Deccan Chargers thrashed Rajasthan Royals by 53 runs in their Indian Premier League match at Kimberley on Monday to secure their biggest win in the competition.
Chasing a solid 167 to win, Rajasthan crashed to 113 all out with only three balls of their innings left.
It was the Hyderabad team's first win over Rajasthan in four matches. Having lost both their match-ups in the inaugural edition, the Chargers had also come up second best the first time the two teams met in this competition at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth.
It was the Hyderabad team's sixth win in 10 matches and took them up to third in the table. Rajasthan, with five wins and five defeats each, remain on fourth but the defending champions can ill afford to falter again.
Rohit Sharma delivered again with the ball, with figures of three for 12 (from three overs) and Chaminda Vaas, playing in his first match, impressed with two for 19 (from four).
Swapnil Asnodkar's valiant 44 was the lone innings of substance from Rajasthan.
Earlier, a quick fire 47 of just 32 balls (4x6) from Dwayne Smith helped Deccan Chargers post a formidable 166 for seven.
The Hyderabad batsmen had decent starts but to their bane failed to forge any decent partnership throughout their innings. However, Smith's late hitting helped them to a competitive total.
Yusuf Pathan was the most successful bowler for Rajasthan with figures of three for 34 (from four overs) while Ravindra Jadeja ably supported him with two for 26.
Hyderabad innings:
Shane Warne called incorrectly and his Deccan Chargers' counterpart Adam Gilchrist had no hesitation in opting to bat first, probably keeping in the mind the fact that the wicket at De Beers Diamond Oval will assist the spinners in the second innings.
The Hyderabad side was sans Herschelle Gibbs, the South African opener's tally of just 22 runs in his last five innings, including three ducks, ensuring T Suman came up the batting order.
Gilchrist smashed the final ball of Morne Morkel's first over over the midwicket fence for a maximum. However, the introduction of Yusuf Pathan in the fourth over resulted in the dismissal of the Hyderabad captain.
Gilchrist (10/11), looking to sweep, saw the ball rap his pads and the umpire raise his fingers. Television replays showed the ball had pitched outside the leg stump and the Australian was certainly unfortunate to be given out.
Nonetheless, Gilchrist's early dismissal continued his run of poor scores a series that reads 8, 39, 0, 25, 20 and 10 in his last six appearances.
Suman (29/19) seemed to enjoy his promotion though, a maximum over long-off (of Yusuf) and two boundaries of Siddharth Trivedi, one over midwicket and the other over deep backward square leg, being some of the interesting shots he hit during his sojourn.
However, Trivedi accounted for Suman in the same over he hit him for the two above-mentioned boundaries, having him caught by Lee Carseldine at midwicket.
Andrew Symonds was in his elements, hitting compatriot Warne first a boundary wide of midwicket and then over long on for a maximum, to race to 27 of just 15 balls.
However, Rohit Sharma (9/14) fell cheaply, stumped by Naman Ojha of Jadeja, in the final over before the strategic time out.
Hyderabad went into the break at 77 for three.
Symonds, who made a solid 36-ball 60 in his first match of the second season (against Punjab), looked in good touch again.
However, in the second over after resumption Jadeja caught short his innings with a delivery that pitched on leg stump and knocked it out. The Australian made 30 (19 balls).
Chaminda Vaas (20/15), playing in his first game served up some drama. He smashed Abhishek Raut over the long on fence for a maximum, hammered a ball straight back at Yusuf and the bowler dropped the difficult catch, and holed out to Carseldine at long on in the next ball.
Smith, meanwhile, was looking dangerous, helping him with maximums of Jadeja (over long on) and Yusuf (over square leg) in successive overs.
The 17th over bowled by Trivedi cost Rajasthan 17 runs, Venugopal Rao (12/7) getting a couple of boundaries the first over deep square leg and the second past short third man and it was interspersed with the West Indies player hitting his third maximum over midwicket.
In the penultimate over by Warne, Smith smashed a short ball wide of long on for his fourth maximum (in four overs). It was the 13th maximum hit of Wrane in the tournament the most from any bowler.
However, the Australian leg spinner had the final word, when Rao caught by Jadeja at long on, while attempting a similar shot.
Smith was out in the penultimate ball (of Yusuf), caught by Raut at long on. But by then he had ensured Deccan Chargers had a reasonable total to defend.
Rajasthan innings:
The Rajasthan innings was off to a disastrous start, with Graeme Smith (1/3) adjudged leg before to Vaas in the second over with the total reading just five.
TV replays confirmed the ball had actually hit high and the South African captain was rather unfortunate to be given out.
But Kumara Dharmasena's bizarre decision ensured his countryman had a wicket of his first ball to make a glorious comeback in the second edition.
Carseldine (8/11) hit a lovely on drive of Vaas that beat Venugopal Rao and reached the fence. But Vaas had his man three balls later, another huge appeal, this time for caught behind was turned down. However, the batsman without realizing the ball is still with Gilchrist set up for a run and the latter completed a simple stumping opportunity.
Rajasthan two down for just 20 after four overs.
Naman Ojha (16/14) hit a boundary each of Symonds and Vaas but was run out after a superb bit of fielding by Ravi Teja at backward point (and a subsequent direct hit at the non-striker's end).
Asnodkar hit a boundary each of Symonds and Ojha and ensured Rajasthan didn't lose any further wicket before the strategic time out, their score at the interval reading 59 for three.
With Rajasthan requiring a massive 108 from their last 10 overs, the by-now-well-set Asnodkar went on the offensive from the first over after resumption. He hit Symonds straight to Suman but the latter not only failed to latch on to the catch but also tipped the ball over the fence to ensure a maximum for the batsman.
The next ball was cut behind point for a boundary.
However, Pragyan Ojha got rid of the dangerous Yusuf Pathan (6/7), the latter giving Smith catching practice at long off.
With Yusuf, their highest run-scorer with 216 in 10 games out, the chase became a mountain to climb for Rajasthan.
And a terrible bit of confusion leading to Asnodkar's dismissal in Sharma's first over (the innings 14th) compounded matters further.
Asnnodkar made 44 of just 39 deliveries (6x4, 1x6) but lost his wicket at a time when his side could ill afford it.
Sharma cleaned up Raut (1/2) three balls later to add to the Rajasthan misery.
And with them requiring a mammoth 72 from their last five overs, Sharma struck twice in his second over, first having the dangerous Morkel (8/8) caught by Ravi Teja at square leg and then cleaning up captain Warne for a golden duck.
RP Singh cleaned up Trivedi (1/5) with a fuller delivery to take his 16th wicket in the competition and ensure the purple cap remains on his head a bit longer.
And when Munaf Patel (5/7) was run out in the third ball of the final over it was all over.
