DURBAN, May 13: With Deccan Chargers requiring only 25 runs off three overs and seven wickets in hand the match was going in only one direction. Rajat Bhatia however, turned the game on its head by castling Andrew Symonds and Dwayne Smith even as Ravi Teja, so far playing his part to perfection fell to the hook when all it required was to rotate the strike.

The fall of Teja’s wicket triggered the collapse. Chaminda Vaas kept the capacity crowd interested but 14 off the last over was too heavy a task. Delhi won by 12 runs to confirm their berth in the semi-finals as the Chargers ended on 161, chasing Delhi’s173/7.

A chase of 174 requires a special innings at the top and Gilchrist provided much more than that. Generating optimum bat speed and bringing his powerful wrists into play Gilchrist constructed an innings of precision and power. It was unfortunate his effort had to go in vain. This was the third close loss for Chargers.

Showing scant respect for Ashish Nehra the Chargers skippers set the tone with four well timed boundaries and continued to toy with the rest of the attack to give his side a chance of pulling the rug under Delhi’s feet.

At the half way mark Chargers were 83/2. Pradeep Sangwan who was easily the best bowler on the day produced a sizzling yorker to rearrange Gilchrist’s citadel. The wicket came at the right moment for Delhi as another 20 minutes with the southpaw at the crease would have meant an early finish.

Earlier the Chargers fielding oscillated between the sublime and the ridiculous. Two dropped catches and a poorly directed last over proved to be the difference between a manageable and tough target. Rohit Sharma dropped a sitter off R.P. Singh when Tilakaratne Dilshan was on eight and the Sri Lankan made it count with a brutal assault on S.M. Shoaib, carting him for 24 runs in one over.

Later Symonds put down a regulation chance shortly after the break but Virender Sehwag — coming in after missing five games — perished shortly later without doing much damage.

Gilchrist’s decision to bowl on a spongy wicket met with success in the second over when Vaas got David Warner to mishit and Venugopal took a smart catch. After Dilshan’s heroics things went downhill for Delhi. With things looking perfectly under control Gautam Gambhir went after Pragyan Ojha and his over ambitious drive found the fielder at long-on.

Chargers put a lid on the scoring rate after the 10th over. Symonds and Smith operated just outside the off-stump and AB de Villiers and Sehwag were restricted to singles. The reintroduction of Vaas proved successful. Holding back on the pace, he lured Sehwag into an airy drive.

What followed was a comedy of errors and poor thinking from both sides. De Villiers who should know more about the breeze here tried to clear the fence against the wind and was caught at deep mid-wicket. Then some ordinary bowling from R.P. Singh and Ojha allowed Karthik to cash in big time.

The last over from Vaas went for 23 runs including a massive six over mid-wicket that was followed by an exquisite extra cover drive for four by Karthik who finished the innings in style with another huge six.

A target of 174 on this wicket was never going to be easy even with Chargers new found dynamism in the middle order.