It will be a hopeful Deccan Chargers that will take the field at the VCA Ground, Jamtha, on Saturday against an in-form Chennai Super Kings that has reeled off three straight wins from its last three matches.
Thanks to Tirumalasetti Suman and Andrew Symonds, Chargers was able to score a resounding victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday, halting a wearisome and luckless phase.
Welcome relief
It was the Hyderabad unit's first win in three weeks; it has suffered a string of losses after finishing business at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, winning two matches against Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils.
Gelling well
Chargers' overseas players in Adam Gilchrist, Ryan Harris and Symonds came good in that seven-wicket triumph against RCB. No less impressive were the efforts of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and Suman. The energy and enterprise shown by Suman right through the match was remarkable. He surpassed himself and his exertions at backward point and thereafter with the bat reflected his drive to win a match for his side.
Suman's individual brilliance and the Man-of-the-Match award at Bangalore may rub off on his teammates, spurring them on to make their performances count in all the three departments of the game.
Gilchrist may be tempted to look at bringing in Herschelle Gibbs — who made 45 at Chennai — for Mitchell Marsh, taking into account the size of the ground, and leg-spinner Rahul Sharma for Harmeet Singh.
Anxious
The Chargers will be as anxious as its rival for a win as beating Super Kings will club it with three other teams on 10 points and put it in contention for a semifinal slot.
After three straight wins — including the crucial one against Mumbai Indians — Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be justified in fancying his side's chances of ending the day on 12 points.
Murali Vijay, thanks to his fearless stroke production at the top, and Matthew Hayden maybe the sort of openers every other team would wish for.
Dhoni appears to have the weapons to handle the Chargers, but it will be his team's first away match in 10 days against a team that is fresh off a good win against RCB, successfully chasing down 184 runs.
