Royal Challengers Bangalore imploded in their most crucial match of the season and failed to qualify for the playoffs after choking in a low-scoring chase. Their defeat in Hyderabad allowed Chennai Super Kings to hang on to fourth spot at the end of the league stage.

Deccan Chargers scratched to 132 on a slow pitch, but their bowlers and fielders lifted the gloom of their campaign with a performance that brought the tournament’s most intimidating batting line-up to its knees. Chargers, who spent most of the season languishing at the bottom, left Pune Warriors holding the wooden spoon and moved to eighth spot.

The game was Royal Challengers’ to lose. A target of 133 should not have been too daunting for their top heavy batting line-up. The chase had several turning points – Chris Gayle’s dismissal, Dale Steyn’s first three overs and Virat Kohli’s rush of blood, to name a few. Steyn was unplayable with figures of 4-0-8-3, but crucially, he found support from the slower bowlers. Amit Mishra took two in an over to set Royal Challengers back and Ashish Reddy frustrated the batsmen with slower balls in the final stages.

Gayle has largely determined Royal Challengers’ fortunes this season, by combining big hits with longevity at the crease. He has, on occasion, started sedately before embarking on a boundary barrage. Today Gayle batted as though he was determined to finish in ten overs, pounding 24 in Manpreet Gony’s first over, the second of the innings.

In the third, Gayle had to face Steyn, bowling at serious pace. After ducking under a short ball aimed at his head, Gayle tried to make room by moving towards leg and bottom edged another fast short ball on to his stumps. Steyn then had Tillakaratne Dilshan lbw in his next over, and Royal Challengers were 40 for 2 when Saurabh Tiwary retired hurt after straining a hamstring in the sixth.

An overthrow that cost six runs was the only major blip on an unusually good day in the field for Chargers. Duminy’s leaping catch at short cover to get rid of AB de Villiers was an example of their improvement. The tension was palpable in the Royal Challengers camp as de Villiers walked back, because their tail began at No.7.

Tiwary returned in the tenth over after Mishra’s double-strike. He and Kohli kept Royal Challengers in the hunt during their brisk stand of 46, which came at 7.45 runs an over. The plan seemed to be to knock off as many as possible before Steyn returned for his final over. Kohli swung Ashish Reddy over long-on but a repeat of that shot the following ball found the fielder. A furious Kohli swung his bat at thin air in frustration.

Steyn returned to knock down Zaheer Khan’s middle stump to round off another dream spell. The game was all but sealed for Chargers as the asking rate proved too demanding for Royal Challengers’ tail. Kohli sat at the dug out with his pads on, hands on his face, wondering what could have been.

Besides Steyn, Chargers had another South African to thank – JP Duminy. The two-paced pitch produced attritional cricket and Chargers struggled to score at six an over. Duminy did his best to compensate for the failures of his other overseas colleagues with a late surge, pounding five sixes in an aggressive half-century.

Only two boundaries were scored in the Powerplay overs, which produced just 23 runs. By the end of the tenth over, the score was an underwhelming 47 for 3. Duminy, who began watchfully, hit the first of his five sixes when he heaved R Vinay Kumar over long-on in the 16th over. He hit three more in a single over from Muttiah Muralitharan, which cost 20. His knock was valuable in getting Chargers to a middling total on a slow pitch. It turned out to be enough.

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Rajasthan Royals needed to succeed in their final two matches to have a chance of qualifying. They would have expected to win the first of those: against Deccan Chargers who had been victorious in only two matches of 14 this season, and only won once in 18 matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Instead, they were knocked out of the playoff race by a stifling spell of legspin bowling from Amit Mishra which sucked the momentum out of Royals’ innings, tying them to their lowest total of the season.

After Royals chose to bat, Chargers were their usual woeful self in the Powerplay overs, putting down three catches to reprieve each of Royals’ top three. Royals’ highest run-scorer this season, Ajinkya Rahane, was dropped in the first over by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, but Chargers weren’t made to pay as Dale Steyn had Rahane edging to slip in the next over.

Royals have won the three games Shane Watson has fired in this season, and lost the three he failed in, highlighting how important he has become to the side’s fortunes since his arrival from the West Indies. Watson, too, was given a life in the fifth over, as Shikhar Dhawan couldn’t latch on to a diving effort at midwicket. On the very next delivery, Ashish Reddy let a drive from Rahul Dravid through his fingers at mid-on, conceding a boundary. The over ended with Watson blasting a straight six and Chargers demoralised.

