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‘Gayle storm’ blows away Kings XI in one-sided game

An all-round brilliant performance by Chris Gayle, first with the bat and then with the ball, saw Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) demolish Kings XI Punjab by 85 runs.

Chasing a stiff 206-run target for a desperate win, Kings could score only 120 for nine wickets in their 20 overs, with Man of the Match Gayle snapping up three wickets for 21 runs in four overs after smashing a hurricane century (107) in 48 balls and proving to be the match-winner.

Hit by a Gayle storm of nine mighty sixes and 10 boundaries that earlier enabled RCB score 205 for six wickets in 20 overs, Kings made a disastrous start when captain Adam Gilchrist was brilliantly run out by Asad Pathan on the very first ball of speedster Zaheer Khan.

With an asking rate of 10.25 runs an over, it was an uphill task for the Kings frontline batters, including the in-form Paul Valthaty, to chase the target as the top five in the order were packed off in eight overs for a mere 50 on the board.

Barring Valthaty, Dinesh Karthik and Ryan McLaren, who crossed the 20-mark, the remaining batsmen struggled to keep the strike rotating as they fell one after the other to a tight bowling and brilliant fielding display by RCB.

In contrast to 11 sixes by RCB, including two by AB De Villiers, the Kings had a lone overboundary from Praveen Kumar, who remained not out 15 with two hits to the ropes in the seven balls he faced.

Besides Gayle, who scalped Valthaty (21), Karthik (20) and Piyush Chawla (5), RCB’s left-arm pacer Srinath Arvind was the most successful bowler with four wickets for 14 runs in four overs.

Gayle, whom RCB signed up lately, stunned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when he hit 102 in 55 balls April 22 in Kolkata with seven sixes and 10 boundaries. He followed it up with four sixes and four fours to 49 runs in 26 balls against Pune Warriors April 29.

Earlier, put in to bat after Gilchrist won the toss and opted to field, RCB made 205 runs for the loss of six wickets in their 20 overs.

As is his wont, Gayle electrified the stadium with mighty sixes and fours and sending the frenzied fans into raptures.

Though Kings’ McLaren got an initial breakthrough when he got other opener Tilakaratne Dilshan caught by Praveen for 16 in the fifth over, Gayle ripped apart their bowling attack hitting sixes and fours at will.

After Gayle was out at 154 in 15^th over, caught by Harris off spinner Chawla, Royals lost Kholi at 155. A rearguard action by AB De Villiers with two sixes and two fours and Saurabh Tiwary saw RCB cross the 200-mark for the first time in the current tournament.

Harris was the most successful bowler for Kings XI, bagging three wickets for 38 runs