Yusuf Pathan smashed a brutal half-century as the Rajasthan Royals surged to their third straight Indian Premier League victory by defeating the Deccan Chargers by eight wickets in Ahmedabad.

Fast bowler Shaun Tait claimed three for 22 and the Royals captain Shane Warne chipped with a frugal one for 15 from his four overs as the Chargers were restricted to a mediocre 148 for nine, 49 of those runs coming off the bat of Rohit Sharma.

The chase was made all too easy by an imperious performance from Michael Lumb (45) at the top of the order and Yusuf finishing off Deccan with an unbeaten 73 off only 34 deliveries, sealing victory with 26 deliveries to spare.

The Royals were sharp in the field from the outset - evidenced by three run outs - and the bowling was thrifty as the Chargers were restricted to their lowest total yet this season.

Sumit Narwal opened the bowling for the Royals and he responded to Warne's call to arms by neatly poaching Adam Gilchrist in the first over.

Herschelle Gibbs (25) then attempted to stamp his authority and succeeded somewhat by smashing Abhishek Jhunjhunwala for a two sixes in the bowler's first over, but the Royals made further inroads with the wicket of VVS Laxman (10) and Warne, who came on at the end of the powerplay, then ended Gibbs' stay.

Andrew Symonds (22) lifted the Chargers with a cameo, but was run out while pushing for a second run and the challenge from the Chargers faded quickly.

The only blip for the Royals in the field came from their safest fielder, Adam Voges dropping a sitter from Rohit while on 30. The batsman went on to add 19 more to his tally before falling just short of the half-century to Tait in the final over.

Hampshire batsman Lumb began his innings by easing Chaminda Vaas for consecutive boundaries through mid-wicket and shook RP Singh's confidence by smashing the left-arm seamer for four consecutive boundaries in the fourth over.

Lumb's opening partner Naman departed cheaply, but the Royals had already reached 55 by then and Yusuf only raised the tempo.

Lumb was run out five short of a half-century, but Pathan continued his brutal charge, raising his half-century off only 23 deliveries.

He finished off the chase with his eighth six, helping the Royals affect a complete turnaround after three straight defeats at the start of the tournament.