Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma blast through Bangalore

On a day when the cricket fans around the world were praying for the rain gods to keep away, the Deccans skipper Adam Gilchrist won the toss and decided to bat first. In the pitch report, Simon Doull and Greg Blewett cited that the pitch, unlike the past ones, had lots of runs on offer.

Adam Gilchrist took the Deccans to a blistering start. While Praveen Kumar was in use for three consecutive boundaries off his first over, his bowling partner Dale Steyn was not spared either. Steyn was taken for two fours and a six off his over.

The first break-through for the Bangalore team came in the form of Herschelle Gibbs when he was intent LBW by Praveen Kumar. The former Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman did not last long time. He was dismissed by the Kiwi’s Jesse Ryder when he was caught by Dale Steyn at long-off attempting a loft drive.

Gilchrist, on the other end, kept the scorers hard with his action-packed strokes. Soon, Gilchrist reached his fifty by blasting Ryder for a six over square-leg. At the end of 10 overs, the Deccans scored 91 runs for the loss of two wickets.

Post 'Strategy break' Gilchrist was at his violent best, belting the Bangalore bowlers all round the park. Rohit Sharma joined the action and some hearty blows were seen of his bat. Eventually, a leaping catch by Virat Kohli saw the back of Gilchrist, dismissed by Pietersen. However, Gilchrist had done enough damage, scoring 71 runs of just 45 balls. His knock included 6 fours and 5 sixers.

An over later, the new man at the crease Scott Styris endured a chance when a mistimed shot to deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Praveen Kumar was put down by Karan Sharma. However, he could not take advantage. Styris offered another chance to wide long-on only to find an angry Praveen Kumar latch onto the ball. Pietersen claimed his second wicket.

Rohit Sharma kept himself hard at the other end taking Hyderabad to a formidable score. He went on to score his fifty utilized just 28 balls. However, one attempt too many brought about Sharma's downfall. Kevin Pietersen held on to a skier giving Steyn his first wicket. An attempted fast run of the very next ball resulted in the run-out of Venugapal Rao. Maintaining a consistent run-rate through out the innings, Deccans finished off their innings at 184/6. This also happened to be the highest IPL score of the second season.

The Bangalore innings started off on an incorrect note. Fidel Edwards knocked the stumps off, as Jesse Ryder yet again failed to make an feeling in the IPL. Kallis, once again privileged to deceive. An attempted drive through covers found the safe hands of Rohit Sharma as RP Singh picked up his first wicket.

Uthappa used up 19 deliveries to score 12 runs before he detained out to a brilliant catch by Ravi Teja off Scott Styris' bowling. Rahul Dravid walked in and looked at his easeful best. Along with Pietersen, Dravid speed up the scoring and took Bangalore to a score of 57 runs at the end of 10 overs.

The other side of the smash saw one more wicket fall for Bangalore. The Bangalore skipper could not defy a flighted delivery by Ohja. Coming down the track, he missed the ball and Gilchrist completed the stumping. Rahul Dravid as usual, was at his reliable best with boundaries flowing from him bat. Kohli provided him with a helping hand and together they collected runs at a fast rate.

An attempt to go over the the long-off boundary bring about the dismissal of Dravid bringing the 53 run partnership with Kohli to an end. Dravid go back to the dugout 2 short of his fifty. His quick fire 48 off 27 deliveries included 5 fours and 2 sixers. The next man in, Rajesh Bishnoi was run-out after trying to pinch a single.

Requiring 53 runs of 18 balls, a futile heave by Karan Sharma saw him heading back. Styris picked up his 3rd wicket. Virat Kohli on the other hand, stood firm and tried firm to fight back. He brought up a heroic fifty in the final over of the match before giving RP Singh his 2nd wicket. The Bangalore team ended the innings 24 runs short of their target.

Aggressive batting by Gilshrist and Sharma with quick wickets at the start of Bangalore's innings brought up the second victory for the Deccan Chargers in the IPL 2009. Despite Rahul Dravid winning the 'Orange Cap' and Kohli bringing up his fifty, the Royal Challengers lost their second match in a line. Meanwhile, RP Singh won the 'Purple Cap' for the highest wicket-taker's list.