White says Deccan Chargers will like to upset RCB’s chances; Sangakarra in all praise for Shikhar Dhawan

Deccan Chargers stand-in skipper Cameron White said his team would now seek to upset the chances of Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two sides clash in an IPL league match here on Sunday. Chargers last night dashed the hopes of Rajasthan Royals of making it to the playoffs by sealing a comprehensive five-wicket victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium at Uppal here last night.

"When your are at the bottom of the table there is the hope to upset some other people's tournament. It's unfortunate that it happened to Rajasthan today and hopefully we can finish with a win to finish the competition on Sunday," White said, according to a report in The Indian Express. "We need to win (match against RCB) and that's our main goal," he told reporters in the post-match press conference here last night.

Losing is always tough and is naturally demoralizing and the players want to taste some success against Team Bangalore on Sunday, writes Kumar Sangkarra in The Times Of India. “A winning end to the season is important not only for the players but also for the fans. Despite our lacklustre performances this year, they have continued supporting us with great passion, showing wonderful loyalty. All the players and support staff are very grateful to them. We were really pleased, therefore, to give them something to cheer about on Friday night against Team Rajasthan. Despite some early dropped catches, one of the major reasons for our bottom-of-the-table position, we did really well to restrict them to126 for 8 with a strong all-round bowling effort.”

In reply, it was fantastic to see a 63-run opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Akshath Reddy. Both youngsters batted really well, seizing the initiative and giving us the winning platform we wanted chasing a modest total.  “Shikhar, of course, deserves special mention for what has been an outstanding season for him. To be second only to the great Chris Gayle in the tournament top-scorers’ chart is a wonderful achievement,” writes Sangakarra.