Alfonso Thomas hit the final ball for four to give Somerset a one-wicket win over the Deccan Chargers at the Champions League T20.
Thomas holds nerve in final-over thriller
Champions League T20 - Group AHyderabadDeccan Chargers 153-9 v Somerset 157-9
Somerset beat Deccan Chargers by one wicket
Alfonso Thomas hit the final ball of the game for four as Somerset Sabres claimed the scalp of IPL champions the Deccan Chargers at the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad.
Needing five from the last over to reach a target of 154, Someret lost James Hildreth and Max Waller while failing to score a run during Scott Styris' opening three deliveries.
With only last man Charl Willoughby for company, Thomas dispatched a full toss to the point boundary to bring the scores level.
And, after another dot left one required from the final ball, Thomas (30no) found the rope again to spark jubilant scenes in the Somerset dugout.
RP Singh's three-wicket burst with the new ball looked to have derailed the Cidermen's run chase on a bare wicket in Hyderabad.
The left-arm seamer's haul of 3-23 included Marcus Trescothick (14) - playing overseas for the first time since a stress-related illness ended his England career three years ago - Justin Langer (15) and Zander de Bruyn (19).
The English side appeared out of contention when Ben Phillips' departure in the 14th over reduced them to 99-7.
But Hildreth (25) and Thomas engineered a 50-run, eighth-wicket stand off 32 deliveries to set up a thrilling finale.
Flying start
Earlier, Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman had given the Chargers' innings a flying start with an opening stand of 35 off 20 balls after Somerset captain Langer sent them in.
Gilchrist (18) fell to a top edge off Thomas' bowling and medium pacer Peter Trego removed the dangerous duo of Laxman (46) and Andrew Symonds (8) during his four-over allocation of 2-19 as Deccan were pegged back.
Despite having leg-spinner Waller and left-armer Arul Suppiah at his disposal, Langer did not use a single over of spin during the innings.
But the tactic worked as only Rohit Sharma (24) and Venugopal Rao (22) made any impression in the later overs.
Seamer Phillips removed Rao and Singh in the 19th over to finish with 3-31 and help keep down Deccan's final total to 153-9.
Somerset can confirm their place in the Super Eights with another victory in their final Group A match against Trinidad and Tobago in Bangalore on Monday.
