IPL 2012: Deccan Chargers defeat Rajasthan Royals by 5 wickets

Rajasthan Royals will be keen to register a victory as they meet Deccan Chargers on Friday. It’s a must-win game for the Royals who have so far won seven of 14 matches and they will have to win the remaining two matches and also depend on some other favourable results to be a part of the competition.

Suyash Srivastava

Hyderabad: It’s the end for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League 2012. The Royals who began their campaign on a confident note were outclassed by Deccan Chargers by 5 wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad. Scorecard »I As it happened»I Points table » It was a must-win game for the Dravid-led Rajasthan Royals, but it was one of those matches where nothing worked their way and Deccan Chargers, who had a forgettable season so far, registered their third win of the season to gain back some respect on the home turf. In the crucial game, openers Dravid and Rahane could not provide a solid platform as Rahane perished off a beautiful out swinger from Dale Steyn in the second over. Watson and Dravid added 33 quick runs for the second before Amit Mishra was introduced in the attack. The leg spinner had a little prayer before he began his spell and they were answered as he got the big wicket of Watson first ball! Mishra pitched the ball on the middle stump which turned to dismantle Watson’s off-stump. Mishra further scalped Stuart Binny off a wrong one which crashed onto the stumps. At the end of 16 overs, Rajasthan managed to score just 96 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Owais Shah was still at the crease and he was expected to do some fireworks towards the end, but surprisingly he failed to find boundaries and Rajasthan managed to score just 126 runs at the end of 20 overs. Shah remained unbeaten on 28 from 32 balls and he managed to score just a boundary during his innings. Steyn and Mishra were the pick of the Hyderabad bowlers who picked up two wickets each. The Deccan Chargers on the other end began their innings on a confident note. Chandila couldn’t work his magic again as he was hit for a six and a boundary by Dhawan in the first over. By the end of 7 overs, Deccan Chargers had scored 60 runs without loss. Akshat Reddy was very impressive on top of batting order where he scored 42 runs from just 35 balls. Rajasthan got their first breakthrough in the 9th over when Dhawan charged down the wicket and was caught at deep cover by Chandila. But towards the end, Hyderabad managed to chase down the total in the penultimate over as Ashish Reddy hit consecutive boundaries off Tait’s 19th over. With this result, their last match has become inconsequential for the Rajasthan Royals who now cannot make it to the playoffs.