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Untitled Document
 Rajasthan Royals plunge Deccan Chargers to third successive defeat
25th Apr 2008 08:00 IST
Agencies
Andrew Symonds' fastest hundred went in vain as Rajasthan Royals notched up a thrilling three-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal in Hyderabad Thursday night.
Shane Warne (22) repaid Symonds in the same coin by hitting him for two successive sixes in the final over to script his team's victory.
Chasing 215 to win, Royals overhauled the target with a ball to spare with Warne coming up with a 22-run cameo off just nine balls.
Requiring 17 runs off the final over, Warne wielded willow to great effects as he twice hit Symonds over the ropes to seal a nail-biting win.
Royals made a fitting reply through Yusuf Pathan (61) Greame Smith (71) and Mohammad Kaif (34).
The hosts had piled up 214/5, largely built around Symonds' unbeaten knock of 117 runs, after put in to bat by rival skipper.
Pathan and Smith, who made his IPL debut, shared a crucial 98-run partnership for the second wicket.
Required run-rate soared after the departure of Pathan, who hit six sixes and four boundaries, but Kaif hit three sixes in 15th over bowled by Symonds to keep the target within their reach.
Shahid Afridi (3/27) removed Kaif and Smith in the 17th over and conceded just six runs to turn the tide in favour of the hosts and it could have been three wickets for Afridi had Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna not dropped Ravindra Jadeja.
Rudra Pratap Singh then castled Jadeja with a perfect yorker apart from effecting a run out of Dinesh Salunke (1) in the penultimate over and it looked Chargers would finally taste the victory.
However, it was anti-climax for the hosts who plunged to their third successive defeat following gritty batting by rival skipper.
Chargers captain VVS Laxman chose Symonds to bowl the last over that required 17 runs for the Royals to win.
Pankaj Singh took two runs off of the first ball and a single off the second. Warne first hit straight for four, then pulled over mid-wicket for a six and then hit another six over the covers to seal victory for his team with a ball to spare.
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