On a damp Saturday night, Royal Challengers Bangalore thrived on the early heat generated by Chris Gayle, to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in the Indian Premier League match here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The triumph helped RCB nudge its points tally to 17 and emphatically secure a berth in the play-offs. KKR remained on 14 points from 12 matches and is still in contention for the final phase.
The Knight Riders scored 89 for four in 13 overs in a rain-marred evening. Chasing a revised Duckworth Lewis target of 102, RCB whittled down the runs with Gayle again giving manic impetus to a productive pursuit.
RCB scored 105 for six in 12.3 overs. Gayle struck four fours in Brett Lee's first over and the runs came in a medley of edges and authoritative biffs past sweeper cover. The second over bowled by Jaidev Unadkat triggered a run-glut.
Gayle (38, 12b, 6x4, 2x6) slammed two sixes and a four and Luke Pomersbach too chipped in, as 23 runs were pocketed to grant RCB a solid cushion that covered up the subsequent fall of wickets.
Gayle fell to Lee with Jacques Kallis pouching the skier at third-man, but by then the opener had become the current orange-cap owner with 436 runs, going past Virender Sehwag's 424.
Kallis then bowled a niggardly spell (two for 16) and scalped Pomersbach and RCB captain Kohli, but with the required run-rate falling below five, the host was always in the hunt. A.B. de Villiers remained at the crease right through and struck the winning four off Balaji.
Though the match had spilled into the final over, the RCB dugout had no cause for worry. In the later stages of the chase, Mohammad Kaif played some effective pulls to keep the target in sight and with de Villiers dropping anchor, the late dismissals of Arun Kartik and an injured Saurabh Tiwary, hardly hampered RCB's seventh successive victory and eighth overall in the league.
Early breakthrough
Earlier, Kohli won the toss, opted to field and Kallis drove Zaheer Khan twice in the opening over to make team-owner Shah Rukh Khan grin.
The flourish was short-lived and KKR slumped alarmingly to 30 for three in 5.3 overs. Eoin Morgan failed to get past square-leg off Zaheer. Surprised by Charl Langeveldt's angled-across follow-up to a bouncer, Kallis wafted weakly. And skipper Gautam Gambhir cut sharp and found an agile A.B. de Villiers snap up a blinder at point.
Manoj Tiwary bided his time, though he and Yusuf Pathan were mired in mid-pitch scrambles for risky runs as they relied on adrenalin rather than on astute judgement.
Abhimanyu Mithun bounced Pathan and the big-hitter, after a few ungainly moments, found relief in a slashed four. Pathan was in his elements when the ball was pitched up as Mithun and Gayle found out, while the towering sixes landed in the Members Stand.
The skies then opened up and the rain-stoppage, that lasted for 128 minutes, forced the reduction of the match to 13 overs per side.
On resumption, Pathan pummeled Kohli over mid-wicket to register his 72nd six in the IPL to go past Adam Gilchrist's earlier record of 71 sixes.
Pathan fell in the next over, the final one bowled by Charl Langeveldt and the total, despite the artificial boost through the Duckworth Lewis method, was never enough on another night when Gayle briefly ruled.
Scoreboard
Kolkata Knight Riders: J. Kallis c Arun Kartik b Langeveldt 17 (14b, 3x4), E. Morgan c Pomersbach b Zaheer 2 (5b), G. Gambhir c de Villiers b Aravind 7 (9b, 1x4), M. Tiwary (not out) 19 (24b, 1x4), Y. Pathan c Mithun b Langeveldt 36 (24b, 2x4, 3x6), M. Boucher (not out) 1 (2b), Extras (w-2, b-4, lb-1): 7; Total (for four wkts., in 13 overs): 89.
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-21, 3-30, 4-83.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Zaheer 3-0-17-1, Langeveldt 3-0-10-2, Aravind 3-0-18-1, Mithun 2-0-14-0, Gayle 1-0-11-0, Kohli 1-0-14-0.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: C. Gayle c Kallis b Lee 38 (12b, 6x4, 2x6), L. Pomersbach c Unadkat b Kallis 16 (14b, 2x4), V. Kohli c Boucher b Kallis 15 (15b, 2x4), A.B. de Villiers (not out) 13 (13b, 2x4), M. Kaif c Bhatia b Unadkat 15 (13b, 1x4), A. Kartik c Unadkat b Abdulla 1 (2b), S. Tiwary (run out) 1 (5b), A. Mithun (not out) 0 (0b), Extras (w-6): 6; Total (for six wkts., in 12.3 overs): 105.
Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-65, 3-72, 4-95, 5-96, 6-101.
Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Lee 3-0-31-1, Unadkat 2-0-30-1, Kallis 3-0-16-2, Abdulla 3-0-18-1, Balaji 1.3-0-10-0.
Man-of-the-Match: Chris Gayle.