Mishra lifted them with his first ball. It drifted in and spun away and Watson ended up playing inside the line to be bowled. The biggest wicket had been taken, and in Mishra’s next over, he got another breakthrough as a quicker googly left Stuart Binny bowled and clueless. He continued to get plenty of spin through his spell, mixing in googlies with his legspinners and bowling the odd delivery from wide of the stumps to change the angle.

Even Chargers’ fielding lifted after Mishra’s intervention, with both the catching and ground fielding improving. Dravid’s fight came to an end in the 12th over as he chopped a wide delivery to little-known Queensland batsman Chris Lynn, who nearly shelled it before grabbing it on his second effort.

The acceleration for Royals now had to come from Owais Shah, playing in place of the injured Brad Hodge. He wasn’t at his most fluent today though, struggling against the accuracy of Chargers’ bowling. It wasn’t just that Steyn was proving unhittable, even the Indian contingent of Gony and Veer Pratap Singh kept the batsmen mostly down to singles.

Only 65 runs came in the final ten overs, which meant Chargers were in with a chance of ending Royals’ chances and also their horror run at home. Shikhar Dhawan continued to be one of the bright spots of Chargers’ campaign, with only Chris Gayle scoring more than him this season. He and 21-year-old Akshat Reddy added 60 in seven overs to put Chargers on course.

Midway through the innings Chargers were so relaxed that their coach Darren Lehmann and stand-in captain Cameron White were exchanging a joke in the dug-out. It wasn’t a cruise to victory though as Reddy and White were dismissed in the space of seven deliveries, after which the boundaries proved elusive. Siddharth Trivedi choked the runs, giving away only 20 in four overs, and memories of the match-winning situations that Chargers have slipped from this season come back. There was no heartbreak for the fans however as Ashish Reddy slapped a couple of boundaries to finish off Royals.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

David Hussey shines as Punjab keep their head above water…

Deccan Chargers did it again. The Hyderabad franchise on Sunday night gave a perfect demonstration of what it takes to be a permanent resident of the basement.

After batting first and posting a huge total (190-4) through their most consistent batsmen, Deccan conspired to give it all away at the doorstep of victory. Eighty-two runs were needed by Kings XI Punjab, chasing to stay alive in the tournament, in just six overs with their frontline batsmen back in the pavilion, when David Hussey decided to step it up.

The Aussie smashed an unbeaten 65 in just 35 balls, adding 45 in 3.2 overs with Gurkeerat Singh, as Punjab stole an unlikely win from the jaws of defeat. It has to be mentioned that it was the unheralded Gurkeerat (29 n.o., 12b) who did the brunt of the scoring in the last over, bowled by Manpreet Gony, when 16 were required for victory.

Gurkeerat blazed a six and two boundaries to take Punjab home by a margin of four wickets, leaving Chargers in their usual sorry state of despair, yet again. The win leaves Punjab in seventh place, but they have three matches left – two against league leaders Delhi Daredevils and one against defending champions Chennai Super Kings.

Punjab did not begin their chase well. They were three down in the eighth over with just 56 on the board. And when Azhar Mahmood departed following a brisk cameo, it appeared to be all over for the home team. But Hussey came in, pulling T.P. Sudhindra for six and then going on a rampage against Amit Mishra, who was pulverized for 21 runs in the 15th over, as the Punjab skipper sought to meet the sky-high asking rate.

Another maximum against Sudhindra got Hussey to his fifty, and boundaries continued to flow thick and fast as first Piyush Chawla and then Gurkeerat wasted no deliveries in getting into their groove.

Earlier, Chargers’ most reliable batsmen associated to good effect as the team posted 190 after electing to bat. Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White struck their fifth half-century each of IPL-V as they combined for 96 runs. The two came together after Parthiv Patel and Kumar Sangakkara departed early, and did not allow their relentless pace of gathering runs to slacken at any stage.

White was dropped twice (on 34 and 37) and capitalized on the reprieves to go berserk towards the end. Daniel Christian came in and threw his bat around. Christian’s late fireworks took Chargers to a total in the vicinity of 200, and they lost despite being in the driver’s seat for the most of the match.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Even 187 wasn’t enough to push Deccan Chargers’ inexperienced bowling attack to pull off a surprise win against Delhi Daredevils. David Warner filled the vacuum left by Kevin Pietersen with a blistering century – his second in the IPL – in only his second game of the season. With a little help from Naman Ojha, Daredevils butchered their way back to No.1, overhauling the target with 20 balls to spare.

