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Gilly hits ton from 42 balls
27/04/2008 20:28 - (SA)
Mumbai - Adam Gilchrist plundered nine fours and 10 sixes and posted the Indian Premier League's fastest century as the Deccan Chargers thrashed the Mumbai Indians by 10 wickets in Mumbai on Sunday.
Gilchrist is one of the most dangerous hitters in world cricket and on Sunday he finally exploded into action having scored just 44 runs in his previous three innings.
His hundred off just 42 deliveries is the fastest in the competition so far.
There were plenty of short balls available for Gilchrist to showcase his phenomenal pulling power but he also scored freely on the off side with a series of stunning strokes.
His captain Vangipurrapu Laxman opened the batting with him and finished on 36 not out off 29 balls.
Shaun Pollock, the stand-in Mumbai captain, bore the brunt of Gilchrist's assault as the Australian left-hander hit the last four balls of the seventh over for six, six, four and six in one of the most spectacular innings so far in the IPL. Gilchrist finished with 109 not out off just 48 deliveries.
Sensational incident
Earlier, the lower middle-order staged a determined recovery to lift the Mumbai Indians to 154 for seven.
Seamers Rudra Pratap Singh (two for 15) and Sanjay Bangar (two for 34) shared four wickets and these breakthroughs were backed up for Deccan by the two wickets of leg-spinner Shahid Afridi.
Pollock, captaining Mumbai in the absence of the still-injured Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, suspended for his involvement in a sensational incident with Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, whom he is alleged to have slapped after the game against the Punjab Kings XI on Friday, initially came to the Indians' rescue with his run-a-ball 31.
Pollock was eventually bowled by a Bangar long-hop, but Abhishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo each bashed 34 to ensure Mumbai posted what seemed a competitive score before Gilchrist's awesome innings.
Nayar clubbed three sixes as his 34 came up off 19 balls, before a quicker short delivery from Nuwan Zoysa had him caught behind.
But then Bravo appeared and hit three fours and a six in 18 balls to put Mumbai in a reasonable position, although they were ultimately blown away by an inspired batting performance by Gilchrist.
Teams
Mumbai Indians - Luke Ronchi, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa, Shaun Pollock, Dwayne Bravo, Abhishek Nayar, Musavir Khote, Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni, Siddharth Chitnis.
Deccan Chargers - Adam Gilchrist, Vangipurrapu Laxman, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi, Sanjay Bangar, Arjun Yadav, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, Nuwan Zoysa.
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Rugby
