Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in their Indian Premier League match here Saturday. Chasing a target of 151, which Mumbai scored losing nine wickets, Bangalore reached home for the loss of only three wickets and had five balls to spare. R. Vinay Kumar removed Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu in one over to turn what had been a cat-and-mouse game until then, unmistakably Royal Challengers' way, also taking it to the top of the table. He benefited in part from the pressure created by his teammates' smart swing bowling, changes of pace, bouncers to Indian batsmen, and aggressive spin bowling by Anil Kumble. It was a fitting reversal of roles for a man used to being among the top wicket-takers in Indian domestic cricket, and then watching others steal the spotlight - not the least when his statemate Abhimanyu Mithun made his international debut ahead of him after just one season of impressive numbers. Scores: Bangalore 155-3 in 19.1 overs (Jacques Kallis 66 not out, Manish Pandey 40) beat Mumbai Indians 151-9 in 20 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 25, Saurabh Tiwary 25; R Vinay Kumar 3-25, Dale Steyn 3-26) by 7 wickets. The first match of the day saw Rajasthan Royals beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 34 runs to register their first victory in the third edition of the IPL in Ahmedabad. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala led with a serene 45 to ensure Rajasthan capitalized on a solid start to end up with a very competitive 168, a total which it defended with a disciplined show from its spinners. Kolkata didn't help its cause by a poor batting effort in the chase. Keeping wickets in hand is a sound ploy of course but it forgot to score runs and allowed the pressure to build up. Sourav Ganguly also struggled but, he tried to go for the big shots but could rarely find his timing. Rajasthan 168-7 in 20 overs (Abhishek Jhunjhunwala 45, Adam Viges 37 not out; Ashok Dinda 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 134-5 in 20 overs (Brad Hodge 36, Saurav Ganguly 33; Yusuf Pathan 2-23) by 34 runs.
