Last night’s match between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam proved to be a thriller with Mumbai emerging as the eventual winners. The match, which made everyone wait for the last ball to divulge the results, was an exhibit of all round cricket.

It had its share of controversies as well when Harbhajan Singh argued with umpires for not giving Kumara Sangakarra out on first occasion and only after the third umpires intervened was he given out. Amidst all these, the match never diverted from its agenda of providing sheer entertainment to the crowd and kept them interested in the course of affairs till the last minute.

Even though it was a low scoring affair, some players did join the party and enjoyed out there in the middle. Let us take a look at the hits and flops of the last match.

Hits and flops of Deccan Chargers

Hits

Shikhar Dhawan: He failed in the previous match but proved his worth in yesterday’s match. Dhawan who opened the innings scored 41 runs of 24 balls which included four sixes and two fours. He gave them a good start but unfortunately failed to carry on with his innings as he was knocked off by Malinga in the seventh over.

Duo of Daniel Christian and Cameron White: Their 41 runs partnership out there in the middle was the most instrumental force behind the helping Chargers reach 138 which eventually turned out to be a challenging target. Christian scored 39 runs of 31 balls including two fours and a six and White belted 30 of 22 balls which comprised of one four and a six.

Dale Steyn: Nothing unusual. Dale Steyn was again the pick of the bowlers. He picked up three wickets by giving away just 12 runs in four overs. He was lethal and never allowed Mumbai to settle down.

Flops

Daniel Christain, the bowler: If he impressed with bat, then he did not leave a stone unturned to disappoint with the ball. On a day when Chargers were defending a low score and the bowlers kept their economy under check, he was lavish and gave away 49 runs in four overs at a rate of 12.25 per over.

Hits and flop of Mumbai India:

Hits:

Rohit Sharma: After failing in two matches, he showed that why he has the patronage of Sachin Tendulkar. He played a lone hand in helping Mumbai win over Deccan. He scored a brilliant 73 of 50 balls which comprised of four fours and five huge sixes.
Keiron Pollard: His innings of 18 ball 24 runs which had three sixes was one of the instrumental force that helped them win the thriller.

Lasith Malinga: The slinga was in action big time. He was always the bowler to look out for and he did not disappoint. After a good start to the tournament, he picked up three wickets yesterday by giving away just 27 run in four overs.

Munaf Patel: Wrecker in chief from yesterday’s match. Munaf was as accurate as he can get and picked up four important wickets for his team and most crucially kept the run flow in check as he went for only twenty in his four overs.

Flops:

Richard Levi: After a great IPL debut against Chennai, he has flattered to deceive after that. He did not have a good outing against the Pune Warriors as well and yesterday just could score three runs. He needs to start showing consistency if he definitely wants to be a part of this high profile side on a routine basis.

By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News