Chargers risked fielded a bowling attack without foreign players, the most experienced being Amit Mishra. It was a recipe for a mauling. There was no respite even at the other end as the promising Ojha capitalised on his promotion, hitting five sixes in his 64. The pair overshadowed a similar performance by another Indo-Australian left-right duo earlier in the evening, by Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White.

Daredevils’ response was so swift and intimidating that Virender Sehwag’s early departure was a distant memory. Sehwag tried to make a mockery of the decision to open the bowling with Dhawan by lofting the first ball of the chase to long-off. A similar attempt off the second ball resulted in a top edge that swirled to point as White held a well-judged catch running backwards.

It was the only memorable bit of fielding from Chargers. The familiar misfields reflected on another flat performance in the field, completely out of synch with the batting performance. Warner hit two forceful boundaries to take 16 off the opening over and set the tone for the rest of the chase.

Warner proceeded to expose the lack of depth and experience among the bowlers, one that should serve as a lesson for the franchise before the next trading window. TP Sudhindra, back after warming the bench for over a month, gave away 13 off his first over. Ashish Reddy, one of the impressive newcomers this season for Chargers, had his confidence dented with a 20-run opening over. Two consecutive short balls were pounded by Warner over cover and deep square-leg respectively. When he pitched it full, he was spanked through the off side.

Manpreet Gony was the only bowler to return with respectable figures. Mishra, the most experience, went for an embarassing 44 off four. Twenty-six of those runs came off Ojha, who used his feet to smash two sixes down the ground.

Warner, who looked below his best on the more sluggish pitches in the West Indies, was at home here with the ball coming onto the bat. He played his trademark pulls, including the one that brought up his century. Their stand of 189 was the second-best in the IPL, behind Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh’s 206 for Kings XI Punjab last year.

The 126 between Dhawan and White wasn’t lacking in quality though. The pair shrugged off a relatively slow first half with power hitting in the last nine overs to give their loyal fans something to cheer for. The partnership featured audacious shots like the Dilscoop and the paddle sweep interspersed with powerful straight hits and muscled sixes over deep midwicket.

Dhawan was particularly strong over the on side, fetching consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and raced to his fifty with consecutive straight hits off Irfan Pathan.

When the slower bowlers tossed it up, Dhawan hammered them over the on side; when Morne Morkel aimed at the base of the stumps, he strolled across his stumps and paddled him over the helpless short fine leg fielder. A century was there for the taking against a stunned bowling attack, but it took a brilliant fielding effort from Nadeem, effecting a direct hit from behind square leg to catch Dhawan a mile out of his crease.

White, who had earlier brought up the century stand with a six over deep midwicket off Nadeem, holed out to a top edge in the final over. Chargers, in the last nine overs, plundered 117 runs. Unfortunately, their bowlers failed to back that effort.

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Chasing 171, Deccan Chargers managed to score just 145, conceding an easy victory to Kings XI Punjab in the IPL clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Tuesday.

David Hussey, Praveen Kumar and Parvinder Awana claimed two wickets each for Punjab while Daniel Harris reamied top scorer for Hyderabad.

Parvinder Awna removed Parthiv Patel (17) after Praveen Kumar scalped Shikhar Dhawan (8) to spoil Deccan Chargers’ start after Kings XI Punjab set 171.

Patel’s dismissal reduced Chargers to 31/2 in five overs.

Daniel Harris, though steadied the innings, David Hussey got him and Cameron White in the 11 th over to derail Chargers’ chase.

In the next over, Praveen Kumar struck again to dismiss skipper Kumar Sangakkara, giving total control to Punjab.

Earlier, Mandeep Singh smashed a strokeful 48-ball 75 as Kings XI Punjab posted a challenging 170 against Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Mandeep blasted eight fours and three sixes to set the foundation for a big score for the Kings XI. The right-handed batsman stitched 55 runs for the opening wicket, before adding 39 and 33 runs with Hussey and Azhar Mahmood respectively.

The 20-year-old opener started the proceedings for Punjab on a cautious note before blasting two fours and a six in the second over off Veer Pratap Singh.

