IPL: Deccan End With A Win; Rajasthan Fail To Qualify

Deccan Chargers put an end to Rajasthan Royals' hopes of making it to the play offs with a five wicket win. Though in control of the chase throughout, Deccan did seem to conjuring up yet another defeat out of a certain win. Cool batting by Parthiv Patel at the end was enough to see them through to just their second win.

In a must win match, the Royals batted first, and lost Rahane early. Watson and Binny too failed to make an impact. Slow but sure innings from Dravid, Menaria and Owais took the score to 126, a score even though below par, could have been challenging. Dale Steyn snared two wickets for twenty runs, but Mishra bowled the best spell of the match to strangle the Rajasthan innings.

Deccan had a new batsman at the top of their order, with PA Reddy getting a look in. He made good use of that chance and in the company of Shikhar Dhawan got the team off to a rollicking start. But the likes of Chandila and Siddharth Trivedi managed to bring the run rate down with some disciplined bowling. As Duminy and Lynn struggled to get the runs, the equation got closer, and one wondered whether the Chargers would blow this match away as well. Parthiv Patel played some cheeky shots at crucial times to ensure that this time they did get the win.

With that loss, the Royals campaign comes to an end, while Deccan give themselves the chance of avoiding the wooden spoon.