It was the same pitch used for Pune's last home game a couple of days ago and looked the perfect wicket for batting, consequently Sangakarra was keen for his side to make first use of it having won the toss. There was yet another re-shuffle at the top for Deccan, still searching for that winning formula, as Dhawan and Patel opened up for DC, getting them off to a flying start. Nehra's first over went for 16 as both players immediately found the middle of the bat and the boundary on a lightning fast outfield, with a couple of sixes added in the next few overs for good measure. Their running between the wickets was looking really positive but there's always a fine line between aggressive running and suicidal, as was the case went Dhawan was sent back at the end of the 4th over, well short having attempted a single to Pandey, who fielded impeccably all innings, at cover. Patel was then caught on the deep square leg boundary by the same man, having already hit a couple of nice shots in that region, to the last ball of the powerplay. The scoreboard read 50/2 and the stage set for another Deccan middle order collapse to leave themselves well short of a par total. However, Cameron White managed to turn round both his own fortunes and that of the team to almost single-handedly propel DC to a daunting total. His previous best in IPL cricket was just 31, astonishing for an ex-T20 international captain, and he rediscovered his fierce hitting of old. Responding well to the promotion to number 3, he was able to play himself in cautiously and then gradually accelerate as the innings went on. The spinners were treated with contempt as he hit 5 sweetly struck maximums in the ark from cover to mid-wicket, eventually holing out having smashed 78 from 46 balls to put Deccan in a really strong position. A key component of Deccan's struggles have been the failings of their most experienced players in Sangakarra and White and it was crucial that at least one of them found some form. The last 10 overs went for 106 runs, taking DC out of Pune's reach in the end, and this was almost completely down to the revitalised Aussie. Despite a good showing in the field, Pune's bowling let them down a touch. There was no stand-out performer and White's jobs was made easier by a lot of length balls that were duly dispatched and this helped DC to accumulate a handy 177/4.
The pitch had played very true and this would have given PWI hope that the target was achievable, so long as they got off to a good start. Unfortunately this was not the case as both men had gone by the end of the powerplay to leave a big task for the middle-order. Pandey, Ganguly and Uthappa all got into the twenties but none were able to go on from there or score at a S/R of above 120 and this was ultimately why they fell short. It really was a do-able chase, particularly as Deccan's bowling line-up looked slightly tooth-less without their go-to man Dale Steyn. However, they did their job and let the score-board pressure build on the PWI batsmen who would end up getting themselves out. The way they let the game get away from them was strange to watch as neither batsman at the time, Uthappa (29 from 27) and Samuels (3 from 8), seemed particularly fussed. They simply let the likes of Ashish Reddy (2-32) and others, not taking anything away from the DC bowlers who all played their role well, bowl to them without even looking to attack. A late flourish from Steve Smith (26 from 13), again left with too much to do, and Manhas (22* from 14) only made the game look closer than it actually was, eventually falling 18 runs short at 159/7. Deccan didn't have to do anything special with the ball, staying disciplined and encouraging the PWI batters to get themselves out. A prime example being the tight opening spell from slow left armer Ankit Sharma (2-0-11-1) that led to Ryder chipping a simple catch to mid wicket. This poor performance from Pune was exactly what Deccan would have been looking for. Having put on a good score, thanks mainly to MoM White, the nerve-wracking finish that has plagued DC's season so far never materialised as their bowlers gave away little and let the score-board pressure do to the work. The joy and relief on the faces of the faces of the Deccan players at the end of the game was great to see as they richly deserved the win having been the better side throughout, high fives all round!
It really was a disappointing all round performance from Pune with both bat and ball, especially as a win would have put them right up there with the top sides in the table. The balance wasn't quite right today, I'm not sure either Kumar or Samuels should have been 4 over bowlers and it would have been nice to see either some of Ganguly, Ryder or Smith's so far unused leg-spin. I'm sure they'll be calls for Tamim Iqbal's inclusion at the expense of Samuels, and rightly so given his momentum sapping innings, but this would lead to a big re-shuffle and it'll definitely be interesting to see what line-up next takes the field in the reverse fixtures in a few days. A couple of frustratingly under-par performances from Pune who really could do with getting their revenge against DC to put themselves back in the top 4 mix. However, a huge win for Deccan and if they get another couple of wins on the trot, from their games in hand, they could easily catch up with the rest, the only issue being that they really can't afford to lose many! Plus, you can't imagine Steyn will be sitting out for long, winning formula or not!
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