Sohal stars in Deccan victory

A disciplined Deccan Chargers lifted themselves from near the basement of the IPL table to fourth place with an important win over fellow strugglers Delhi Daredevils on a slow-and-low track at Feroz Shah Kotla. One of the architects of their win was the unsung opener Sunny Sohal, who put on a powerful partnership with Kumar Sangakkara to seemingly set Deccan on their way to their highest total of the tournament.

Sohal also didn't play a typical brute-force Twenty20 innings. His 62 was sprinkled with dabs to third man and clever glides past fine leg, besides some textbook drives. It was only once he reached his half-century that he brought out the big shots, smashing Morkel for a six near the sightscreen and then blasting him through the covers.

Sohal's innings had some fortunate moments too. In the 9th over, Sunny Sohal looked to guide a ball from outside off behind square leg, only to get an outside edge that beat third man. But there were plenty of skilled strokes as well. Later in the over, here was another boundary to third man, but this was no streaky shot; Sohal opened the face and dabbed the ball fine past the fielder in the circle.

It was Sohal's first half-century in Twenty20s, and came at a time when Deccan were desperate for a victory.