- Rajasthan Royals staged a dramatic fightback to upset table-toppers Deccan Chargers by three wickets in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Defending a competitive 141-5, Deccan looked set for victory when they reduced Rajasthan to 3-3 in the second over but some sloppy efforts in the field saw the defending champions steal a sensational win with two balls to spare.
It was only the second defeat for Deccan from six matches while Rajasthan registered their third win from seven outings to throw open the tournament.
Charismatic all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, tactically brought down to number eight in the batting order, once again did the trick, hitting 24 from 14 balls with two fours and two sixes.
Pathan, named man of the match, came in with Rajasthan needing 49 from 35 balls but reduced the asking rate to a mere 11 from 12 balls.
Abhishek Raut, who remained unbeaten on a 23-ball 36, and Lee Carseldine (39) were the other contributors with the bat.
Tirumalsetti Suman earlier top-scored for Deccan with an unbeaten 41 after captain Adam Gilchrist gave the side a blazing start, scoring a 41-ball 39 with five fours and two sixes.
Suman paced his 30-ball innings intelligently and also shared a rollicking stand of 59 runs off 49 balls for the fourth wicket with Rohit Sharma (38) to rescue the side from a shaky 58-3.
Sharma's knock was laced with two fours and two sixes while Suman hit one six and two boundaries.
Debutant paceman Shane Harwood of Australia took a wicket off his very first ball and also scalped another at the death to finish with impressive figures of 2-25.
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