May 18, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 12, 1429

JAIPUR (India), May 17: Openers Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar’s solid century stand backed by a splendid show by their bowlers handed Rajasthan Royals a thumping 65-run win over Bangalore Royal Challengers in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Saturday.

After this well-deserved win, Rajasthan Royals, who are almost certain for a place in the semi-finals, have continued their excellent performance in the tournament, recording eight victories in ten games.

Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne and pacer Sohail Tanvir took three wickets each for 23 and 10 runs respectively to restrict Challengers to 132 for nine in the stipulated 20 overs, way short of the testing 198-run target. Except for captain Rahul Dravid (75 not out off 36 balls), no Challengers’ batsman could impress in any way.

Earlier, fine half-centuries by Smith (75 not out) and Asnodkar (50) steered hosts Rajasthan Royals to a massive 197 for one against the Challengers whose captain Dravid chose to field first.

The Smith-Asnodkar opening duo put on 109 runs. Shane Watson, Warne’s compatriot, also played a useful unbeaten knock of 46 (off 28) after the first-wicket stand.

Both the openers faced some good bowling by Zaheer khan and Praveen Kumar but kept the bowlers at bay as they did not lose concentration.

Rajasthan Royals had reached 94 without loss at the halfway mark.

Summarised scores:

RAJASTHAN ROYALS 197 for 1 in 20 overs (Graeme Smith 75 not out, Swapnil Asnodkar 50; Anil Kumble 1-32); BANGALORE ROYAL CHALLENGERS 132 for 9 in 20 overs (Rahul Dravid 75 not out; Sohail Tanvir 3-10, Shane Warne 3-23, Munaf Patel 2-21).—Agencies