Suman comes good for Deccan

It was just another day at the office for Deccan Chargers until T Suman finally became the first Indian domestic cricketer to perform well for them and saw them through an improbable chase, also keeping them alive in the tournament. Good start with the ball, everything falling apart at the end, it was all going according to the familiar script when Suman came out with new lines, scoring 78 off 57 from No. 3.

Deccan bowled well to have Royal Challengers Bangalore at 68 for 4 in the 11th over, but almost seemed to have forgotten how to bowl when they went for 92 runs in the last six overs. Once again, during the big chase, Adam Gilchrist scored a quick thirty, but failed to convert it into anything substantial. In those circumstances, needing to sustain more than 10 an over against a strong attack for 10 overs, Suman and Symonds could have been forgiven for bowing to the pre-ordained script.

Yet it was different, in that Suman had been promoted to No. 3 and Deccan had reached the 11th over by the time Gilchrist's 19-ball 32 ended. Obviously Gilchrist didn't get much strike, and Suman had put his share to good use, having reached 41 off 34 by then. It wasn't the cleanest of knocks until then: stylish hits off length balls were offset by streaky boundaries off inside edges.

The streaky shots from Suman disappeared in the later half, and he continued with a six off Vinay Kumar in the 16th over. In the 17th, he followed Andrew Symonds' good work with a flat six to bring the equation down to 28 off the last three overs. It was now a matter of avoiding the famous Deccan choke.

Suman took the lead there too, hitting Dale Steyn for four after he seemed to have hit a good yorker rhythm, and Symonds finished the game off in the next two.