Yusuf sends Deccan flying

Rajasthan batsmans 34-ball 73 helps team chase down target with more than five overs to spare....

Its not often that a captain of a losing side walks off the field at the end of the game with a smile on his face. But Adam Gilchrist and the rest of his Deccan Chargers team mates can be pardoned for their rather wry expression that they sported after their charge in IPL III was brought to a screeching halt by a blazing Yusuf Pathan and a spirited Rajasthan Royals outfit at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.

After all,there is little that any team or bowling attack has seen capable of coming up with to stop Yusuf once he gets going in the IPL,except sit back and enjoy the carnage like everybody else. And on a day that the Indian team for the World T20 Championship was announced,the 27-year-old remorseless destroyer of bowling attacks showed why he would be the most sought-after wicket for every opposition team in the Caribbean,blasting an unbeaten 34-ball 73 to guide the Royals home with almost five overs to spare.

Along the way,Yusuf bludgeoned eight sixes one of which left the Motera Stadium and two fours,while continuing to add more members to the increasingly popular I havent seen anyone hit the ball like Yusuf Pathan community.

Lumb makes his mark

Chasing a target of just 149 was never going to be too difficult a task for an inform Rajasthan outfit fresh from two victories on the trot and Yusuf,in the company of Michael Lumb,made it much easier as the hapless Hyderabad bowlers were left ducking for cover. Apart from maybe Kings XI Punjabs Juan Rusty Theron,the 30-year-old Lumb may be one of the least known of the international cricketers who are part of this edition of the IPL,but the left-handed English opener is certainly beginning to make his mark in the IPL. It was Lumb who provided the initial gallop for Rajasthan with a 32-ball 45 before Yusuf grabbed the mantle from him.

Most of the memorable moments that come out of T20 cricket have a lot to do with sixes and fours,and Yusuf ensured there were plenty of them. But it is likely that this contest,the first ever meeting between two IPL champions,will also be remembered for two special deliveries that resulted in a couple of Deccan dismissals earlier in the day.

While Rajasthan skipper Shane Warnes flighted leg-break that beat Herschelle Gibbss bat brought back fond memories of his match-turning spell in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against the South Africans,Australia pace sensation Shaun Tait simply proved how deadly a limited overs bowler he can be by knocking down Tirumalsetti Sumans leg and middle stumps with an unplayable inswinging yorker.

And it was this Aussie combination that was chiefly responsible for the Deccan innings to never get going. While Warne finished with economical figures of 1/15 in his four overs,Taits three-wicket burst left Hyderabad reeling.

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Talking of memories from this game,27-year-old Delhi seamer Sumit Narwal will certainly never forget the fourth delivery of the day,where he scalped the biggest wicket of his life: that of Adam Gilchrist.