Warne gatecrashes Symonds’ party

Hyderabad—Rajasthan Royals won a last-over thriller after Shane Warne directed a 17-run chase off the final six balls to beat the Deccan Chargers by three wickets. Rajasthan thus became the first team in the tournament to successfully chase down a 200-plus score while Deccan lost their third match in a row. Andrew Symonds’ unbeaten 117 was put in the shade by the final over of the match, which ironically was bowled by him.
It was clear that his two initial failures were just blips on the radar as Andrew Symonds stormed back into the IPL with the fastest century of the tournament - an innings that included powerful straight fours and sixes, mostly by making room in the crease. Deccan Chargers got their first above-par score of the tournament - 214 - a total which Rajasthan Royals would not find easy to chase. There had been a lot said about Symonds being the second-most expensive player in the league and if there was any need for him to prove that he was priced right, Symonds did it today. He was dropped on 76 by Yusuf Pathan but otherwise there was no moment of error in his innings.
But while one of Deccan’s superstar signings clicked today, three others failed. Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi and VVS Laxman continued their poor form in the tournament. International cricket has been unlucky not to witness Shane Warne as captain. In the space of three overs, he turned the Deccan Chargers’ confident start into a disaster as they lost Gilchrist and Afridi within four balls. Yusuf took the wickets but it was Warne that chose to bring him on - for just that one over - after Munaf Patel went for 12 runs in the opening over. Warne then caught Laxman, who opened with Gilchrist, off his own bowling with one that stayed low.
But even Warne ran out of strategies when he had to bowl to Symonds. While his first over went for six runs, his next two went for 26. Siddharth Trivedi, unlucky to have Symonds dropped off his bowling, also suffered a brutal assault off Symonds’s bat, going for 19 runs in an over.
Symonds did not indulge in many unconventional strokes - except a short ball that he pulled tennis-style late in the innings - and stuck mostly to back-foot drives and flicks. He reached his half-century off 29 balls and then took only 18 more to get to his hundred. His 111-run partnership with Rohit Sharma, who scored a half-century in the previous match, ruined the Rajasthan bowlers’ early efforts.
Munaf was the only bowler who lacked any spark in the first ten overs. But it was the period between overs 10 and 15, where Symonds and Sharma broke loose and scored 63 - with five sixes and two fours - where Rajasthan lost control. Warne lost his length and Trivedi tried coming round the wicket with no success.
Deccan desperately needed a win after losing badly in the first two games and Symonds, along with Sharma, set up a total that Chaminda Vaas and Co. would be confident of defending. Rajasthan Royals 217 for 7 (Smith 71, Yusuf 61, Afridi 3-28) beat Deccan Chargers 214 for 5 (Symonds 117*) by three wickets.—Agencies