Pathan holds his nerve

Yusuf Pathan, the Indian all-rounder, played a match-winning cameo with the bat to ensure Shane Warne enjoyed the bragging rights over fellow Australian great Adam Gilchrist as the Rajasthan Royals beat the Deccan Chargers by three wickets in Port Elizabeth yesterday. Chasing 142 for victory, the defending champions looked in all sorts of trouble at three for three, with Graeme Smith one of three batsmen to head back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers.

But Lee Carseldine, the Australian, made a brisk 39 and Abhishek Raut finished unbeaten on 36 off 23 balls but it was Pathan's two sixes and two fours in his 14-ball 24 that carried the Royals over the line. "I enjoyed quite a lot, Abhishek played well too and I am happy for him," said Yusuf. "The first two overs I bowled were good, Warne's advice was very helpful. The wicket was good to bat on and the ball was coming on nicely."

Warne was delighted with the two points, saying. "I am happy with the result. We started off badly but then we have showed great spirit right throughout. "The boundaries are so short, we thought we did well to keep them down to 141. I always feel, keeping Yusuf for the last few overs is the right thing to do, he is a great finisher and the strong man he is, he can clear these short straight boundaries."

Gilchrist, who made a typically robust 39 off 35 balls at the top of the order, was magnanimous in defeat. "It was a great game of cricket," said the wicket-keeper batsman. "Tight finishes, exciting cricket, that is what this tournament is all about." @Email:[e-mail]