A brilliant effort by Virat Kohli (58 off 35 balls) and a cotrolled knock by Kallis (68 off 44 balls) helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore put up a total of 184 for six in their stipulated 20 overs, even though at one stage it looked like they would struggle to score 150. Anil Kumble, again fiddled with the batting order, sending Rahul Dravid up at one drop, and yet again it misfired. Dravid managed to score just 26 out of 25 balls before giving it away.Had some one like Robin Uthappa or Ross Taylor got to play those deleveries, they could have scored at a doubly faster rate. Having in form batsmen at your disposal and not using them is just foolish. This very fact lead to Robin's dismissal as he found the urgency to go after the bowling as soon as he took his guard.
Deccan, till yesterday's encounter, had lost all 5 matches this season while chasing, hence were a bit concerned to chase down this total. But Suman, batting up the order, played a sensible knock (78 off 57 balls), and Symonds played as only he could. He scored 53 off 24 balls under tremendus pressure and sealed the fate of the match by the time they got to play the first two deliveries of the final over. This was the knock that the doctor ordered, as around that many runs were required in the final 24 balls.
Vinay Kumar and Praveen Kumar were found wanting when they needed to apply pressure, as Symonds scored at will. In a post match interview though, he heaped praise on Suman giving the entire credit to him. That was a nice gesture on Symonds' part.
Deccan with this win have kept their chances alive in this tournament, where apart from Mumbai and KXIP, every other team's fortune seems to be wildly swinging with each on going match.
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