It was the batting show of the IPL Twenty20:

Vintage hitting by Sachin, Sanath

Senior pros Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya produced vintage strokeplay to give Mumbai Indians a key victory in the Indian Premier League here on Monday.

The ageing duo hammered 127 for the first wicket from just 12.2 overs as Mumbai scored 187-6 in 20 overs after electing to take first strike and then bowled out Kolkata Knight Riders for 95 in 15.2 overs.

The massive 92-run victory took Mumbai’s tally to five points from four matches, putting them in third place behind leaders Deccan Chargers (eight points) and Delhi Daredevils (six).

Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s Knight Riders were left tottering on three points from five games and needed to win a majority of their remaining nine matches to stay in contention for the semi-finals.

Tendulkar, the world’s leading Test and one-day batsman who has voluntarily opted out of India’s Twenty20 squad, smashed a brilliant 68 off 45 balls.

The prolific 36-year-old hit six boundaries and four sixes, one of them against Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis that landed outside the St George’s Park stadium.

Jayasuriya, who turns 40 in June, hammered 52 off 32 balls with two fours and four sixes as the veterans turned the clock back in a breathtaking display of attacking batting.

Kolkata’s chase faltered early when skipper Brendon McCullum was dismissed by Lasith Malinga in the second over and West Indian captain Chris Gayle fell to team-mate Dwayne Bravo in the third.

Brad Hodge (24) and Sourav Ganguly (34) were the chief contributors to Kolkata’s meagre total as Lasith Malinga and Abhishek Nayar scalped three wickets each. PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Tuesday