Anil Kumble, the winning skipper

Kevin Pietersen smashed a half-century to power Bangalore to a comfortable five-wicket away win over Jaipur in the IPL in Jaipur.

Bangalore's bowlers wrested the initiative early on and found regular success thereafter as Jaipur were restricted to a paltry 130 for six.

Pietersen then clobbered 62 off 29 deliveries as Bangalore overhauled the target with 26 deliveries to spare and ensured they stayed on track for a spot in the semi-finals, while all but ending Jaipur's hopes of progressing.

Jaipur won the toss but suffered blows at the top of the order, stuttered through the middle-overs and were rescued by an unbroken half-century partnership between Adam Voges (28 not out) and Abhishek Raut (32no).

Bangalore chased down the Jaipur total of 130 easily. They lost a few wickets in the process but they always looked to winning this one thanks to a brilliant half-century by Kevin Pietersen. Dew played a crucial role in deterring Jaipur's attempts to put on speed-breakers as none of the bowlers could put his hand up to give a fight in defending an easily attainable target. This win takes Bangalore to number 2 in the points table with 14 points.

They need to win their next match against Mumbai too, to confirm their semi-finals spot. Even if they lose to Mumbai, the margin should be very less to keep them in contention for the top-four. Jaipur stay on the 5th place. They not only have to win their last match against Kolkata but win it with a big margin to keep themselves in contention for the semis.

The news from the presentaion is that Kevin Pietersen won the awards for the maximum number of sixes and for the best catch of the match.

Shane Warne, the losing skipper, said that their failed start with the bat cost them the match. He says that a miracle huge-margin win against Kolkata in their next match might see them into the semis.

Anil Kumble, the winning skipper, said Pankaj bowled really well and Pietersen batted exceptionally and that they corrected their mistakes from the last match.

Kevin Pietersen is the Man-of-the-Match. He said that they bowled to their plans and it worked well for them. He added that he liked to bat at number 3.

That's it from us for tonight, do join us tomorrow for our coverage of the match between Chennai and Delhi in the former's backyard