Other opener Shaun Marsh also picked up three boundaries spread over two overs off Rusty Theron before being dismissed by part-time spinner Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan deceived Marsh on the flight as the ball deflected off the pads onto the stumps.

Ashish Reddy then dismissed Nitin Saini in his first over to reduce Punjab to 58-2 in 7.4 overs. However, Mandeep hit the last ball over wide long-on.

Amit Mishra was then introduced into the attack but skipper David Hussey sent him sailing over extra over only in his second ball. Mandeep too ensured that runs keep coming thick and fast and brought up his fifty with a lofty inside out shot off Daniel Harris over cover.

Veer then got rid of Hussey when he had him caught at long-off. But Mandeep was unperturbed and blasted successive fours off Mishra through the midwicket area to bring up the hundred for Punjab.

In the 15th over, Mandeep took Veer to the cleaners. He first slammed a six over fine-leg and then one ball later, scooped one over the bowler’s head.

Ashish finally got rid of the opener when he had his off-stump pegged back in the next over while he was looking for a big slog.

Azhar Mahmood then clubbed a couple of fours before falling prey to a big mix-up in the 17th over. However, new man David Miller provided the late charge, smashing three fours and a six in his 18-ball cameo to swell the total.

Source: Times of India

AB de Villiers outstanding batting performance in the 18th and 19th over helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to have an easy win over Deccan Chargers. Yet, another loss for Deccan Chargers. Once again, Deccan Chargers made a huge score of 181, but, couldn’t stop the opponent team in chasing. Once again, they lost another winning match.

Royal Challengers Bangalore openers Tillakaratne Dilshan, and Chris Gayle gave a good start to the match by scoring 91 runs in their partnership. After the loss of Chris Gayle wicket, RCB lost next 4 wickets soon. But, AB de Villiers showed an outstanding batting performance and helped RCB to chase the score of 182. He scored 47 runs out 17 balls with 5 boundaries, and 3 sixers. And scored 23 runs in the 18th over itself.

Earlier during the Deccan Chargers innings, the top order batsmen Daniel Harris, Shikhar Dhawan, and Cameron White showed an excellent batting performance and took the score to 181 by just losing 2 wickets. Shikhar Dhawan was not out and scored 73 runs in 52 balls with 10 boundaries, and a six.

Daniel Harris Scored 47 runs out of 42 balls with 2 boundaries and 4 sixes. Cameron White scored 45 out 24 balls with 2 boundaries, and 3 sixes. Even skipper showed some good batting by making 10runs out of 3 balls with a boundary and a six. Altogether, they made a huge score of 181 runs.

Teams

Deccan Chargers: Kumar Sangakkara, Parthiv Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Cameron White, Ashish Reddy, Amit Mishra, Daniel Harris, PA Reddy, Dale Steyn, Anand Rajan, Veer Pratap Singh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chris Gayle, Zaheer Khan, Abhimanyu Mithun, Muttiah Muralitharan, Asad Pathan, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad, P Parameswaran

Their batsmen did not set Chepauk alight, nor did their bowlers destroy the opposition, but Chennai Super Kings fought hard on a demanding pitch to earn a victory that helped them claw back into the league’s top half. Their top-order made nugget-sized but swift contributions that ensured Super Kings reached a competitive target despite an end-over slowdown, after which their bowlers prevented Cameron White’s solitary straining at the reins from saving the night for Deccan Chargers. It was a gritty, unspectacular win, but one that ensured they did not drop points against the IPL’s bottom-placed team.

The turnaround for Super Kings, however, came via a stroke of luck. White and Shikhar Dhawan had kept Chargers on course by reaching 77 for 1 in the 11th over, when White drove the ball hard at Dwayne Bravo, the bowler. The ball thudded into Bravo’s hand and deflected a long way on to the stumps, catching Dhawan backing-up much too far. There was no luck involved in Kumar Sangakkara’s dismissal, though, when Suresh Raina lunged to his right to grab a firm drive with the fingertips of his outstretched hand. Daniel Christian took time to settle in and Chargers scored only 26 between overs 11 and 15 for the loss of two wickets. They needed 59 off the final five and run scoring was significantly harder as the ball got older.

Two more economical overs drove the equation up to 47 off 18 balls, when White swung Ravindra Jadeja far over long-on and long-off, and then through backward square leg, to give Chargers hope. With 27 needed off 10 deliveries, though, Jadeja’s accurate throw to Dhoni from the deep ran out White for 77, snuffing out Chargers’ last hope. Perhaps the most relieved man on the field was Albie Morkel, who had dropped White first ball.

