The Deccan Chargers raised their IPL-3 preparation a notch higher on Saturday as they switched into competitive mode to get their first feel of a match situation in a friendly at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here.
The players, divided into Gilly and Suman XIs, strained every sinew as they switched gears to tune-up for the big event starting in five days. For the record, Sumans reached the 145-run target with 13 balls and six wickets to spare as Andrew Symonds (53) and Anirudh Singh (46 not out) had a ball with the bat. Asked to bat the full quota of 20 overs, they made an impressive 164.
There were a couple of bright spots for the losing side though, both provided by new signings Bodapati Sumanth and Rahul Sharma. Having lost Adam Gilchrist for a 10-ball 1, one-down bat Sumanth took charge of the situation to build a 59-run stand for the second wicket with Azhar Bilakhia to steady the innings.
Andrew Symonds turned his arm around to send down medium-paced deliveries that ended Azhar’s 24-ball 25 (2x4, 1x6) in his first over, eighth of the innings but Gilly’s boys, at 72 for 2, were cruising at the halfway stage.
However, the Sumans throttled the scoring rate and allowed only 23 runs at the cost of two more wickets in the next five overs to push their rivals on to the backfoot. A late charge by Rahul Sharma, who thumped two sweetly-timed boundaries and a six in his 11-ball 20 to supplement Sumanth’s 53, which came off 33 balls and included seven boundaries and a six, took their side to one more than the Chargers’ title winning total in IPL-2.
The past, as they say, is history and the chasers weren’t thinking about South Africa one bit. They steadily chipped away at the total and were in control throughout.
Captain T. Suman set it up with a quick 28 before Andrew Symonds and Anirudh Singh raised 52 runs in 32 balls for the fourth wicket to take the game away.
Symonds smacked eight boundaries and a six in his 31-ball knock. Anirudh despatched nine of the 28 balls he faced elegantly to the fence to complete an allround effort, having taken three catches earlier in the innings.
Leg-spinner Rahul Sharma bowled smart and was rewarded with figures of 3 for 21 in his four overs.
Brief scores: Gilly XI 144 for 7 in 20 overs (B. Sumanth 53, Azhar Bilakhia 25, Rahul Sharma 20 n.o; Tirumalsetti Suman 2/12, Paramveer Singh 2/13, Andrew Symonds 2/30) lost to Suman XI 145 for 4 in 17.5 overs (Andrew Symonds 53, Anirudh Singh 46 n.o, Tirumalsetti Suman 28; Rahul Sharma 3/21).