The Deccan Chargers held their nerve at the end to claim their second win of IPL 2012. They defeated the Pune Warriors India by 13 runs at the Barabati Stadium. Kumar Sangakkara led from the front with 82 well-made runs as Cameron White gave his skipper ample support with a quick fire 74.

Chasing 187 to win, PWI began their innings in disastrous fashion. Manish Pandey (0) replicated the Chargers’ start by getting out off the first ball of the innings after hitting it straight into Sangakkara’s welcoming hands. The Chargers had their tails up with the quick wicket, and looked like pressing home the advantage. But the Warriros had quite the fight left in them. Sourav Ganguly and Michael Clarke consolidated the innings with some responsible batting. The Indo-Aussie duo put on a 90-run partnership that brought the visitors back into the game.

Clarke’s (41) stint in the middle came to an end after the right-hander tried to steal a sneaky double and got run-out. 90 for two quickly changed to 96 for three after Ganguly’s (45) cover drive off Shikhar Dhawan found Cameron White. Another mini-comeback led by Steve Smith (47*) and Robin Uthappa (26) meant that the visitors required 52 runs off the last three overs. But it proved to be too steep a task for the Warriors as the Chargers restricted them to 173 for five to win by 13 runs.

Earlier, the Chargers needed some inspiration to arrest their poor form in the IPL. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara decided to bat first after winning the toss. The decision didn’t go according to plan as Parthiv Patel (0) nicked the first delivery of the innings onto his stumps. A poor start was the last thing the Chargers needed, but it got worse for the bottom-placed side. Shikhar Dhawan (13) couldn’t continue his good form as Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit timber in the fifth over to reduce the home side to 23 for two.

DC was struggling to get their innings going thanks to some tight bowling from the Pune Warriors India. With the momentum firmly with the visitors, it was time for the home side’s big names to fire; and they got going just at the right time. Sangakkara and White showcased their array of attacking shots to put the away side on the back foot. Their onslaught started in the 14th over as the DC skipper plundered four boundaries off Samuels. With the wind in their sails, Sangakkara (82) and White (74) put on a brilliant 157-run partnership to help the Chargers finish their innings at 186 for four in 20 overs.

Scorecard

Man-of-the-match: Kumar Sangakkara for leading the Deccan Chargers from the front and scoring 82 runs (off 52 balls; 10x4, 2x6) and taking two catches