The Bangalore Royal Challengers were shut out in their second successive match, as the Deccan Chargers won their second in as many games on Wednesday in the Indian Premier League.
The Chargers won the toss and decided to bat first, a decision that was very much on expected lines given the conditions. Adam Gilchrist, who hadn’t had a great opening in the previous encounter went after the bowling from the word go and took on all three opening bowlers; Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis. Kumar looked particularly miffed at the field that he had been given and the end from which he had been asked to bowl, but given Gilli’s mood, it wouldn’t have mattered either ways. Gibbs tried to imitate Gilli and managed to smash a four and a six, but in the end, was declared LBW to Kumar. VVS Laxman did not last long either, but it was the return-to-form of Rohit Sharma that propelled the score forward. 
The duo of Gilli and Sharma added 61 runs off only six overs before Gilli departed for a 45-ball 71 – DC at 127/3 in 13 – but it was here that Sharma took over the charge. Anil Kumble who had scalped five wickets in the first match of the tournament was smashed for three sixes in an over, as Sharma brought about his fifty soon thereafter and got out.
The rest of the batters failed to up the ante, and failed to get to the 200-run mark, a score that seemed possible at the stage when Gilchrist or even Rohit Sharma was still around.
The target of 185 was big enough though, and the Bangalore start was as appalling as it could get with Jesse Ryder’s first ball dismissal to Fidel Edwards. Robin Uthappa barely managed to tickle the scorers, where as Jacques Kallis’ inning was cut short by R.P. Singh for 15. At 38/3 in the eighth over, Challengers’ last hope was their skipper, but Kevin Pietersen hasn’t yet found his feet in his former hometown in South Africa and was stumped off the bowling of Pragyan Ojha.
Rahul Dravid (48 in 27) and Virat Kohli stitched together a good partnership, that came quickly enough to raise hopes, but the tail was exposed after the former skipper’s dismissal. Kohli got to his fifty, but the target was found to be 24 runs too many for the RCBs.
With this win, Deccan Chargers have four points from a couple of games, where as the RCBs are languishing behind with two from three. Gilchrist was an obvious choice for the Man-of-the-Match, with his fifty, a run-out, a stumping and a catch to boot.