Centurion, April 30: A target of 149 was never going to test the strong Delhi batting order or so it was thought. Up until the 17th over, the Deccan Chargers were vert much in the hunt with some tight and imaginative bowling before Dinesh Karthik and Tillakaratne Dilshan plundered 17 runs from off-spinner Venugopal Rao to ease the situation.

Dilshan’s unbeaten 52 guided the Delhi Daredevils home and took them to eight points, on par with the Chargers, who however, continue to be on top of the table on superior net run rate. Early wickets ensured a tough chase for Delhi, though Virender Sehwag put aside a slump to start with a flurry of boundaries.

Fidel Edwards’ pace can be a double edged sword. The quick erred in length and Sehwag did not require a second invitation. R.P. Singh however, provided the breakthrough when Sehwag could not keep his square cut down and Herschelle Gibbs pulled in a blinder at point.

Shoaib Mohammed made a bigger dent when crowd favourite AB de Villiers skied a slower one to mid-off. The chaos was complete for Delhi when Gautam Gambhir’s poor run continued when he missed the line in attempting a flick.

Shoaib was impressive in his spell, giving very little away and the youngster also picked up two important wickets to keep the Chargers in the hunt. It was time for Karthik to buckle down and play a responsible innings and he did just that.

Rotating the strike with well placed singles Karthik and Dilshan kept the asking rate to manageable proportions. And once they got to striking distance of the target, the duo opened out and the Chargers for the first time, were at the receiving end.

Earlier, Sehwag’s decision to bowl paid rich dividends as Adam Gilchrist after his typical initial flourish, chose the wrong length to pull. Dick Nannes is a bowler who is deceptive and gets the ball to climb from a length consistently and he was rewarded for a persevering length.

Gibbs followed his skipper, mistiming a drive, and the Chargers, so used to a rollicking start from the dynamic opening combination, were pushed back by these early reversals.

Azhar Bilakhia who had showed glimpses of his talent during the chase against Chennai, applied himself well in the company of Rohit Sharma. The pair looked like resurrecting the innings with singles until Rohit hit a ball straight to sweeper cover.

Daniel Vettori trapped Bilakhia and the run rate dipped further. At the half way stage, the Chargers had progressed to 55. It required an attacking innings to put them back and Dwayne Smith provided just that with his belligerent blast at the crease. Using his feet admirably to the spinners Smith carted Vettori and Amit Mishra to all parts of the ground. A flat six of Mishra stood out for execution and timing.

In three overs (12-14), Chargers produced 51 exhilarating runs thanks to T. Suman joining the party. An inside out extra cover drive for six off Dilshan was a sight for the gods and Smith followed that with a late cut for three.

Suman and Smith added 65 in five overs. It revived the Chargers and a total in excess of 160 looked a distinct possibility. The duo left in search of quick runs and Delhi pulled things back as the Chargers finished with 148/9.