Deccan Chargers won their first game of the Indian Premier League season after beating Pune Warriors by 18 runs at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune last night.
It was a fine effort from a team that languish at the bottom of the table with one win and one no-result after playing seven games – certainly not an enviable position to be in. Still, a win is a win, and Deccan have Cameron White to thank, primarily, for his brilliant 46-ball 78.
Winning the toss, the Deccan captain Kumar Sangakkara opted to bat, and from the first over, they batted with purpose as Parthiv Patel (24) and Shikhar Dhawan (16) struck a 39-run stand for the first wicket.
The Warriors, though, were in for worse as White, the Australia bits-and-pieces player, hit six fours and five sixes while receiving plenty of support from his teammates, especially JP Duminy who stroked a 24-ball 26 to take the visitors' score to 177 for four.
It was a total that Sourav Ganguly, Sangakkara's opposite number, later remarked was a bit much for his team to chase down. "We gave away 15 to 20 runs extra," he said after the match.
He added, curiously, that had he won the toss, "I would have fielded."
The hosts did not look the part, as far as the batting was concerned. There were several cameos throughout the innings but, unfortunately for them, not one batsman carried on with the good start. "We did not have partnerships, Ganguly said. "Someone needed to carry on."
Indeed, Robin Uthappa (29), Steven Smith (26), Ganguly himself (23), Mithun Manhas (22) and Manish Pandey (21) perished as the run-rate crept up on them.
Much of the credit went to the Deccan bowlers, who had, at best, been mediocre before last night.
They will be more satisfied by the fact they did it in the absence of Dale Steyn, the South Africa paceman and their strike bowler.
The local boy Ashish Reddy (2-32) and Rusty Theron (2-37), both medium pacers, were the pick of the bowlers, with both receiving praise from Sangakkara. "We played Rusty for a purpose and he was outstanding. And young Ashish Reddy played well," he said.
White, who injured his leg while diving to take a catch, said he was fine. "Couple of cramps in the calves but I'm OK."
He chose to focus on the team's win, saying: "It's a good feeling to get a win. Been under pressure as a team. Hopefully, it's the start of a few wins in a row."
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