Punjab annihilated by Gayle as Bangalore find semis opening

Match Result – IPL4: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, 6 May 2011


Chris Gayle once again showed why he loves the T20 format so much by bludgeoning a gusty hundred on a day when no one came close to matching him. He did not end there, as he helped blew away Punjab’s batting line-up by grabbing 3 wickets in their lackluster pursuit.

Adam Gilchrist decided to have a bat first, seeing some grass on the wicket. There was some early movement but Dilshan and Gayle went about playing their shots freely and succeeded in essaying a quick opening strand of 43 in less than 5 overs. Fourth over bowled by Ryan Harris yielded 21 as after Gayle hit him for two sixes, Dilshan smashed him for two fours.

McLaren got Dilshan who scored 16, all in fours. After a few quiet overs, Gayle’s wrath fell on Praveen Kumar who was dispatched for two fours and two sixes. His 50 took just 28 balls. Piyush Chawla was welcomed into the attack with a couple of pugnacious sixes. Virat Kohli was going unnoticed at the other end, as hundred was up in 10 overs for Bangalore.

Fours and sixes continued to galore till Gayle brought up his second IPL hundred in style by hitting McLaren for four. 46-ball hundred was laced with 9 fours and equal number of sixes. Punjab’s misery ended when Gayle departed for a whirlwind 107 (49b, 10x4, 9x6). Kohli (27) and de Villiers (27 off just 14 balls) helped Bangalore post a intimidating total of 205 for 6.

In reply Punjab lost their skipper Gilchrist on the very first ball when Asad Pathan ran him out through a direct hit. Valthaty showed glimpse of a counter-attack by smashing Zaheer Khan for 3 successive fours, but was the third man out when Gayle cut short his stay. Sreenath Aravind was bowling well as he deceived Shaun Marsh into handing him a return catch.

At 34 for 4 in the 6th over, the chase was effectively over for Punjab. Little contributions from Karthik and McLaren ensured they cross hundred before ending at 120 for 9 at the end of 20 overs. It was a dismal and forgettable chase for Punjab. Aravind had brilliant figures of 4 for 14, while Gayle had more reasons to smile after his century by getting 3 scalps with his off spin.

Brilliant, maverick and all-round Gayle was undoubtedly the man of the match.

Royal Challengers Bangalore 205/6 (Gayle 107, Harris 3/38) beat Kings XI Punjab 120/9 (McLaren 28, Aravind 4/14, Gayle 3/21) by 85 runs

Man of the match: Chris Gayle (Royal Challengers Bangalore)