Deccan Chargers mounted a remarkable fightback to score a resounding seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday and keep alive their chances of making the last four stage.
Chasing a formidable 185 to win, the visitors were home with four balls to spare, losing just three wickets en route.
It was also the highest score Deccan Chargers ever scored in the tournament while batting second.
T Suman made a superlative 57-ball 78 not out, inclusive of six boundaries and thee sixes, and Andrew Symonds hit an aggressive 53 off just 27 balls - inclusive of five hits to the fence and three over it - to take the visiting side home after they were reduced to 95 for three at one stage.
The duo put together an unbeaten 91-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just 46 balls to complete a remarkable Chargers' revival.
It was Deccan Chargers' first win in six matches, and their fourth overall in 10 matches, and kept alive their chances of making it to the last four.
It was also their first win while chasing in this edition - after having had to endure the ignominy of five successive defeats while batting second.
It also helped the team from Hyderabad square their overall record against the team from Bangalore to three wins apiece.
As regards the Royal Bangalore Challengers, it was their second defeat in succession, their fourth in the last five matches and their fifth in 10 matches overall.
A win would have helped them to move up to second in the table. But it was not to be.
Despite being the 40th match, it was suprisingly the first meeting between the two sides in this edition.
Bangalore don't have to wait long for redemption though.
For the next encounter between the two sides, which had contested the final last year, is just four days later (on Monday).
The Deccan Chargers' innings got off to a disastrous start when Praveen Kumar induced an edge of Monish Mishra's (9) blade in the third over and Robin Uthappa took a splendid catch behind the stumps.
Adam Gilchrist (32), their captian, could play only two deliveries in the first three overs.
However, the third one he faced (off Dale Steyn) was despatched past the backward point fielder to the fence.
As the field restrictions eased, the visitors had been restricted to 32 for one.
And Bangalore allowed Gilchrist to face just 11 balls in the first seven overs.
But the Deccan captain did eventually cut loose in the eighth over, hitting Jacques Kallis for a maximum (wide of long-on) and two boundaries.
Gilchrist hoisted a Kumble delivery over deep midwicket for yet another maximum but the latter had his revenge three balls later, beating the batsman with a googly and having him stumped.
The second wicket partnership betwwen Gilly and T Suman yielded Deccan Chargers 77 runs.
Rohit Sharma (6) didn't last long, R Vinay Kumar having him caught by Steyn at mid-off.
Andrew Symonds hit successive boundaries off Steyn and one off Kumble in the space of four balls to ease the pressure a bit.
The Australian combined well with T Suman in a fourth-wicket partnership that revived the Deccan chase.
Suman scored a well-made maiden fifty with a massive six off Kumble over deep midwicket and he celebrated it with an another maximum to the same area, this time off Vinay Kumar.
Going into the second strategic timeout, after the 16th over, the team from Hyderabad had come back well to 136 for three.
The first over after resumption, bowled by Praveen Kumar, cost Bangalore a whopping 21 runs, with both batsmen helping themselves to a maximum each.
And that ensured Deccan Chargers needed just 28 runs off their last three overs.
The 18th over, by Steyn, cut off another nine runs from that requirement.
Symonds smashed Kallis for a maximum over long-off in the penultimate over to ensure just nine was required from the final over.
The Australian smashed the first two balls of Vinay Kumar's last over for a maximum and a boundary.
And it was all over for the home team.
Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore, after being in the doldrums midway through their innings, launched an impressive fightback to post a formidable total.
The home team, struggling at 69 for four after 10.1 overs, eventually scored 184 for six in their stipulated quota of overs.
The Royal Challengers went berserk in the last six overs, scoring 92 runs and losing just two wickets en route.
Jacques Kallis, the holder of the Orange Cap as the tournament's top scorer, was yet again the highest contributor to the Bangalore total.
The South African's 68 was his sixth half-century in the ongoing edition, his 10th overall, and took his tally in the tournament to 493 runs in 10 matches.
His 44-ball knock was inclusive of nine hits to the fence and one over it.
Virat Kohli, forced to curtail his natural instincts early on in his innings following the procession of wickets, hit a blistering 58 off just 35 balls, the knock inclusive of four hits to the fence and four over it.
The duo put on an impressive 95-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Pragyan Ojha was the pick of the Deccan Chargers' bowlers with figures of two for 24, the wickets helping him take sole possession of the Purple Cap -- given to the tournament's top wicket-taker -- with 15 wickets.
Kallis began aggressively, hitting Harmeet Singh for a boundary between backward point and cover and following it up with a massive six over deep extra cover in the second over.
But Ryan Harris brought the visitors right back into the game by rattling Manish Pandey's (1) stumps in the third over.
It was slow progress from then on.
Rahul Dravid (26) was promoted up the order and he struggled with his timing early on in his innings.
However, the veteran did welcome 18-year-old Mitchell Marsh with a superlative square drive past backward point and cover.
And the young Aussie had a forgettable opening over, with Kallis also hitting him for successive boundaries.
Dravid smashed RP Singh over long-off for a maximum in the next over.
But, as the field restrictions eased, the team from Bangalore had made just 46 for one - their lowest score at that stage in this edition.
And worse was in store for the home team after the first strategic timeout -- taken after the eighth over -- when they lost three wickets in succession.
Dravid top-edged a Pragyan Ojha delivery to Rohit Sharma at point to end his uncomfortable stay at the crease.
In the next over, Andrew Symonds induced an edge off Robin Uthappa's (2) blade and Gilchrist made no mistake behind the stumps.
And Ojha then trapped the dangerous Ross Taylor (1) plumb in front in his third over to take sole possession of the Purple Cap.
Bangalore had been reduced from 60 for one to 68 for four in the space of three overs -- and Kallis had faced just four balls in that phase, hitting the fence twice.
The Bangalore side went into the second strategic timeout -- taken after 14 overs -- in deep trouble at 92 for four.
Soon after resumption Kallis smashed Harris for a boundary to complete his 10th IPL fifty, his sixth in this campaign.
Kohli cut loose, smashing 23 runs in the 17th over bowled by Symonds.
The first ball was hit over the bowler's head and hit the roof; the next two deliveries - the first over extra cover and the second past backward point - were hit to the fence and the fourth went beyond the deep midwicket fence.
Kallis joined the party by smashing successive boundaries off RP Singh in the next over.
The South African was caught by Harris at deep point in the penultimate over to give young Marsh his first wicket.
Kohli was caught by Symonds at long-on off Harris.
But Cameron White (13 not out) hit successive sixes off the last two balls to ensure the Bangalore fightback ended on a perfect note.
Earlier in the day, Deccan Chargers' captain Adam Gilchrist won the toss and opted to field first.
"There's a bit of grass and bit of firmness," he reasoned.
His opposite number, Anil Kumble, seemed to concur.
"We would have liked to bowl as well," he admitted, adding, "But it looks like a good track to bat on and will last the full 40 overs."
The home side dropped Kevin Pietersen from the starting line-up to make space for Dale Steyn.
Teams:
Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist (captain), Monish Mishra, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, T Suman, Venugopal Rao, M Marsh, Ryan Harris, Harmeet Singh, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Anil Kumble (captain), Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Cameron White, Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn, R Vinay Kumar.