Chargers had themselves to blame for their seventh defeat in ten matches. Their fielding has been shocking through the tournament and today’s performance was typical. Amit Mishra dropped Faf du Plessis on 10; he went on to top-score for Super Kings with 42. In the final over, Ankit Sharma and Parthiv Patel failed to call for a catch off Bravo and conceded two runs off that delivery. The next ball went for six and the last two for two each. In a format of small margins, Chargers were generous once again. They could have been chasing 140 instead of 160.

At one stage, however, Super Kings’ top order was building a platform for 180. M Vijay, who opened because Michael Hussey was replaced by Ben Hilfenhaus, flung his bat around before he was caught early, but there were brisk partnerships between the rest. Raina and du Plessis added 64 in 7.2 overs, the highlight being Raina, who took six balls to score, pulling and hooking Veer Pratap Singh for consecutive sixes.

In the end, the acceleration did not come. After scoring at a healthy clip for the majority of their innings, and despite sending the strongest in their arsenal upfront, Super Kings did not find that end-over propulsion. In fact, they slowed down: having made 118 for 3 in 14 overs, Super Kings scored only 42 off the final six, but it was ten too many for Chargers.

George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pune Warriors succumbed to the tournament’s whipping boys, Deccan Chargers, batting them out of the match for the second time in less than a week. It wasn’t a flawless win for the Chargers’ though, as their ground fielding and catching continued to look sloppy. Their saviour was an explosive stand of 157 between the two experienced hands – Cameron White and Kumar Sangakkara – which took them to 186. The Warriors slumped to their third consecutive loss and remained third from bottom in the points table.

The Chargers won the toss but got off to a poor start when they lost Parthiv Patel first ball, dragging Marlon Samuels onto his off stump.

The pressure increased on the inconsistent White and out-of-form Sangakkara, who brought himself back after sitting out the last match. The first ten overs was a slow and steady build for the Chargers, who struggled to get the run-rate above six.

Sangakkara didn’t look convincing at the start, playing and missing and also getting an under-edge off a drive. Chargers managed only five boundaries in the first nine overs, before a straight six by White off Murali Kartik in the tenth over gave the Warriors a sign of things to come.

It was as if the Chargers began on a fresh slate. The run-rate began creeping over six after the 12th over, the point from which Chargers took control. The 15th over was Sangakkara’s turning point in this tournament as he smashed four boundaries off Samuels. He lofted inside out over extra cover, edged to third man, smashed one over the bowler’s head and swept past short fine leg.

Sangakkara brought up his fifty the following over with a chip to short fine leg after which he pumped his fists. Sourav Ganguly, who had conceded 15 off two overs, brought himself back on to stem the runs but it turned out to be a tactical blunder as his meaty offerings cost the Warriors 25 runs. White slogged three consecutive sixes over the on side before clipping one to fine leg for four, in the process outscoring Sangakkara.

Sangakkara then took on Nehra, showing the confidence to innovate by shuffling at the crease and fetching four boundaries, including two sixes. Attempted yorkers turned into friendly full tosses, which Sangakkara pounded over the leg side. Chargers ransacked 50 off two overs before the pair fell off successive deliveries. They smashed 95 off the last six overs and gave themselves a shot at beating the Warriors for the second time.

The Warriors too dubiously lost a wicket off the first ball of the innings – the first such occurance in the IPL. After Manish Pandey tamely chipped Ankit Sharma to mid-on, Ganguly walked in, ahead of Steve Smith, as if taking a cue from the Chargers to have two experienced players in the face of a big task.

The start was still encouraging for the Warriors as Ganguly and Clarke unsettled Dale Steyn, hammering 17 off his second over. Ganguly fetched a four over cover at the start, before Clarke fetched three consecutive fours consisting of a flick and two cuts square on the off side. The bowler who had figures of 2 for 10 in four overs against Mumbai Indians a few nights back, ended with figures 4-0-46-0.

Ganguly took charge against the spinners and as the partnership mounted, aided by a couple of dropped catches off Ganguly’s bat – honours were even. A top edge by Clarke was spilled by Shikhar Dhawan at point, but to his luck, the batsmen risked a second run and an alert Amit Mishra gathered the ball and fired it to the wicketkeeper with Clarke a yard short of his crease.

