Leading the side in absence of injured regular skipper VVS Laxman, Gilchrist won the toss, marshalled his bowlers well and then top-scored for the side with a 36-ball 54 to guide the team to a morale boosting win.

Chasing 145, Deccan Chargers cantered to 148 for three in 18 overs with Scott Styris (36 not out), Rohit Sharma (23) and Shahid Afridi (20 not out) making impressions with the bat.

Tuesday’s loss completed a hat-trick of defeats for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side, which has been clearly hit by the exit of the Australian duo of Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey, apart from the big-hitting Kiwi Jacob Oram.

The Deccan Chargers did well to restrict the Chennai Super Kings for a modest 144 for seven wickets.

Squash ball

And when they set about the task of chasing, though the side lost Herschelle Gibbs (10) early, Gilchrist, batting with a squash ball inside his gloves, looked in tremendous hurry as he went after the Chennai bowlers. Protea spearhead Ntini bore the brunt of his wrath in the sixth over when the left-hander hit him for a couple of sixes, with a boundary sandwiched in between.

Albie Morkel too came in for some harsh treatment as the Deccan Chargers score kept swelling. The pacer finally had his moment when Gilchrist went for a fierce cut, which found S Badrinath at point, who was seen wringing his palm in pain.

Gilchrist’s brisk 54 came off 36 balls and was studded with seven boundaries besides a couple of sixes.
In-form Rohit reclaimed the Orange Cap from Virender Sehwag in style, hitting Joginder Sharma over the sightscreen for a glorious six, following it up with a fierce pull that raced to the boundary.

The prolific youngster was going great guns but the wily Sri Lankan offie Muralitharan eventually foxed him with a doosra and S Badrinath took the skier at long on.

Shahid Afridi was there to complete the formality with a six-ball cameo of 20 that included two sixes and as many fours with Joginder being the victim. Earlier, the Deccan bowlers responded well after Gilchrist had won the toss.

P Vijaykumar removed Parthiv Patel (4) in the first over and his bowling colleagues ensured that the hosts did not get enough partnerships to keep going.

For the Chennai side, Suresh Raina (32), Dhoni (23) and Albie Morkel (29 not out) did bulk of the scoring.

Things could have been worse for the Chennai side had not Morkel and Manpreet Gony (15 not out of 6 balls) unleashed some lusty shots towards the fag end of the innings to swell the tally. Morkel’s unbeaten 29 came off 19 balls and included two sixes besides a boundary. RP Singh was the pick of the Chennai bowlers, claiming two for 12 in his three overs.

After Vijaykumar drew the first blood with his sixth delivery, RP Singh soured former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s son Anirudha’s (1) IPL debut.

Stephen Fleming (14) was contemplating steading the ship but an airborne Rohit Sharma intercepted his full-blooded drive off Styris to cut short his stay.

SCOREBOARD

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: Parthiv Patel c Singh  b Vijaykumar 4, Stephen Fleming c Sharma b Styris 14, S Anirudha c Afridi b Singh 1, Suresh Raina c Sharma b Bangar 32, S Badrinath c Gibbs b Afridi 0, MS Dhoni c Afridi b Ojha 23, Albie Morkel (not out) 29, Joginder Sharma b Singh 16, Manpreet Gony (not out) 15. Extras (LB-6, W-4) 10, Total (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 144.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-15, 3-33, 4-43, 5-82, 6-86, 7-124.
Bowling: Vijaykumar 3-0-17-1, RP Singh 3-0-12-2, Styris 3-0-24-1, Afridi 3-0-27-1, Bangar 4-0-36-1;  Ojha 4-0-22-1.
DECCAN CHARGERS: Adam Gilchrist c Badrinath b Morkel 54, Herschelle Gibbs c & b Gony 10, Scott Styris           (not out) 36, Rohit Sharma c Badrinath b Muralitharan 23, Shahid Afridi (not out) 20.Extras (LB-1, W-2, NB-2)         5, Total (for 3 wkts, 18 overs)148.
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-78, 3-125.
Bowling: Ntini 4-0-37-0, Gony 3-0-15-1, Albie Morkel 4-0-26-1, Joginder Sharma 3-0-45-0, Muttiah Muralitharan 4-0-24-1.