As the last day of league matches arrives, Deccan Chargers will take on
Royal Challengers Bangalore with the fate of the playoffs yet to be decided. Deccan
Chargers have already been eliminated while Royal Challengers Bangalore
need a win to assure themselves of a place in the playoffs.
Deccan Chargers scored a surprise victory on Friday evening to end Rajasthan
Royals' hopes of reaching the playoffs. The win was only their third this season,
and would like to end the season with some respectability with another win the
final match. Against Royals, their bowlers kept things tight with Dale Steyn
picking up the dangerous Rahane early. Amit Mishra, as has been throughout
the season, also picked up vital wickets at important stages of the match. Chasing
127, Akshath Reddy led the way with 42 while Shikhar Dhawan and JP Duminy made
valuable contributions. Cameron White will be the key man who could come
in the way of Royal Challengers Bangalore, his former franchise.
Click for Live Score Card of Hyderabad Deccan Chargers Vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Royal Challengers Bangalore needed a win in their last match, and they scored
it in style with Chris Gayle running wild while Virat Kohli was not too
far behind. Gayle smashed 128 off just 62 balls, including 13 towering sixes.
Virat Kohli contributed 73 in an unbroken partnership of 204 as the bowlers
were spanked all around the ground. In reply, the bowlers just had enough in
them to stop the total with Zaheer Khan picking up three important wickets while
Prasanth Parameswaran also had three wickets to his credit. Gayle will again
be the key determinant of the chances that Bangalore have of making it to the
playoffs while Tillakaratne Dilshan adds another dimension to the batting.
The match will be played in Hyderabad, the home ground for Deccan Chargers. Though
the hosts do not have a good history at this ground, their win in the last match
would spur them on.
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