Rajasthan canter to win over Hyderabad

A breezy 68 off only 37 deliveries by Yusuf Pathan saw Rajasthan Royals make short work of Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League match at the Sawai Mansingh Staduim in Jaipur on Friday night.
Chasing a paltry 141 for victory, the home team hit up the runs in 16 overs, finishing on 141 for the loss of two wickets.
The victory gave Rajasthan Royals their sixth victory in eight matches and put them on top of the table, with 12 points.
For the Hyderabad side, it was their sixth defeat in eight matches.
Rajasthan openers Graeme Smith [Images] and man of the match Pathan literally took the Deccan attack to the cleaners, putting on a partnership of 109 runs before the latter departed in the 13th over after hitting nine fours and two sixes.
And by the time Smith departed in the 16th over for a well-made 40 off 43 balls, with the score 133-2, it was all over for the visitors.
Earlier, Deccan Chargers failed to capitalise on a sparkling knock from Adam Gilchrist [Images] after being put in to bat.
They lost opener Herschelle Gibbs [Images] (19 off 20 balls) and Scott Styris (13 off 11) in quick succession, the former falling at 61, but that did not distract skipper Gilchrist, who played some electrifying strokes. He gathered 61 valuable runs off just 49 balls and laid a solid foundation for the team. His entertaining knock included nine fours and a six.
He was out in the 14th over while trying to slash a wide delivery from paceman Siddharth Trivedi but ending up edging it to wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat.
The Chargers lost their way after the Aussie's dismissal as Shahid Afridi [Images] (1), Rohit Sharma (5) and Sanjay Bangar (3) were sent packing by a disciplined Royals' attack, which was aided by some fine fielding.
The visitors then lost two more wickets in D Ravi Teja [Images] 6) and R P Singh (2) cheaply, but Venugopal Rao (23 off 11) stayed at the other end and his late assault helped the side touch the 140 mark.
Rao hit three fours and a six in his cameo knock.
For the hosts, skipper Shane Warne [Images] was the pick of the bowlers, returning two for 20, while Trivedi was impressively economical, conceding only eight runs in his three overs.