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Kumble sends Royals crashing

Cape Town - Veteran Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble sent the Rajasthan Royals crashing to defeat when they started the defence of their Indian Premier League crown at Newlands on Saturday.

Kumble took five for five as the Bangalore Royal Challengers gained a crushing 75-run win as the champions were bowled out for a paltry 58.

Rajasthan captain Shane Warne said: “"It was pretty disappointing.

"As defending champions we expect better of ourselves. Our shot selection was poor."

Horror start

Bangalore skipper Kevin Pietersen was overjoyed with the opening win.

"The boys played fantastic cricket.

"It was a great team effort and you can't buy Anil Kumble's experience in a shop."

Indian batting star Rahul Dravid made a fine 66 as Bangalore recovered from losing two wickets for no runs in the first three balls of their innings.

Bangalore scored 133 for eight, which hardly seemed likely to be a total easy to defend, but the Royals made a horror start and never recovered.

They were bowled out for 58, with no batsman making more than 11.

Early blows

England all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas had New Zealand's Jesse Ryder caught behind for a duck off the second ball of the match and then bowled fellow Kiwi Ross Taylor with his next delivery.

Mascarenhas struck again when Robin Uthappa was caught behind to reduce the Challengers to 17 for three.

But Pietersen made 32 as he and Dravid started a fightback. Dravid carried it on, batting until the last over of the innings as he made 66 off 48 balls with eight fours and a six.

Mascarenhas took three for 20 and he was backed up by Munaf Patel (two for 25) and Warne, who claimed two for 18 in his four overs.

The Royals suffered early blows when opening bowler Praveen Kumar dismissed Swapnil Asnodkar and Proteas captain Graeme Smith in his first two overs.

Medium-pacer Ryder took two quick wickets, Mascarenhas was run out first ball and Kumble ripped through the rest of the batting.

 

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