Morkel does his bit with bat and with ball

MS Dhoni didn't waste a moment of thinking bringing Albie Morkel back into the side the moment he was declared fit. It showed why. With the bat, he provided his side with the buffer they would need to survive a Sunny Sohal onslaught in the chase. With the ball, he did the actual surviving bit.

Thanks to three dropped chances, Chennai Super Kings were headed towards a fighting total when Morkel came out to bat in the 18th over. An over later, Deccan Chargers were looking at a formidable ask. Ishant Sharma kept bowling length at Morkel, who hit for three consecutive sixes, each bigger than the previous one. It began with a flat one over long-on. Ishant provided length again, and Morkel went higher to hit the roof. The ball still found its way back into the stadium, but when Ishant bowled length again, Morkel made sure he lost the ball, hitting it over the roof, and out of the stadium.

When Deccan Chargers came out to chase, Sohal was like a millionaire spending the last night of his life in Las Vegas, taking numerous risks, each one of which seemed to be paying off. His 30-ball 56, turned the chase into a regulation one, but Chennai waited for the final fatal risk before closing in on the rest to deny them the required 95 off 79 deliveries.

Morkel was at the height of the revival again. When he came back, Deccan needed 58 in seven overs with eight wickets in hand, but he produced a wicket off the second ball back. And then in one over, he removed Cameron White and JP Duminy to seal the game for Chennai.