Riders won the toss an elected to bat, amassing 129. The Bangalore Royal Challengers could muster only 124 in 16 overs. It was the visitors' sixth defeat in eight Indian Premier League matches.

Scoring at more than eight runs per over on a sluggish pitch can be an arduous task, considering the strong bowling line-up of Knight Riders. But the importance of the match should have heated up the Challengers, but the icy atmosphere seemed to have frozen their nerves.

It was expected to be a heart-stopper as there were a lot at stake for both the teams. The Kolkata outfit, however, showed better presence of mind, tossing the expectations of a Challengers' revival into the nearby Hooghly river like rotten leaves with a strong all-round performance.

However, as long as J Arun Kumar was at the crease, Bangalore looked in contention, After a brief period of uncertainty, the former Karnataka skipper found his touch and his batting was a reminder of the State's glory days.

‘JAK’, playing his first IPL match, showed none of his old prowess has waned with age, belting some ferocious blows, but a mix-up with Mark Boucher ended his tenure. Ishant Sharma nabbed Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sourav Ganguly castled Rahul Dravid as Challengers slid to neck-deep trouble from which they never came up.

The mighty blows of Boucher only made the match look closer than it actually was.

It was bit of a surprise to see Aakash Chopra came out to bat along with Brad Hodge, as the Delhi opener is not exactly a scorcher with the bat. They needed someone who could force his way at the totem pole slot, especially the match was reduced to a 16-over-a-side affair after the rain delay.

Chopra struggled against the raw pace of Dale Steyn and the swing and bounce of Zaheer Khan. However, his painful stay at the crease did not last long as Steyn trapped him in front of the wicket.

The Knight Riders batsmen were probably wanted to enjoy the warmer climate of dressing room, as their top order batsmen marched back at regular intervals. But not giving credit to Steyn will be an injustice to the lion-hearted South African paceman. He ran in and bent his back to purchase good pace and bounce from the wicket.

Steyn gave marching orders to Tatenda Taibu and LR Shukla in quick succession to trample Kolkata's hopes of a mid-innings romp. Ganguly, who looked in fine touch, fell to a piece of brilliant fielding by Cameron White whose throw from point caught the home skipper well short of the crease. The quick blows reduced the hosts to 88 for six, and the end seemed neigh for them. Dravid too should be given a pat for effecting some thoughtful bowling changes at the right occasion.

But the Riders found two strong-willed Knights in Murali Kartik and Wriddhiman Saha. The pair shared an invaluable 44-run partnership for the seventh wicket that propelled Knight Riders to a total that proved just enough on the day.

SCORE BOARD

KNIGHT RIDERS: Chopra lbw Steyn 2 (5b); Hodge c Praveen b Zaheer 10 (11b, 2x4); Ganguly (run out) 20 (22b, 2x4); Hussey (run out) 26 (12b, 1x4, 3x6); Taibu c Boucher b Steyn 15 (12b, 2x4); Shukla b Steyn 11 (9b, 2x4); Saha (not out) 17 (10b, 1x4, 1x6); Kartik c&b Praveen 17 (13b, 2x4); Gul (not out) 6 (2b, 1x6); Extras (LB-3, W-2) 5; Total (for 7 wkts, 16 overs) 129
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Chopra), 2-20 (Hodge), 3-46 (Ganguly), 4-64 (Hussey), 5-80 (Taibu), 6-88 (Shukla), 7-122 (Kartik).
Bowling: Steyn 4-0-27-3 (w-1), Zaheer 3-0-27-1 (w-1), Praveen 3-0-36-1, Vinay Kumar 3-0-15-0, Kumble 3-0-21-0.
Scoring Pattern: 5 overs: 36/2, 10: 76/4, 15: 115/6, End of Innings: 129/7 in 16 overs.
Runs during Power Play 1-5: 36/2.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS: Arun Kumar (run out) 22 (17b, 5x4); Chanderpaul c Kartik b Ishant 7 (11b, 1x4); Boucher (not out) 50 (40b, 5x4, 1x6); Dravid b Ganguly 5 (11b); White (run out) 30 (16b, 1x6); Praveen (not out) 4 (2b, 1x4); Extras (LB-3, W-2, NB-1) 6, Total (for 4 wkts, 16 overs) 124.
Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Chanderpaul), 2-32 (Arun Kumar), 3-51 (Dravid), 4-96 (White).
Bowling: Dinda 3-0-20-0 (w-1), Ishant 4-0-25-1, Gul 3-0-30-0 (w-1, nb-1), Ganguly 3-0-7-1, Kartik 2-0-24-0, Shukla 1-0-15-0.
Scoring Pattern: 5 overs: 32/2, 10: 53/3, 15: 111/4; End of Innings: 124/4 in 16 overs.
Runs during Power Play: 1-5: 32/2.