Kumble’s burst halts the Deccan charge

Anil Kumble mastered a crushing defeat of the Deccan Chargers as Royal Challengers Bangalore won the third-place playoff by nine wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The hype associated with the match was quickly dampened as Deccan were dismissed for just 82. The target was knocked off in less than 14 overs in the one-sided playoff with so much at stake.

Banglaore’s captain Kumble had a dream day with the ball as he grabbed four wickets, including the prized scalp of opposite number Adam Gilchrist, in the first over after being struck for a boundary.

Praveen Kumar had Monish Mishra three balls later as Deccan were left reeling at four for two. Kumble continued with his Deccan destruction as he dismissed Dwayne Smith to make it 35 for five.

A 43-run stand tried to revive the innings through Anirudh Singh (40) and Venugopal Rao (24) before Jacques Kallis got into the act when he dismissed Singh – one of only two batsmen to reach double figures – while Nayan Doshi had Rao caught out. Kallis had his second victim and Kumble cleaned up the tail with another brace to finish with four for 16.

In reply, Bangalore took their time, crawling towards the target, but ensured a comprehensive win nonetheless. Kallis (19) and Rahul Dravid (35) added 36 in 44 balls to ensure steady p r o g r e s s but Rahul Sharma had Kallis caught-and-bowled but Kevin Pietersen, with Dravid, ensured Bangalore reached the target without any more hiccups and complete the rout.