Dhawan made amends the following over when Ganguly scooped one straight to cover. Embarrassed at falling to a part-timer, a peeved Ganguly walked back, flinging his bat and gloves as he headed to the dug-out. Robin Uthappa and Smith added 62, but their efforts could only get them close to the target. The Chargers toasted their second win, but left their coaching staff with plenty of headaches over the fielding.

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Chasing 178-run target, Pune Warriors India lost wickets at regular intervals against Deccan Chargers in their IPL 5 match at Subrata Roy Sahara stadium on Thursday.

Rusty Theron dismissed dangerous Steven Smith (26) as Chargers look for maiden victory in this year’s Indian Premier League. Smith smacked three huge sixes in his 13-ball blitzkrieg.

Ashish Reddy struck twice in his second over to rock the Warriors run chase. Reddy dismissed Marlon Samuels (3) and Robin Uthappa (29) in the 14th over to reduce Pune to 91/5 in 14 overs.

Uthappa hit a six and two boundaries in his 27-ball knock.

Pacer Manpreet Gony dismissed Sourav Ganguly in the tenth over to put Deccan in front. Ganguly played a handy innings of 23 off 20 balls which included a six and three boundaries and added 30 runs for the third wicket with Robin Uthappa.

Pune Warriors started uneasily as they lost openers Manish Pandey (21) and Jesse Ryder (7) inside six overs.

Rusty Theron dismissed Pandey to give Pune a big blow as Warriors are reduced to 43/2 in 5.2 overs. Pandey played a patient innings of 21 off 20 balls as he hit a six and two fours.

Ankit Sharma gave Deccan early breakthrough when he dismissed Ryder to reduce Pune to 15/1 in 2.3 overs.

Electing to bat first, Cameron White (78 off 46 balls) scored his maiden IPL fifty to help Deccan Chargers set 178-run target for Pune Warriors.

White smashed five sixes and six fours and added impressive 75 runs for the fourth wicket with JP Duminy (26 not out) to lead the Deccan’s innings.

White’s whirlwind knock came to an end when Marlon Samuels got better of him in the 18th over. Duminy played an unusually patient innings of 26 off 24 balls which include just one six.

Spinner Rahul Sharma got rid of Kumar Sangakkara (12) to reduce Deccan Chargers to 83/3.

Sharma clean bowled Sangakkara to break the growing partnership between Deccan skipper and Cameron White for the third wicket. The duo added 33 valuable runs after they lost openers in quick succession.

Deccan lost openers Parthiv Patel (24) and Shikhar Dhawan (16) inside 6 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck in the sixth over to get rid of Patel, who was playing well till then, to reduce Deccan to 50/2 in 6 overs. Patel smashed a six and three boundaries in his 18-ball 24 to lay a decent platform for the Chargers.

Deccan lost Dhawan (16) after the openers added 39 runs in 4 overs. Dhawan was run-out in the final ball of the fourth over while trying to complete a cheeky run. The opener hit a six and a four in his 11-ball short stay on the pitch.

Earlier, Deccan skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and decided to bat against Pune on Thursday.

Deccan rested their pace spearhead Dale Steyn for the match, Rusty Theron is playing in his place. Chargers made two more changes in the squad as Manpreet Gony replaced Veer Pratap Singh and Ashish Reddy is in for Anand Rajan.

Whereas, Warriors made two changes in the team – Marlon Samuels for Luke Wright and Bhuveneshwar Kumar for Murali Kartik.

Squad:

Pune Warriors: Steven Smith, Marlon Samuels, Sourav Ganguly (C), Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Robin Uthappa (W), Jesse Ryder, Manish Pandey, Rahul Sharma, Mithun Manhas, Alfonso Thomas

Deccan Chargers: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Parthiv Patel (W), Cameron White, JP Duminy, Ishank Jaggi, Ankit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ashish Reddy, Rusty Theron, Manpreet Gony.

Source: Times of India

There was heavy rain accompanied wind, and lightening in Kolkata has delayed the match between KKR, and DC. This was the initial decision, but as the rain was not stopping, match was called off. This was an huge disappointment for the viewers at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Points will shared equally between the two teams, i.e. Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers.

DC were thought of taking over KKR and gain their first point. However, they got first points, but had to share with KKR. On the other hand, KKR was very confident of winning the match from their easy win over DC in their previous match.