The Rajasthan Royals continued in the same irrepressible form that lifted them to the title last year, keeping the Bangalore Royal Challengers to 133. Bangalore were derided as "Test" specialists last year, but it was old-fashioned line-and-length bowling from Dimitri Mascarenhas, so favoured in the five-day game, that undid them in their season opener in Cape Town. Mascarenhas did the early damage before Shane Warne unfurled his bag of tricks to keep Bangalore on the mat. They didn't combust as spectacularly as they had in the IPL's first game for which they have to thank deposed captain, Rahul Dravid, who made a polished half-century.
Mascarenhas got the ball to dart around, and rocked Bangalore with two wickets in the game's first over, that of the New Zealand pair, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor. Ryder edged an attempted offside-push to the wicketkeeper, and Taylor lost his leg stump first ball when he walked across to try a glance.
The expensive Kevin Pietersen, charged by franchise owner Vijay Mallya with the duty of turning around Bangalore's form, started with a nonchalant flick off his pads for four. He was rarely troubled during his stay and, in Dravid's company, set about reviving Bangalore. They had collected an unfussy 35 runs, aided by a lightning outfield, before Pietersen mistimed a pull to a diving Niraj Patel at midwicket.
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