Robust Royals beat clumsy Chargers

Result : Rajasthan Royals beat Deccan Chargers by 5 wickets.

Man of the Match : Brad Hodge

In what turned out to be another epic encounter between the two sides, Rajasthan came on top once again, with almost 400 runs being scored.

Languishing down the points table, the Chargers took on the soaring Rajasthan Royals at their fortress after a long 8-day break. Leaving out an out of form Cameron White for J.P.Duminy was a welcome move for the Chargers, who could do with some runs from the top order. Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat first on what seemed a belter of a wicket to bat on. Tanmay Mishra who plays for Kenya, but holds an Indian passport made his IPL debut today with the Chargers. As for Rajasthan, Sreevats Goswami sustained an injury minutes before the start of the game and thus was replaced by Dishant Yagnik. However, newbie superstar Kevon Cooper missed out for Rajasthan today.

Sangakkara and Dhawan started off in style, with the skipper timing the first ball of the game well enough to reach the boundary. The Deccan Chargers were 57/0 after the powerplay. The partnership between Sangakkara and Dhawan of 94 was the highest partnership this IPL, and also the highest against the Royals – which goes onto show how consistently the Royals have been picking up wickets this season. Brad Hodge came in and provided the much needed breakthrough by dismissing Sangakkara. Soon after, Dhawan brought up his 50 but was dismissed thereafter by Trivedi; that put the breaks on the Chargers’ scoring.

The Chargers lost their way in between the 10th and 15th over after which they were 120/2. In walked J.P. Duminy who then validated his inclusion in the team which proved to be just what the Chargers needed; he along with Christian put up 88 in 41 balls steering the Chargers to a massive 196. Duminy remained unbeaten on 58 off 26 balls and Christian 29 off 19. 77 runs were scored in the last 5 overs. The Rajasthan bowlers barring Trivedi and Botha, did not have the best days, especially Amit Singh who had a nightmare, having conceded 55 runs in 4 overs.

The Rajasthan Royals on the other hand got off to a flier with Dravid taking on the bowlers and Rahane continuing his fantastic form. Dravid did most of the scoring and at a very brisk pace contrary to what he is known for – he raced to 42 off 24 balls, before being bowled by Daniel Christian. The Royals took only 4.5 overs to reach 50, which was the fastest by a team this season. Rajasthan Royals with Rahane’s exquisite stroke play raced to 100 in 11 overs. Rahane continued to maul the Chargers before being caught out off Mishra, who then went onto dismiss the dangerous Owais Shah, picking up his third wicket for the game. But Hodge switched onto destruction mode and hammered Steyn for four consecutive boundaries. The Chargers’ fielding was quite ordinary and having dropped a few catches, as was the bowling. Hodge tore apart the Chargers’ attack and rocketed to being unbeaten on 48 off 21 balls. Yagnik scored the winning runs with back to back boundaries off Steyn and Rajasthan beat DC by 5 wickets, as Sangakkara stared in disbelief.

Another disappointing game for the Chargers and another great win for the Royals. They look in fine form and on course to make the final 4. As for the Chargers, the fielding let them down to quite an extent. They would hope to change their fortunes in the next game.