It took Anil Kumble’s side just 13.5 overs to overhaul 82 in a one-sided third-place play-off; RCB captain takes 4 for 16.
Expectations were high and so was the hype, but eventually it turned out to be a damp squib.
A meek surrender by Deccan Chargers handed Royal Challengers Bangalore the third Champions League T20 berth following a well-deserved nine-wicket win in the third-place play-off match at the DY Patil Ground in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.
In reply to Chargers’ paltry 82, Anil Kumble and Co romped home in 13.5 overs losing just one wicket. Rahul Dravid (35 off 30) and Kevin Pietersen (29 off 21) saw them through. Jacques Kallis was the only man dismissed for 19.
Before the start of the Royal Challengers’ innings, the writing was on the wall. It was just a formality that had to be completed and the shutters were down inside an hour.
Inconsistency and rash shots that let Deccan Chargers down on several occasions this season came to the fore yet again. It appeared as if Adam Gilchrist and Co wanted to seal the fate of the match within the first five overs. And they literally did so by losing three wickets with only 20 runs on the board. The opportunity was well grabbed by the Royal Challengers.
Kumble stuck to his plan and got instant success as early as in the first over when he had the dangerman Gilchrist out of the way. Chargers captain — attempting a hook — was caught near the boundary line by Kallis for four and the hopes of a flying start vanished.
Praveen Kumar then scalped Mohnish Mishra for nought when his first delivery nipped back sharply and caught Mishra plumb in front of the wickets. Enter Rohit Sharma.
But he too threw away his wicket. Not only was the CLT20 berth at stake but also it was a golden opportunity for him to leave an impression before embarking on the tour of the West Indies for the World T20. He made a mess of it by holing one out to Pietersen at mid-on off Kumar without troubling the scorer. His struggle lasted only four balls.
Andrew Symonds (2) joined the procession towards the dugout leaving the side tottering at 27 for four. Thereafter, Chargers could have only hoped to bat for the full quota of 20 overs as conquering the third spot and qualify for the CLT20 was, by then, a distant dream. Dwayne Smith made just five.
Y Venugopal Rao, once touted to be the next big thing by former India coach Greg Chappell, never aimed for anything big here. When the need of the hour was some quick runs, he managed to scrape through to 24 off 27 before being shown the door by Nayan Doshi, son of former India left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi.
There were no more weapons left in Gilchrist’s armoury to put up any sort of challenge against an attack that had the likes of Kumble, Kumar, Dale Steyn and Kallis.
Without taking away any credit from the Royal Challengers bowling, it was more of irresponsible shots and lack of application that led to Chargers’ downfall.
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