Bangalore crush Deccan by nine wickets

Royal Challengers Bangalore 86 for 1 (Dravid 35*) beat Deccan Chargers 82 (Kumble 4-16) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Anirudh Singh made nearly half of Deccan's runs © Indian Premier League
Related Links Players/Officials: Anirudh Singh | Anil Kumble Matches: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers at Mumbai Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League Teams: Deccan Chargers | India | Royal Challengers Bangalore

In a yawn-inducing crawl, Deccan Chargers meandered to 82, the lowest total of the season, and Royal Challengers Bangalore knocked it off without much fuss to book their spot in the next Champions League.

Not many people bothered to turn up for the game, nine Deccan batsmen scored less than five runs and a dull, almost anaesthetic, atmosphere prevailed through their innings. Adam Gilchrist's early dismissal set the tone for the innings: It was a slow gentle full toss from Anil Kumble and while it was in its trajectory you felt it was going to be smashed for a six but Gilchrist contrived to hit it to deep backward square-leg where Jacques Kallis took a neat catch.

It was that kind of a dull and dreary night. Perhaps the loss in semi-final had sapped Deccan, perhaps it was just one of those nights when nothing went right for them and it made for almost painful watching experience.

Bangalore ticked off all the boxes that were required of them: Kumble showed his intent by opening against Gilchrist, Praveen Kumar mixed his cutters with slower ones in a tight spell, and Dale Steyn, though not as pacy as he has been in this tournament so far, was accurate to keep the batsmen in check. Monish Mishra played all around a straight delivery from Praveen to be trapped in front and Rohit Sharma threw his wicket away with a lame pull shot to mid-on.

Match Meter RCB Adam Gilchrist combusts: It was a gentle full toss from Anil Kumble but Gilchrist swings it to deep backward square-leg fielder. It sets the tone for Deccan's abysmal batting performance RCB Rohit Sharma throws his wicket away: Rohit pulls a short-of-length delivery lamely to mid-on and the innings never recovered after that. RCB Andrew Symonds falls: Symonds had just been reprieved by Dale Steyn at the fine-leg boundary but he falls off the next delivery. He backed away to try thrash a Steyn delivery but ends up edging it behind Advantage Honours even

Much depended on Andrew Symonds at that stage and he even got a reprieve when Steyn ran in too much at fine-leg to drop a catch but he fell on the very next delivery. He backed away to try force Steyn through the off side but edged it behind to the keeper to leave Deccan struggling at 27 for 4 in 6.1 overs. And it soon turned to 35 for 5 when a clueless Dwayne Smith had his Richard Blakey moment against Kumble: It was a slider that came in from just outside off but Smith stabbed at thin air and looked slightly sheepish when he lost his off stump.

It was only due to Anirudh Singh, one of many changes in the Deccan set-up for this game, that Deccan avoided complete embarrassment. He probably would pick a sliced square-drive over backward point off Steyn as his top shot though a thumping drive over covers off a slower one from the same bowler too caught the eye. There was even a six against Nayan Doshi, who made an impressive IPL debut, but Anirudh mainly dealt in nudged singles. When he fell in the 16th over, bowled by Kallis, Deccan lost their only hope of reaching 100.

Rahul Dravid and Kallis ensured Bangalore got off to a solid start and once they achieved it, it was always going be a just a stroll in the park for them. Though Kallis fell in the eight over, Dravid guided Bangalore through in the company of Kevin Pietersen.

Bangalore aim to ward off Deccan threat

Match facts

Deccan v Bangalore, Nagpur
Monday, April 12
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

	Anil Kumble has been magnificent with the ball and has led from the front. © Associated Press
Related Links Matches: Deccan Chargers v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Nagpur Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League Teams: Deccan Chargers | India | Royal Challengers Bangalore

Big Picture

Deccan Chargers refuse to fade away. Just when you thought they were slipping away, they bounced back with a win. Just when you thought they were over-reliant on big names, T Suman led from front. Just when you thought they were really poor while bowling in the end overs, they produced a near-perfect end game against Chennai Super Kings.

The clarity over each player's role, so well defined during last year's winning campaign, is gradually coming to the fore. Andrew Symonds is the finisher, Rohit Sharma the engine of the batting, Suman provides the momentum and Monish Mishra the much-needed blast at the top.

Deccan will hope Adam Gilchrist fires in the upcoming pressure games. It isn't as if he has looked out of touch, but he has rarely converted any of his starts. The bowling, despite their good showing against Chennai, has not looked completely reliable.

Things won't be as easy against Royal Challengers Bangalore, as was the case with Chennai. Bangalore, too, were appearing to lose the plot after they lost four out of five games, but roared back with a commanding performance against Kolkata Knight Riders.

After Rahul Dravid joined the form men with a delightful fifty in that match, Bangalore's batting looks solid. The bowling has been iffy; they conceded 180-plus totals in the three consecutive games before improving against Kolkata, keeping them to 160. Despite that performance, the bowling will remain a headache and Deccan have the batting firepower, on their day, to take full toll.

If Bangalore win on Monday, they will move a step closer to qualifying for the semi-finals with 14 points and two games to play. Deccan are currently placed seventh, and are in a tougher situation with a poor net run-rate of -0.539. If they win, though, they will be level on points with three other teams and climb, depending upon the margin of victory, at least two places up.

Form guide (most recent first)

Bangalore Royal Challengers WLLWL
Deccan Chargers WWLLL

Team talk

Who will partner Jacques Kallis in the opening slot? Sridharan Sriram, who can slip in couple of overs, or will Bangalore return to Manish Pandey?

Deccan seem a settled unit, finally, on the batting front, but the bowling remains a problem area. It says a lot about RP Singh's skills on flat tracks when Symonds looks a much better option to complete the quota of four overs. The bright spot for Deccan in their bowling has been Ryan Harris, who, chosen over Chaminda Vaas, was the Man of the Match in the last game.

Previously

Deccan 3, Chennai 2
In the previous game between the teams, Suman played a responsible hand to steer Deccan to a seven-wicket win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In the spotlight

Anil Kumble has been a treat to watch. The two-fingered googlies have worked like a charm and he has shown mastery in varying his pace. He has never been shy to take on the toughest batsmen and continues to be Bangalore's best bowler.

Andrew Symonds may not have been at his brutal best, be but he is playing his role to perfection. In the last few games, he has showcased his great skill of knowing exactly when to play the big shot and has backed his instincts.

Prime numbers

• With 61 fours, Jacques Kallis is way ahead of Andrew Symonds (27 fours), the nearest competitor from the opposition. With 21 sixes, Robin Uthappa has six more than Adam Gilchrist, the man with the most sixes for Deccan.

• Uthappa's 179.74 is the best strike-rate among those who have scored 200 or more in this IPL.

• Both Vinay Kumar (4 for 40) and Anil Kumble (3 for 9) feature in the list of the top five bowling figures in an innings. There is no one from Deccan in the top ten..

The chatter

"We're still in the mix now. We are improving our performances though I wouldn't say we are at our best. If we can secure some wins by not playing at our best, it's a good sign."
Adam Gilchrist, after the win against Chennai

"The balance and depth of our side can be judged by the fact that someone like Kevin Pietersen has to sit out. But that's how it is. You can only play four foreigners and rightly so. This is the Indian Premier League.
Rahul Dravid speaks his mind

Sriram Veera is a staff writer at Cricinfo