Chennai post 160 for six against Deccan

Electing to bat, Chennai rode on the contributions of opener F du Plessis (42), Suresh Raina (32) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (34) but the hosts lost the advantage of a strong start at the M A Chidambaram Stadium here.

After scoring 100 for two in 11.5 overs, Chennai failed to maintain the momentum and could fetch only 36 runs in the last five overs.

For Deccan, V P Singh was the peak of their bowlers as he scalped two wickets for 35 runs. But speedstar Dale Steyn of South Africa and Australian Daniel Christian also bowled well in the death to keep things under control.

Among others, AA Jhunjhunwala, Ashish Reddy and Amit Mishra took one wicket each.

Earlier, opener Murali Vijay (14) gave Chennai a positive start but he failed to capitalise on the start and was sent packing in the third over by VP Singh.

Newman Suresh Raina (32) and opener F du Plessis (42), however, ensured they keep the momentum going and amassed 56 runs in the first six overs en route to their first wicket stand of 64 runs off 44 balls.

Raina looked dangerous initially and was particularly harsh on VP Singh when he blasted him for a four and two consecutive sixes in the fifth over.

Du Plessis, who was dropped in the same over by Amit Mishra, too played some handsome strokes, including a four off Steyn in the fourth over, a flick through fine-leg off Christian and a six off Mishra in the eighth over.