Suman, bowlers keep Deccan alive

Deccan Chargers 139 for 4 (Suman 55, Symonds 27*, Ashwin 2-13) beat Chennai Super Kings 138 for 8 (Raina 52, Harris 3-18) by six wickets

Deccan Chargers continued to climb up the points table by beating Chennai Super Kings comprehensively by six wickets at their "home" venue in Nagpur to draw level with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and the losing side. The win was set up by their bowlers, after MS Dhoni decided to bat on a scorching afternoon, who restricted Chennai to 138, allowing the batsmen to chase at a comfortable pace despite two early jolts and the sapping heat. Deccan struggled against spin initially, losing three wickets to the slow stuff, but rode on another fifty from T Suman and Andrew Symonds' cool head to seal victory with five balls to spare.

The only bit that really went right for Chennai was the toss, which Dhoni won and had little hesitation in choosing to bat. When Chennai accelerated from 21 after three overs to 55 for 1 from six it seemed a run-fest was on the cards. As it turned out, Chennai had little to celebrate thereafter. In the eighth over, M Vijay called for a suicidal second run and that momentary brain freeze changed the complexion of Chennai's innings. It was another example of the schizophrenic series he's had, with aborted starts amid some match-winning knocks, and from there Deccan never let the initiative slip.

From 65 for 2 in eight overs, Chennai slowed down to reach the half-way stage at 74 for 2 with Symonds and Pragyan Ojha keeping a check with stump-to-stump bowling. Chennai's predicament had been brought about by their batsmen's urge to dominate and as wickets fell around him, Suresh Raina began to improvise cleverly. He moved to leg to clip the ball fine and walked down the pitch to upset the bowlers, but also reined in his attacking instincts, knocking the ball in the gaps during the middle overs.