Deccan down Bangalore to stay alive

Rohit Sharma's half-century and a splendid performance from their bowlers saw Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 13 runs in the Indian Premier League match, in Nagpur, on Monday.

Rohit scored 51 from 46 balls and was involved in an 82-run partnership in 60 balls with Monish Mishra (41 from 30 balls) that rescued Deccan after they were reeling at 14 for three.

Set 152 for victory, Bangalore lost wickets at regular intervals and were bundled out for 138 in 19.4 overs.

Rahul Dravid top-scored for Bangalore with a 35-ball 49, while Robin Uthappa stroked 34 from 20 balls, but Bangalore's long batting line-up failed to deliver.

Pragyan Ojha (2 for 22), RP Singh (2 for 21), Harmeet Singh (2 for 24) and Ryan Harris (2 for 34) shared the wickets for Deccan.

Harmeet, who used the slower balls to good effect and claimed two wickets in the 19th over, was named the man of the match.

Pacer Dale Steyn took three for 18 earlier to restrict Deccan Chargers to 151 for six in their 20 overs.

Steyn, who bowled 14 dot balls in his four overs, rocked Deccan with three wickets in his first two overs, including the big scalps of Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs.

Deccan have now won three matches in a row to keep their hopes of making it to the semi-finals alive. They have 12 points from as many matches.

Bangalore, who lost three of their last four games, are still second in the table with 12 points and now need to win their last two matches to progress to the semis.

Deccan Chargers:

Electing to bowl, Bangalore had a dream start, Steyn picking two wickets in the opening over of the match.

The South African pacer beat Gilchrist (0) with an outgoing delivery and had him caught behind for a duck. Off the very next delivery he had T Suman fending a short one and Ross Taylor at backward short leg took a neat catch. He too was out for a golden duck.

Herschelle Gibbs, dropped on one, didn't survive for long; he was bowled by a full delivery from Steyn for 12.

Mishra and Rohit Sharma repaired the damage with a steady partnership. They started off cautiously before Mishra broke the shackles, hitting Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli for a six each in consecutive overs to take the total to 71 for three after ten.

KP Appanna also suffered the same fate in his first over when Mishra stepped down and slammed him for a straight six, in the 11th over. Rohit Sharma also looked to accelerate the scoring rate and hit Jacques Kallis for three consecutive boundaries in the next over.

Just when it looked that Deccan were running away towards safety, Bangalore pegged them back with another wicket. Mishra, who had made 41 from 31 balls, was run out as he went for a second run but his partner Rohit didn't respond.

Kallis was yet again attacked by the Deccan batsmen in his third over, hit for a boundary each by Rohit and Symonds. Left-arm spinner Appanna also went for a couple of boundaries in the following over as  Deccan moved to 124 for four after 16 overs.

Captain Anil Kumble then claimed the big wicket of Symonds, having him stumped for 19. That dismissal ended Deccan's hopes of posting a big total.

In the next over, Rohit also took the walk back when he chipped Vinay Kumar to Manish Pandey at long-on after scoring 51 from 46 balls.

Ryan Harris (13) hit Kallis for a six in the final over to take Deccan to 151 for six in their 20 overs.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Ryan Harris gave Deccan the perfect start when he struck with the first ball of the innings, having opener Manish Pandey caught behind by Gilchrist.

Dravid got off the mark in style, driving Harris through covers for a boundary. Kallis then hit RP Singh for a four through the covers in the next over to get off the mark.

Andrew Symonds had a bad start to his spell as Dravid hit him for a couple of boundaries in his first over to take Bangalore to 27 for one after four overs.

While Dravid hit Pragyan Ojha for two boundaries in as many overs, Kallis struggled to read the spinner. The Bangalore opener, on 11, was lucky to survive a close leg before shout against Ojha when he was struck right in front of the stumps with one that straightened a bit.

Dravid seemed in positive frame of mind and was quick to slam Harmeet Singh for two boundaries in his opening over when the pacer dropped short and wide. But Harmeet came back well in his next over, giving away just three, as Bangalore were restricted to 72 for one at the halfway stage, needing 80 from the last ten overs.

Symonds then pegged Bangalore back with the wicket of Dravid, who holed out to the fielder at long-off, and was dismissed after a good innings of 49 from 35 balls, inclusive of eight boundaries.

With no boundaries coming from the last three overs, Robin Uthappa broke the shackles by slamming Symonds over midwicket for a six, in the 13th over.

Deccan got a huge boost in the next over when Ojha got the big wicket of the in-form Kallis, who hit one straight to B Sumanth mid-on after a sedate knock of 27 from 37 balls.

Bangalore were losing their way as they reached 96 for three after 14 overs, 27 runs coming from the last five overs, including just one six.

And it got worse when Ross Taylor was bowled by a fast yorker from RP Singh for one, while Virat Kohli holed out Ojha to long-on for three.

Cameron White also perished in the deep when he hit RP Singh to Symonds at long-on for four. That wicket saw Singh claim his 50th wicket in the IPL. He becomes the first bowler achieve the milestone.

Uthappa has proved to be Bangalore's crisis man in the tournament so far and once again he had a stiff task on hand.

With 39 needed from last three overs, Deccan gave the ball to Harris, but the move backfired as Uthappa hit him for two sixes for 21 runs from that over.

Harris was greeted by a huge six straight down the ground from Uthappa and another one wide of the long-on fielder as Bangalore moved to 134 for six after 18 overs, with 18 needed from 12 deliveries.

But Harmeet quashed Bangalore's spirited challenge with wickets off successive deliveries, while conceding just one run to finish with wonderful figures of two for 24.

First, Uthappa was foxed by a slower delivery and bowled as he attempted another huge hit for a quick 34 from 20 balls. Dale Steyn tried to sweep the pacer but missed and was struck right in front of the stumps, dismissed off the first delivery he faced.

Bangalore lost another couple of wickets in the final over and were bowled out for 138 in 19.4 overs. They lost by 13 runs.

Vinay Kumar was bowled by a yorker from Harris for four, while KP Appanna went for an impossible second run and was run out for one to end Bangalore's innings.

Pragyan Ojha (2 for 22), RP Singh (2 for 21), Harmeet Singh (2 for 24) and Ryan Harris (2 for 34) came up with important strikes at the right time for Deccan.