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Steyn gun rocks Deccan

Dale Steyn rocked Deccan Chargers' top-order, dismissing Adam Gilchrist off the fourth ball of the innings.

He then sent the in-form T Suman back to the pavilion, off the very first ball he faced, with a superb short delivery. The pacer bowled one into the body of Suman, who lobbed an easy catch to Ross Taylor at backward short-leg.

Vinay Kumar, who opened the bowling at the other end, almost had Herschelle Gibbs, but Taylor dropped a relatively easy chance. The South African then hit Vinay for a six.

Steyn then struck another blow, when he cleaned up Gibbs with a peach of a delivery to reduce Chargers to 14 for three.

Deccan Chargers went on to win by 13 runs and keep their hopes of makng the semi-finals alive.

Photographs: IPL/Getty Images

Monish-Rohit steady innings

With three quick wickets pegging the Chargers, it was up to Rohit Sharma and young Monish Mishra to revive the innings. The duo played sensible cricket, mixing caution and aggression to step up the run-rate.

Rohit broke a shackles a bit by hitting a boundary off Steyn. Monish followed it up by piercing the gap between short fine leg and square leg for a boundary, as Chargers steadied themselves a bit after the early loss of wickets.

But the real momentum came in the 11 over, when Rohit hit Jacques Kallis for a hat-trick of boundaries.

Bangalore gets a lucky breakthrough

But just when things were looking up for the hosts, Monish ran himself out, giving the Royals a lucky breakthrough.

As Rohit played one through the covers, he initially called for a couple, but then quickly put his hand up.

Monish, who charged back for the second run, didn't look at his partner until he reached the other end. Wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa had enough time to flick the bails off.

The duo added a crucial 82 runs for the fourth wicket.

Rohit continues his good run

Rohit continued his good form and came up with yet another sterling performance. He was particularly severe on Kallis, first hitting him for a boundary and then following it up with another four off left-arm spinner Appanna.

The middle-order batsman soon posted a half century, when he flicked a Kumble delivery to the on-side.

He was well-supported by Andrew Symonds at the other end. The Australian opened up with a boundary off Kallis and then off Appanna.

Symonds, however, couldn't contribute much as he was brilliantly stumped by Uthappa off Kumble.

Rohit followed soon, caught by Manish Pandey off Vinay Kumar.

Ryan Harris hit couple of lusty blows in the end as Chargers crossed the 150-run mark, finishinh with 151 for six wickets in 20 overs.

Harris snaps Pandey

Defending a paltry score of 152, it was important for Chargers to strike early.

And Ryan Harris provided the perfect start for the hosts, when he snapped Manish Pandey off the first ball of the innings.

Harris bowled one outside off-stump and had Pandey fending, only to guide it to Adam Gilchrist's gloves.

Dravid-Kallis rally Challengers

The experienced duo of Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis put their heads down and put up a brilliant batting display. Dravid was the aggressor of the two, hitting Symonds for consecutive boundaries.

He was severe on spinner Pragyan Ojha and medium pacer Harmeet Singh, putting both to boundaries in their respective overs.

However, just when the duo looked to take the game away from the Chargers, Symonds provided the breakthrough; he enticed a set Dravid to play a loose shot.

Dravid was caught at long-off by Suman after a well-made 49 off 35 balls, with eight hits to the fence.

Kallis also departed soon, when he tried to loft Ojha for a maximum and was caught at long-on by Sumanth. The all-rounder could only manage 27 off 37 balls.

The duo added 74 for the second wicket.

Chargers tighten the screws

The Chargers kept a tight line and length as the bowlers dried up the boundaries. RP Singh, who was brought in for the second spell, first dismissed big-hitter Ross Taylor with a yorker.

In the next over, Ojha picked up Virat Kohli, and the wicket of Cameron White meant that Bangalore were in a spot of bother.

Uthappa keeps them in the hunt

However, just when things seemed lost for the Bangalore, Robin Uthappa showed what he can do with the bat. Harris, who came in for the second spell, was taken apart by the batsman.

He hit consecutive sixes as the Bangalorean plundered 21 runs off that over, bringing down the run-rate drastically.

Harmeet wins the game for Chargers

However, young Harmeet Singh bowled the over of the match. He first knocked out Uthappa's off-stump with slower delivery and then caught Dale Steyn right in front of the stumps.

Harris bowled the final over, picking up the wicket of Vinay Kumar, as Chargers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Chargers eventually won by 13 runs to keep their semi-final hopes alive.