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Untitled Document
 Praveen bowls Royal Challengers to victory over Deccan Chargers
3rd May 2008 23:03 IST
Agencies
Bangalore Royal Challengers pacer Praveen Kumar took three wickets to help his team pull off a narrow three-run win against Deccan Chargers in a nail-biting match of the Indian Premier League at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore today.
Praveen returned figures of 3/23 even as the hosts successfully defended their modest total of 156/8 to claim their second win in the tournament while the fine half-centuries by Deccan Chargers skipper VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma went in vain.
Laxman (52) and Sharma (57) put on 96 runs for the third wicket to provide a ray of hope when Deccan Chargers appeared to be in trouble after losing two quick wickets.
When the Hyderabad team needed 20 runs for victory in the last over, Sanjay Bangar (17 not out) hit Anil Kumble for two successive sixes raising the team's hopes but could not clinch the match for his team, which ended up at 153/6 in their stipulated 20 overs.
Earlier, put in to bat, none of the Royal Challengers' batsmen could touch the half-century mark and opener Wasim Jaffer top-scored with a 37-ball 44.
Virat Kohli (38) and Rahul Dravid (26) provided valuable contributions to the side when other batsmen were out cheaply.
Jaffer also stitched a 72-run partnership off 54 balls with Kohli. The hosts brought on the 50 in 6.3 overs, and were 80 for one after 10 overs.
Dravid, who was dropped by Scott Styris when he was on 12, finally got out on the last ball of the innings. He hit one four and two sixes in his 21-ball knock.
Their batting collapse began after Rudra Pratap Singh, who was the pick of the bowlers returning figures of 3/41, bowled out Bharat Chipli at a measly 10 run individual score.
Pragyan Ojha removed Jaffer by having him caught by Herschelle Gibbs and uprooted the middle stump of Jacques Kallis (6) to finish with two wickets to his credit.
The Bangaloreans just could not counter the bowling attack and failed to increase the run rate when Kohli was also caught by Bangar off RP Singh and Misbah-ul-Haq (3) was trapped lbw by fellow Pakistani Shahid Afridi.
The beleaguered Royal Challengers were 111/5 in the 15th over. |
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