Having skittled out the Chargers for a paltry 110 on a poor pitch, the hosts were tottering 21 for three at one stage before Hussey changed the script with an innings, which was a good mix of caution and flamboyance.
Hussey stitched together a 47-run fourth wicket stand with skipper Sourav Ganguly (14) to steady the ship before launching into an assault to ensure his side’s second consecutive win, with one over to spare.

The Aussie turned the game the Knight Riders way with his savage attack on Scott Styris in the 18th over, as he plundered a six and a boundary to bring his side close to victory. Hussey brought up the winning runs with a straightfield six off Pragyan Ojha, after a 31-minute stoppage caused by a power failure.

The low scoring match in a format known for brisk run- rate could be ascribed partly to the strange behaviour of the wicket, which seemed under-prepared and two-paced, making it difficult for the willowers to go for shots.
The hosts innings got off on the wrong note, as Brendon McCullum (5) the destroyer-in-chief on the other day was dismissed cheaply when he lobbed an R P Singh delivery into the hands of Rohit Sharma at backward point.
Then Ricky Ponting was trapped leg before by Sri Lankan veteran Chaminda Vaas without opening his account.  It soon became 21 for 3 as the young Wriddhiman Saha (10) started his long trek back to the dressing room, becoming second victim of Vaas. Skipper Ganguly and David Hussey then played cautiously as they sought to steady the tottering ship by building up a partnership.

Laxman slams pitch

Upset after his team’s five-wicket loss against Kolkata Knight Riders, skipper VVS Laxman said the strip at the Eden Gardens was ‘shocking’ and also blamed the power failure for the defeat, saying it had affected the concentration of his players. “It was not a good pitch for any form of the game. It was a shocking wicket. In the Twenty20 format you expect high scores. Though the match became exciting in the end, it was tough for the batsmen to go for shots,” Laxman told reporters after the match.

The Chargers, electing to bat, never appeared comfortable as only five of their willwoers reached double figures, with the Aussie duo of Andrew Symonds (32) and Adam Gilchrist (23) being the principal contributors before a near-capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens.
Spinner Murali Kartik (3-17) once again emerged as the wrecker-in-chief for the Knight riders, while Agarkar bagged a couple after being hammered for 16 runs in his first over. The Chargers lost quick wickets as their top order caved in to some disciplined staff delivered by the Knight Riders.


SCORE BOARD


DECCAN CHARGERS: Adam Gilchrist c Hafeez b Kartik 23; Venugopala Rao c Kartik b Sharma 14; VVS Laxman c Shukla b Dinda 0; Andrew Symonds c Hussey b Agarkar 32; Rohit Sharma c Saha b Kartik 0; Scott Styris b Hafeez 6; Arjun Yadav c Dinda b Hussey 10; Sanjay Bangar c Saha b Kartik 14; Chaminda Vaas c Ganguly b Agarkar 0; Pragyan Ojha (run out) 0; RP Singh (not out) 1; Extras: (NB-2, W-4, LB-4) 10; Total (all out in 18.4 overs) 110
Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-22, 3-47, 4-47, 5-58, 6-62, 7-104, 8-105, 9-110.
Bowling: Dinda 3-0-18-1, Sharma 3-1-9-1, Agarkar 2-0-19-2, Hafeez 4-0-8-1, Kartik 3.4-0-17-3, D Hussey 3-0-35-1.
KNIGHT RIDERS: Wriddhiman Saha c Styris b Vaas 10; Brendon McCullum c Sharma b Singh 5; Ricky Ponting lbw Vaas 0; Sourav Ganguly b Ojha 14; David Hussey (not out) 38; Mohammad Hafeez c Symonds b Ojha 13; Laxmi Ratan Shukla (not out) 4; Extras (B-4, LB-8, W-15, NB-1) 28; Total (for 5 wickets in 19 overs) 112.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-16, 3-21, 4-68, 5-88.
Bowling: Chaminda Vaas 3-0-9-2, RP Singh 3-0-15-1, Scott Styris 4-0-19-0, Sanjay Bangar 3-0-19-0, Andrew Symonds 2-0-20-0, Pragyan Ojha 4-0-18-2.