Gambhir survived twice in a Zaheer Khan over and never looked back as he bulldozed the Bangalore bowling by smashing five huge sixes and nine fours in his 51-ball knock.
Everything went right for Kolkata, from winning the toss to a good start and then a good finish at Eden Gardens.
Gambhir and Brendon McCullum put on 95 runs for the opening wicket, their highest first-wicket stand of the season, to lay foundation of a big score.
McCullum supported Gambhir well with his 37-ball 43, which had eight fours and after the fall of the Kiwi, Jacques Kallis (41 off 27 balls) added 80-run for the second wicket with his skipper.
Gambhir's innings meant that the hosts notched up their highest score of this season.
However, Gambhir was not lucky enough to complete his first IPL century as he fell short by seven runs when he was dismissed by Zaheer. He was caught by K P Apanna at the long-off boundary while going for a big shot.
Gambhir survived two catches at the start as Harshal Patel dropped him at the third-man boundary though it was a stunning effort. One ball later Gambhir got a second life on 13 when Gayle missed an easy catch at the gully. More PTI TAP AT
