JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Big hitting from Abhishek Raut guided holders Rajasthan Royals to a three-wicket win over the Deccan Chargers with two balls to spare in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash in Port Elizabeth, yesterday.
Raut hit an unbeaten 36 from 23 balls as Rajasthan reached their victory target of 142 despite a bad start.
Rajasthan slumped to three for three before Australian Lee Carseldine gave the innings some momentum by scoring 39.
Part-time spinner Venugopal Rao then claimed two wickets in an over as the Royals slumped to 57-5 at the halfway mark.
But busy innings by Shane Warne (21) and Yusuf Pathan (24) got them back on track before Raut’s decisive knock.
Deccan scored 141-5 with Tirumalsetti Suman top-scoring with 41.
In Johannesburg, the Chennai Super Kings beat the Delhi Daredevils by 18 runs thanks to outstanding bowling by their spinners, proving that it will be the slower bowlers who pose the greatest danger on winter pitches in South Africa. The Daredevils appeared set for victory by reaching 120-3 after 15 overs as they chased a target of 164.
But slow left-armer Shadab Jakati (4-24) started a collapse that saw five wickets tumble for eight runs and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan conceded just a single and claimed a wicket in the 17th over as Delhi’s chase fell short at 145-8.