Deccan Chargers 132-7 (Jean-Paul-Duminy 74, Parthiv Patel 16, Vinay Kumar 3-22) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 123-9 (Virat Kohli 42, Saurabh Tiwary 30, Dale Steyn 3-8) by 9 runs.

Deccan Chargers kicked out Royal Challengers Bangalore from the playoffs by defeating them in the last pool match of the IPL 2012.

Deccan Chargers scored 132 runs for the loss of 7 wickets mainly because of the heroic efforts of Jean-Paul-Duminy who smashed 74 runs. Royal Challengers were chasing well in the beginning but lost the rhythm when required and managed 123 runs with one wicket in hand as the last ball of the 20^th over was bowled.

Dale Steyn (Deccan Chargers) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his match winning bowling spell of 3 wickets for 8 runs in 4 overs.

The 71^st match of the Indian Premier League 2012 was played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, on Sunday, May 20, 2012. The capacity crowd present in the stadium cheered up Deccan Chargers throughout the match and were thrilled after the victory.

Earlier, Virat Kohli, the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, won the toss and opted to go for bowling first. The decision paid off as their bowlers put them in command when three top order batsmen of Deccan Chargers were sent back to the pavilion at 20 mere runs in 4.2 overs. The batsmen who surrendered against the lethal bowling attack included Shikhar Dhawan, Akshath Reddy and Cameron White.

Duminy joined in with the skipper Kumar Sangakkara and the repair work was initiated by them. Duminy opted to attack and dispatched the loose balls to the boundary regularly as Sangakkara preferred to defend at the other end. The first fifty of the innings was completed in the 11^th over and Kumar Sangakkara was caught by Vinay Kumar at long off on the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan for 15 on the first ball of the next over.

The fourth wicket fell at 51 when Parthiv Patel came in the centre as Duminy took charge from the other side. The run rate was enhanced and Jean-Paul-Duminy achieved his fifty in the 17^th over with one six and a four. He punished the master bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan for three huge sixes in the 18^th over but lost his wicket in the following over for 74 off just 53 balls with 5 lofty sixes and 4 fours.

The fifth wicket contributed 71 runs in 7.4 overs and Patel departed 10 runs later for 16 runs as Deccan Chargers scored 132 runs with three wickets in hand at the end of the scheduled 20 overs.

Vinay Kumar was the most successful bowler with three wickets, Zaheer Khan held a couple whereas Prasanth Parameswaran and Muralitharan claimed one wicket each.

Royal Challengers Bangalore started off with their regular openers, the dashing Chris Gayle and the experienced Tillakaratne Dilshan. Gayle murdered Manpreet Gony for 24 runs in the second over which comprised 2 giant sixes and 3 fours. Dale Steyn got an important breakthrough when he dislodged the stumps of Gayle on the fifth ball of the third over for 27 off 10 balls. The opening stand contributed 30 runs and six runs later, Dilshan was declared leg before wicket off Steyn again for just 4 runs.

Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary took over and started their march towards the target as the latter had to go off the field due to a problem in his leg and AB de Villiers replaced him. The bowlers of Deccan Chargers made life difficult for the batsmen and they found it hard to accumulate the runs. Kohli held one end with responsibility as the wickets kept on sliding from the other. Amit Mishra got two important wickets in the 10^th over and Royal Challengers Bangalore was reeling at 57-4 in 9.5 overs when Tiwary rejoined at the crease with Kohli.

The run rate was accelerated and the duo gathered 12 runs in the 15^th over with one six and one four from Tiwary. Virat Kohli punched a six and one four in the first five balls of the 16^th over off Ashish Reddy but was caught by Gony at long on while facing the last ball of the over. He was gone for 42 off 40 deliveries with two sixes and even fours as Royal Challengers Bangalore required 30 runs off the last 24 balls with five wickets in hand.

They lost another wicket in the 17^th over bowled by Dale Steyn who gave away just one run and Amit Mishra was economical in the next over by releasing seven runs. The target was reduced to 14 in the last over which was bowled by Ashish Reddy who bowled superbly. He got rid of two batsmen and gave away just four runs in the last six balls as Deccan Chargers clinched the match by 9 runs.

Dale Steyn and Ashish Reddy grabbed three wickets each, Amit Mishra struck twice as Pratap Singh got one wicket.

Virat Kohli, the entire Royal Challengers Bangalore and their management were stunned by their ouster from the playoffs. Chennai Super Kings qualified for the playoffs due to the loss of  the match by the giants Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Points attained by two teams after the end of the 71^st match of the IPL 2012:

Royal Challengers Bangalore – 17 from 16 games at a net run rate of -0.022.

Deccan Chargers                      –  9 from 16 games at a net run rate of -0.509.