Pietersen delighted with IPL debut win

Kevin Pietersen lashes out during his debut 32 which set Bangalore on their way to a 75-run triumph over Rajasthan

Captain Kevin Pietersen was thrilled with his Indian Premier League debut after guiding the Bangalore Royal Challengers to an emphatic opening day victory over the Rajasthan Royals in Cape Town.

The England batsman made 32 off 30 balls and marshalled his troops impressively at Newlands as they completed a resounding 75-run victory.

“The IPL is absolutely fantastic,” he said of his first experience. “Obviously, we’d preferred it to be in India with the crowds and fanatical support there.

“But to come to South Africa and have a turnout like there was today in pretty cold conditions as well was absolutely fantastic.”

What made Pietersen’s debut all the more inspiring was that he managed to lift his side in the field after posting a less than daunting total of 134.

But led by veteran spinner Anil Kumble’s 5-5, they managed to dismiss the Shane Warne-led defending champions for an abysmal 58 and the England star admitted that he enjoyed his tussle with his former Hampshire team-mate.

He added: “I’ve never had a problem with the captaincy, it’s all good fun and I really enjoy it.

“Going up against Shane is always interesting, the mind games, but it’s all great. He’s a great man, a great leader of men and I like talking to him about the game, because I learn from him and I watch him.

“Especially as an opposing captain, to watch him and learn that can only help me improve the way I do the job for Bangalore.”

Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne moves to field a drive from his former Hampshire team-mate

Pietersen hailed the experience of Kumble, saying: “He is absolutely fantastic.

“The man’s a legend, a real genius. You can’t buy that experience in any shop, no shop in Cape Town sells it, no shop in Bangalore sells it.

“So to have in the team with his great experience is brilliant.”

Man of the match Rahul Dravid (66) and Pietersen had earlier helped their team recover from a poor start to post 133 for eight, before Kumble, Praveen Kumar and Jesse Ryder claimed nine wickets between them to dismiss Rajasthan with almost five overs to spare.

The England batsman added: “It is a terrific start to the tournament. The boys played fantastic cricket, we’ve been talking a lot about being patient, especially in the coastal areas with the ball not travelling as far in the Highveld.

“Rahul was outstanding this evening, Jesse Ryder was fantastic in the field and the boys were really happy.

“We saw, myself and Rahul, that it was tough batting out there. He (Kumar) is a fantastic bowler, very clever and Dale Steyn bowled really fast from the other end to make it tough for them. We were good, but we’ve still got some areas to improve on as well.”

Rajasthan captain Shane Warne was disappointed with his side’s performance, but took heart from the similar start they made last season.

Rahul Dravid advances towards 66, more than double the game's next highest score

He said: “Obviously as champions we wanted to impose ourselves on the competition early. And I thought our bowling, a couple of overs at the end with Munaf (Patel) and (Tyron) Henderson, we probably gave them 10 or 15 runs too many.

“But with 130, all we needed was a half-decent start and I thought we’d win with a couple of overs to spare.

“I wasn’t so disappointed that we got out for 50, but it was the way we got out that was disappointing – just the shot selection and the mindset.

“It’s very similar to last year when we got embarrassed in the first game, but we managed to come back and win it. Hopefully the same thing happens this time, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Warne also paid tribute to his former Hampshire team-mate and captain of Bangalore.

He added: “Kevin and I are friends, he’s played under my captaincy for a long time and knows how I play. But I don’t think that had anything to do with the way we batted tonight.

“He did well, he was probably disappointed he got out for 32 after looking very good at the wicket. But he’ll be very happy.

“Kevin’s obviously a positive person. He would have brought a lot to their group. Bangalore had a pretty ordinary tournament last year, they would have wanted to come out fighting this year and from the way I know Kevin, I’m sure he got the boys revved up and ready to go.”