IPL: Tendulkar steers Mumbai to second successive win

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BANGALORE: Sachin Tendulkar once again carried his bat through in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Mumbai Indians romped to their second win in a row, crushsing Royal Challengers Bangalore by nine wickets here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.

Mumbai Indians captain Tendulkar followed up his unbeaten 46 against Delhi Daredevils last week with a 55 not out as Mumbai comfortably achieved a 141-run target in Bangalore in 18.3 overs, with Tendulkar sharing 110 runs off 85 balls for the unbroken second wicket with Ambati Rayudu (63).

Daniel Vettori-led Bangalore, who were asked to bat first, struggled to get momentum after the first-ball dismissal of opener Mayank Agarwal off paceman Lasith Malinga.

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan hit an unbeaten 59 to anchor the Bangalore innings adding 91 runs for the third wicket stand with AB de Villiers (38).

But it proved too little in the end as Tendulkar and Rayudu matched each other in brilliant strokeplay and added 110 for the unbroken second wicket to reach the target with nine balls to spare.

Tendulkar was named the player of the match but he decided to split the award with the 25-year-old Rayudu, who hit nine boundaries in his 50-ball knock. Tendulkar hit seven fours in his 55-run knock.

Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 140-4 in 20 overs (T. Dilshan 59 not out, AB de Villiers 38; K. Pollard 2-25, L. Malinga 2-32) lost to Mumbai Indians 143-1 in 18.3 overs (A. Rayudu 63 not out, S. Tendulkar 55 not out) by nine wickets.