PORT ELIZABETH, May 2: For the second match running Venugopal Rao’s third over cost Deccan Chargers the game. Shane Warne carted the off-spinner for a huge six over mid-wicket, was dropped by the bowler off the next ball and the Australian skipper repaid the compliment with a six off the next ball.

Requiring 82 off the last 10 overs with five wickets, the over from Rao produced 17 runs and the momentum shifted from there as the Royals chased down 142 to win by seven wickets after the Chargers had posted 141/5.

S.M. Shoaib fed Yusuf Pathan with two deliveries in his arc that accounted for 12 runs and that made the chase simpler. Rajasthan almost made a hash of it in the end before scampering home with two balls to spare. Seeing them home was the cool Abhishek Raut (36, 23b, 4x4).

Overs number 11 and 16 undid all the good work of the new ball bowlers who had kept the score down to 60/5 in 10 overs. Openers Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar both left without troubling the scorers. It was the just the start Chargers would have hoped for while defending a less than par score.

Fidel Edwards playing his farewell game for the season and R.P. Singh kept things tight as Chargers clawed their way back but the backup was just not there. Wickets fell at regular intervals but that did not stop the flow of runs. Warne’s ploy of pushing Pathan down the order worked again. Athletic fielding that was the mainstay of Chargers’ good run also went down a notch under pressure.

Earlier, electing to bat on a wicket where batting was not entirely easy, Chargers got off to a quick start. Warne continued with his tactic of opening the attack with Pathan. With the track assisting spin it looked a calculated risk.

Gilchrist timed his cover drive sweetly and got a move on quickly. Munaf Patel made no impression on Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs. The first four overs produced 34 runs. Gilchrist’s hook of Munaf landed outside the ground. Against the run of play Yusuf trapped Gibbs when the batsman missed the sweep. It looked marginal as the ball struck the batsman just outside the line. The wicket brought Rajasthan back into the game. Gilchrist went into a shell. The next six overs produced only 24 runs. Azhar Bilakhia paid the price for some poor shot selection as Chargers dipped further.

With runs difficult to come by Gilchrist had to chance his arm. His intended flick over mid-wicket was snapped up smartly by Yusuf. Jadeja was the bowler.

With the first half producing only 58 runs, a score in the region of 120 looked a distant dream. T. Suman had other ideas. The right-hander had given fair indication of his prowess in the previous game against Delhi and he just continued from where he had left.

Stroking the ball effortlessly from the start, Suman was a picture of confidence. The slackening run rate was lifted by an extra cover drive that was followed by a straight six of Warne. Rohit Sharma joined the flow with a pulled six and the innings was revived.

With three overs remaining Rohit was caught by Warne of Siddarth Trivedi and Dwayne Smith could not get going holing out in the last over as Chargers trudged to 141/5. A total that looked inadequate even on this wicket. Suman finished with an unbeaten 41 off 30 balls.