IPL 4 Match 2: Rajasthan Royals Beat Deccan Chargers as Johan Botha Stars with Bat

The Rajasthan Royals got off to a winning start in the IPL 4 season, without Shane Watson, while the Deccan Chargers kept their jinxed record of not winning home matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad intact.

johan botha rajasthan royals

Deccan Chargers will rue the fact that five of their batsmen got decent starts but failed to convert into an innings of substance. Scraps and bit would only get them as far as 137, a total that was deficient in terms of setting a target, particularly to a feisty opponent like Rajasthan Royals.

Siddharth Trivedi not only kept it tight in the field but also, took three of Deccan Chargers' top wickets including that of the new Deccan Chargers captain, Kumar Sangakkara, who was dismissed for naught. Shane Warne backed him with a couple of wickets while Amit Singh finished it rather finely with three wickets himself.

The Rajasthan Royals were going to struggle without their mainstay all rounder, Shane Watson. They certainly seemed to be struggling once Amit Paunikar was dismissed and Rahul Dravid tried to hold up one end. With the visitors having lost the better part of thirteen overs, the asking rate mounted to almost eight runs an over.

With eight wickets still in hand, it should not have been a problem and it was not because Johan Botha and Ross Taylor stitched up the winning partnership. What was remarkable about the partnership was the fact that the South African spinner was leaving his mark rather strongly with the bat, leaving Taylor behind on twenty-one runs from fourteen balls while starring himself rather emphatically with sixty-seven runs off just forty-seven balls, even though Dale Steyn was the only bowler for the Deccan Chargers to come away conceding less than five wickets and taking both the wickets to fall in the Rajasthan Royals' chase, the latter winning by eight wickets with an over and a ball to spare.