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Invited to bat, KXIP posted 173 for 4 against RCB. Chris Gayle missed a century by a whisker, blasting an unbeaten 99 runs off 64 balls.
In match 28 of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019), sensational fifties from Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers overshadowed Chris Gayle's unbeaten 99 as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finally snapped a six-match losing streak this IPL season with an eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at PCA IS Bindra Stadium on Saturday. Kohli (67) in the company of AB de Villiers (59 not out) scripted a superb runchase, sharing a 85-run stand to lay the foundation. The India skipper blasted eight boundaries, while de Villiers clobbered two sixes and five hits across the rope in his 38-ball innings.
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IPL 2019, match 28: KXIP vs RCB full scorecard
Invited to bat, dashing West Indies opener Chris Gayle (99) carried his bat through with an unbeaten 99, studded with five sixes and as many as 10 hits to the fence to single-handedly anchor Punjab to 173 for four.
Kohli and de Villiers then did bulk of the scoring and once the skipper was dismissed in the 16th over, Marcus Stoinis (28 off 16) played a crucial cameo to take the team through with four balls to spare.
With this victory, RCB also avoided the ignominy of most successive losses for a team at the start of an IPL season.
Chasing 174 to win, Parthiv Patel and Kohli gave RCB a flying start, amassing 43 off 23 balls but the left-handed opener was caught by Mayank Agarwal off R Ashwin in the 4th over.
de Villiers and Kohli then took the bowlers to the cleaners, picking up boundaries at will, as RCB brought up the 100 in the 12th over.
Kohli completed his second fifty of this IPL season in 37 balls but runs dried up a bit in the middle with M Ashwin (24/0) and Andrew Tye (4/40) bowling a tight over each.
Mohammad Shami then gave Punjab a glimmer of hope when over he dismissed Kohli, who pulled one straight to M Ashwin as RCB slipped to 128 for two.
But Marcus Stoinis and de Villiers ensured there were no hiccups, sharing 46 runs, as RCB romped home comfortably in the end.
Earlier, Gayle stitched a 66-run opening stand off 38 balls with KL Rahul (18) and kept the scoreboard ticking even though he lost partners on the other end.
RCB could have dismissed Gayle in the first over itself when he was hit on the leg by Umesh Yadav but Virat Kohli didn't go for a DRS and the West Indian escaped.
Gayle made RCB pay for the mistake as he hit a four and six off Umesh's next over, before Rahul joined the party and smashed a couple of fours off the India pacer in his third over.
In the sixth over, Gayle exploded as he welcomed Mohammad Siraj with a four at long off and followed it up with a six over long-on and another boundary across cover.
He then pulled another one over square leg before sending the ball across the fine leg as KXIP amassed 24 runs to end the powerplay at 60 for no loss.
Chahal was then introduced into the attack and Rahul lifted him over long-on for a maximum but the spinner had him stumped in the next delivery to produce a crucial breakthrough.
First Published: Apr 13 2019 | 5:27 PM IST