A whirlwind unbeaten 109 from Adam Gilchrist gave Deccan Chargers a comfortable 10-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League match at the D Y Patil Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
The Australian ace, who recently retired from international cricket, hit nine boundaries and 10 huge hits over the fence in his 48-ball knock to make the match a virtual no-contest.
Chasing 155 for a win, the Chargers reached their target with more than seven overs to spare.
Gilchrist was involved in a 155-run first-wicket partnership with captain VVS Laxman, who gladly played a supporting role with an unbeaten 36), that sealed the Shaun Pollock-led team's fate.
This was the Hyderabad team's first win in four matches and moved them up from the bottom of the table. The Mumbai team, with its fourth straight defeat in as many matches, now occupy the bottom place in the table.
Earlier, it was left to the two seniormost pros, Sanath Jayasuriya (18) and Pollock, who hit three fours and a six, to repair the damage after Mumbai Indians were reduced to 27 for three.
The duo tried to ensure that the team batted out the full quota of overs and carried the score forward mainly through singles and the occasional boundary.
But when it looked as if the fourth-wicket pair was well entrenched, Jayasuriya made an exit; he mistimed a flick and skied Afridi to backward of square for Rohit Sharma to take a well-judged catch. He faced 21 balls and struck two fours.
Pollock tried to keep his team in the hunt. He paddle swept Kalyankrishna and off drove Bangar for fours. He then swung a full toss from the latter over long-on before being bowled neck and crop attempting a repeat. It left Mumbai tottering at 79 for five in the 14th over.
Pollock's departure brought together Nayar, the hard-hitting local left-hander, with attacking West Indian all-rounder Bravo.
The former struck the ball cleanly and even swung Kalyankrishna and Afridi for sixes over the square leg area as the 100 came in 15.1 overs.
Bravo took over the attacking reins after Nayar was caught top-edging a hook and slammed a few fours after putting on 43 runs in only 19 balls with Nayar.
The late assault by the duo helped the home, seeking its first victory in the event, to finish with a plus-150 score, which looked beyond their scope when half their side was back for 79.
For the visitors, R P Singh, Bangar and Afridi grabbed two scalps apiece to emerge as the main wicket-takers.
