression from JP Duminy and Dan Christian overcame a mid-innings blip. Their third-wicket stand of 88 off 41 balls against inconsistent bowling boosted Chargers to 196.

Chargers reworked their batting line-up and moved Sangakkara to open with Dhawan, making room for Tanmay Mishra and JP Duminy in the XI. Mishra did not get a chance to bat as Sangakkara and Dhawan owned the crease upfront.

They put on the highest first-wicket stand in this IPL, taking on an attack that looked pedestrian on a batting-friendly pitch. Rahul Dravid used three bowlers in the Powerplay - Pankaj Singh, Amit Singh and Johan Botha - and all three were punished. They bowled untidy lines, offering plenty of balls on leg stump, and generous lengths, particularly Botha who was too short.

Sangakkara and Dhawan were able to hit boundaries in every over until the 10th, when Brad Hogg put the brakes on their charge. They relied on timing and placement rather than force to collect their runs and pulled, drove, pushed and flicked well. Dhawan matched Sangakkara run for run and eventually eclipsed his captain, who was dismissed off the only mistake he made.

After greeting Hodge with a four straight down the ground and a six over his head, Sangakkara played across the line, attempting to heave over the on-side but was caught behind off the top-edge.

With a start that promised a powerful finish, Chargers promoted Christian. He saw off a quiet period while Hogg and Hodge dragged the run-rate back, with Hogg proving particularly difficult to read. After the spinners had woven Dhawan into a corner, Dravid brought back Siddharth Trivedi. Dhawan looked to launch him over square leg off the front foot but did not connect cleanly. Hodge took a running catch to force Chargers to rebuild.

Three tight overs followed, allowing Botha to save his figures, in which no boundaries were scored. Chargers seemed in danger of squandering their good position when Duminy showed intent with a cracking six over midwicket off Trivedi. Christian followed suit, hitting Hogg over his head.

The pair took 77 runs off the last five overs, with Duminy dominating the stand. He targeted the leg side and peppered it with fierce shots, his best was the six to clear long-on off Pankaj. He scored back-to-back sixes off Amit and Pankaj in the last two overs and brought up his half-century at a strike-rate of over 200.

via ESPN