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Sharma rips Royals apart

Kimberley - Rohit Sharma tore though the Rajasthan Royals’ middle-order as the Deccan Chargers thumped the Royals by 53 runs in their IPL match at the De Beers Diamond Oval on Monday.

Off spinner Sharma returned the excellent figures of three for 12 off three overs as Rajasthan lost seven wickets for 39 runs to be all out for 113 with four balls of their innings remaining.

Rajasthan’s troubles began early when left-arm swing bowler Chaminda Vaas sent down an opening spell of 3-0-12-2 before ending the match with figures of two for 19 off four overs.

Vaas’s efforts ensured that Rajasthan slipped to 48 for three in the eighth over of their innings

Swapnil Asnodkar kept his head, and his wicket, as his team-mates fell around him and Rajasthan limped to the tactical break, after 10 overs, on 59 for three needing to score at 10.8 runs to the over to win the match.

Asnodkar and Yusuf Pathan added 31 runs for the fourth-wicket before Pathan mistimed a drive off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and was caught at long-off by Dwayne Smith for six as Rajasthan slumped to 74 for four in the 12th over.

Rajasthan’s trouble’s deepened when Asnodkar was run-out after a terrible mix-up with his partner Ravindra Jadeja, as a throw from Venugopal Rao at deep midwicket found both batsmen in the middle of the pitch with Asnodkar eventually being run-out for 44 off 39 balls.

Asnodkar’s dismissal heralded the end of any meaningful resistance from Rajasthan as Sharma dismantled the Royals’ batting line-up.

The result moves the Chargers to third on the IPL point’s standings.

Earlier, some lusty hitting from Dwayne Smith propelled the Chargers to 166 for seven.

Smith bashed 47 runs off 32 balls after his innings had got off to a slow start with the right-handed Smith scoring his first 14 runs off 19 balls.

Smith eventually fell in the last over of his team's innings as he holed out to Abhishek Raut at cow-corner off the bowling of off spinner Yusuf Pathan.

The Chargers’ innings had looked in danger of falling short of the 150 mark as they failed to build a decent partnership until Smith and Vaas (20) put on 37 runs for the fifth-wicket before Vaas whipped a delivery from Pathan straight to Lee Carseldine at wide long-on.

After winning the toss and electing to bat opening batsman Tirumalsetti Suman got the Chargers off to a reasonable start with an entertaining knock of 29 off 19 balls before he smashed a delivery from medium-pacer Siddharth Trivedi down deep midwicket’s throat.

Andrew Symonds was another Deccan batsman to make a decent start and he looked menacing during his innings of 30 off 19 balls before he was flummoxed by a delivery from left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and was bowled to leave the Chargers on 83 for four in the 12th over.

Rajasthan’s spinners looked threatening thought the Chargers’ innings as Pathan returned figures of three for 34 off four overs while Jadeja chipped in with two for 26.
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