IPL 2012: Deccan Chargers eliminate RCB with 9-run win

Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to seal their play-offs berth against Deccan Chargers in their must-win IPL match.

Suyash Srivastava

Hyderebad: With nothing to lose, the Deccan Chargers hit the field with the aim to spoil the party for the Royal Challengers Bangalore who were looking to seal their berth for the playoffs in a must-win game. But the result was a heartbreak for Bangalore dugout as the home team defeated the visitors by 9 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad. Scorecard »I As it happened»I Points table » The way Deccan began their innings, the match was heading towards an early finish. Shikhar Dhawan was dimissed in an unfortunate manner off the last ball of Zaheer Khan’s first over. The ball shraply moved in for Dhawan as Khan appealed for a caught behind which was turned down by the umpire. But Chris Gayle was the first to notice that one of the bails had been removed and the replays confirmed that the off bail was knocked by the ball as it went to the keeper. Akshath Reddy (7), Cameron White (1) and Kumar Sangakkara (15) were dimissed early as Deccan slumped to 51/4. From there on, Duminy added crucial 71 runs for the fifth wicket along with Parthiv Patel (16 from 21). Duminy (74 from 53) was dismissed in the18th over and Deccan managed to post a respectable total of 132 runs. By the end of 15 overs, the Chargers had scored 67 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Duminy launched Vinay Kumar for first six of the innings in the 16th over. Duminy all of a sudden, accelerated as he scored 15 runs from the 17th over bowled by Zaheer Khan. But the deciding over was to be bowled by theMuralitharan. The South African hit the spin wizard for three sixes in his last over which produced 20 runs. From 67/4, Deccan managed to score 132 runs at the end of 20 overs. Vinay Kumar was the pick of the Bangalore bowlers as he picked three wickets, two of which came from the last two ball of the innings. Meanwhile, Zaheer Khan used all his experience to contain runs in the death overs as he also scalped two wickets. Even after those late blows by Duminy, the match looked pretty much in control of Bangalore and they knew that if Gayle gets going, chasing 132 should be a cakewalk. Steyn bowled a brilliant first over and both openers Gayle and Dilshan, gave full respect to the champion seamer. But Gayle clobbered Gony for two sixes and three boundaries in the second over of the innings. In his second over, Steyn surprised Gayle with an excellent bouncer and scalped the Jamaican off the very next ball. Steyn also picked up the wicket of Dilshan who was caught plumb in front of the wicket. To add to Bangalore’s woes, Amit Mishra continued his good form as he dismissed AB de Villiers (4) and Mayank Agarwal (1) in his second over. Bangalore went on the backfoot from there on and even though Virat Kohli tried to play a match-winning knock (42 from 40), his dismissal in the 16th over proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Gayle’s early dismissal has always been a major blow for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and this match was no different. They were hugely dependent on overseas players, Gayle in particular, to win matches for them. While the Hyderabad dugout left the field on a winning note, their victory would have come as a huge relief for the Chennai Super Kings who have now qualified for the playoffs. They have seen all the results go in their favour and keeping in mind their red hot form in the last few matches, the defending champions are now just two wins away from a hat-trick of IPL titles.