MUMBAI: India pace bowler Ishant Sharma produced a fiery opening spell to take 5-12 and help Deccan Chargers beat Kochi Tuskers by 55 runs in the IPL Wednesday, and Chennai Super Kings defeated Pune Warriors by eight wickets. On a Kochi pitch aiding seam bowling, Sharma ripped through the top order as the home side was bowled out for 74 in 16.3 overs in reply to Deccan's score of 129-7. Sharma grabbed five wickets in his first two overs and conceded only six runs, bowling two batsmen, having two caught behind and another out lbw. The lanky fast bowler beat the bat almost at will as Kochi was reduced to 11-6 at one stage, removing Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and Australian batsman Brad Hodge. “Sitting in the dressing room we thought 130 is a good total on this pitch,” Sharma said. “We just bowled in the right areas, but I need to thank Zaheer Khan because he told me to keep working hard on my fitness.” Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja (23), Sri Lankan batsman Thisara Perera (22) and Vinay Kumar (18) were the only Kochi players to reach double figures. South African pace bowler Dale Styen also bagged three wickets on a forgettable day for the Jayawardene-led side. Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara (65) and Cameron White (31) added 90 for the fourth wicket after Deccan was put into bat. Seam bowler Vinay Kumar removed them both with successive deliveries en route to finishing with 3-25. Deccan improved to six points from seven games to sit above the last-place Pune and Delhi Daredevils, who each have four points. In Mumbai, Australia pace bowler Doug Bollinger bagged 3-21 and Subramaniam Badrinath slammed an unbeaten 63 in Chennai's win at D.Y. Patil Stadium. Bollinger came up with timely strikes to restrict Pune to 141-6 after the home side elected to bat. Badrinath then produced a neat 44-ball knock as Chennai scored 145-2 with three balls left. Bollinger removed openers Jesse Ryder of New Zealand and Mohnish Mishra in the space of three deliveries and the left-armer came back to dismiss compatriot Mitchell Marsh in the death overs. For the losing team, captain Yuvraj Singh was the top scorer with 62 not out off 43 deliveries with four sixes and three fours. The win lifted Chennai to second place with eight points from seven matches. In the only match on Thursday, Delhi Daredevils host Kolkata Knight Riders. Scores: Chennai Super Kings 145-2 in 19.3 overs (Subramaniam Badrinath 63 not out, Suresh Raina 34 not out, Murali Vijay 31). Pune Warriors 141-6 in 20 overs (Yuvraj Singh 62 not out, Robin Uthappa 31; Doug Bollinger 3-21). Deccan Chargers 129-7 in 20 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 65, Cameron White 31; Vinay Kumar 3-25, Rudra Pratap Singh 2-21). Kochi Tuskers 74 all out in 16.3 overs (Ishant Sharma 5-12, Dale Steyn 3-16). – Agence France
