IPL: Rajasthan thrash Deccan by eight wickets

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HYDERABAD: Johan Botha showed rare skill with the bat to guide Rajasthan Royals to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over a listless Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

The South African spinner hit eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 67 off 47 balls as Rajasthan overhauled Deccan's 137-8 with seven balls to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Botha, a surprise promotion to number three in the batting order, shared 52 runs with veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid (28) and another 58 with New Zealand's Ross Taylor (21 not out).

Earlier, Deccan were off to a confident start after being put in to bat by Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne but lost their way against Siddharth Trivedi and Amit Singh, each picking three wickets.

Australian spin legend Warne, who led Royals to a surprise title triumph in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008, chipped in with two wickets, including that of dangerman JP Duminy (14).

Kumar Sangakkara's new stint as Deccan skipper got off to a poor start as he edged Trivedi behind the wicket for a duck.

Australian Daniel Christian, one of the most expensive buys in the auction this year with a price tag of $900,000, hit two sixes in his 19-ball 26 before falling to Trivedi.

Brief scores:
Deccan Chargers 137-8 in 20 overs (D. Ravi Teja 28, D. Christian 26; S. Trivedi 3-15, A. Singh 3-35) lost to Rajasthan Royals 141-2 in 18.5 overs (J. Botha 67 not out, R. Dravid 28) by eight wickets.