Chasing just 138 for victory, Botha proved an unlikely hero with the bat for the men from Jaipur after he was promoted up the order, coming in at number three in the absence of Shane Watson who is on international duty.
Amit Paunikar (20) and Rahul Dravid (28) provided the perfect platform for the chase, but it was the decision to bring Botha in up the order that turned out to be a masterstroke.
The South African combined big hits with precision and class in a knock of 67 off just 47 balls. Playing in a manner which will certainly see some proclaim him to be a genuine all-rounder, and on the back of this innings in the 20-over format he may indeed be one.
Botha was given steady support, first by Dravid, and then by Ross Taylor (21), who three maximums aside was content to let Botha do the lion's share of the hitting.
Dale Steyn was the pick of the bowlers for the home side, finishing with figures of two for 18 in four but the Protea was the lone star in the face of the Royals onslaught.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan (24) and Ishank Jaggi (25) got the hosts of to a steady start with the openers putting on 40 for the first wicket. However, when Dhawan was dismissed by Amit Singh late in the fifth over and skipper Kumar Sangakkara just four balls later, the Chargers hit a speed wobble.
Wickets continued to fall with regularity, Jaggi, Bharat Chipli (6) and JP Duminy (14) all falling to make too much of an impact on the total as the spin of Warne and the seamers of Siddharth Trivedi began to choke the life out of the innings.
Looking slim and trim, Warne marshalled his troops well, but the Deccan lower-order did not go down without a fight.
Australian Daniel Christian (26) combined with Dwaraka Ravi Teja (28) in an effective exhibition of late hitting, but 137 always looked a below-par scored and was proven to be just that.
The win gives the Royals some great early momentum, while the new-look Chargers look like they may have a long tournament ahead of them.
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