HYDERABAD: Paul Valthaty and Adam Gilchrist hammered explosive half-centuries to power Kings XI Punjab to an eight-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League Saturday. Valthaty smashed a 47-ball 75 and skipper Gilchrist a 46-ball 61 as Punjab achieved a 166-run target with 14 balls to spare for its second win in three matches in the Twenty20 tournament. Former Australian wicketkeeper Gilchrist and Valthaty both completed half-centuries with a six and added 136 for the opening wicket to ensure a comfortable win for their team in Hyderabad. Valthaty also excelled as a seamer when he finished with 4-29 off four overs to play a major role in restricting Deccan, which suffered its third defeat in four matches. Shikhar Dhawan (45) and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (35) put on 75 for the second wicket before Deccan lost its way, with Valthaty doing the damage. In another match in Chennai, Michael Hussey cracked an unbeaten 83 off 56 balls to set up Chennai Super Kings' 21-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Australian hit one six and 11 fours as Chennai made 183-5 before restricting Bangalore to 162-7 for its second win in three matches. Bangalore, which suffered their third defeat in four games, faltered in reply as it lost three wickets for 31 runs, including that of hard-hitting Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dishan for a duck. South African AB de Villiers top-scored for Bangalore with an impressive 44-ball 65. Virat Kohli was the other main scorer with 35. Hussey added 51 for the opening wicket with Murali Vijay (31) and as many runs for the third wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (22). Suresh Raina made 29 off 16 balls. Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 183-5 (M. Hussey 83 not out, M. Vijay 31, S. Raina 29, MS Dhoni 22; R. Ninan 2-31, J. van der Wath 2-49). Royal Challengers Bangalore 162-7 (AB de Villiers 65, V. Kohli 35; S. Randiv 2-24, A. Morkel 2-34). Deccan Chargers 165-8 (S. Dhawan 45, K. Sangakkara 35, D. Christian 30; P. Valthaty 4-29, R. McLaren 2-33). Kings XI Punjab 166-2 in 17.4 overs (P. Valthaty 75, A. Gilchrist 61; A. Mishra 2-28). – Agence France
