Devil batsman Chris Gayle hammered a hurricane 117 (57b, 7x4, 12x6) as Royal Challengers Bangalore made 226 for three, the highest by any team this season, and bundled out Kings XI Punjab for 88 on Wednesday. The 138-run win kept alive their IPL playoff hopes. Gayle and Virat Kohli added 119 for the first wicket. Gayle put on 71 for the second with AB de Villiers as RCB erected a mountain for Punjab to climb. It never materialised as local boy Sreenath Aravind bagged four for 27. Aravind had the scalps of the top order, including Wriddhiman Saha, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller and skipper George Bailey. Mitchell Starc sunk the lower order with four for 15. Eight were out clean bowled by either of them. Gayle launched an assault that was frightening in its ferocity. The left-hander lunged himself into anything that was thrown at him and took the aerial route so often that even a bowler of the calibre of Mitchell Johnson was reduced to mediocrity. Johnson went for 20 in his first over, Sandeep Sharma for 24 in his second as Gayle went hell for leather and slammed the ball all around the park. Anureet Singh and Karanvir Singh too felt the force of Gayle’s bat as he displayed amazing timing and wrist work to merely flick them over the heads of all and sundry for sixes. Gayle raced to 50 in 22 balls with four fours and five sixes. He reached his fourth IPL century and 14th in T20 cricket in 48 balls with 11 towering hits. Gayle was dropped by Bailey when he lofted Sandeep towards mid-off. Bailey got under it but while facing the stands, let it slip out with Gayle on 32. Gayle was denied a sixth six at that point too when he flicked Anureet Singh over mid-wicket but the ball struck the cables of the spider cam. Maxwell brought it to the notice of the umpires who declared it a dead ball after watching replays. The West Indian was lucky to be dropped a second time when on 52 as Manan Vohra floored a catch at square-leg as he swung Axar Patel. But Axar finally caught him off his own bowling when he held a stinging shot. But the damage was already done.
