Virat Kohli has been vaulting the standard of T20 batting this IPL. He was twitchy after heavy rain delayed the start of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s final league fixture at home against Kings XI Punjab by nearly two hours. Not even the apprehensions of having to bat with nine stitches on his left hand because of a split webbing could stop him from scoring his fourth century in nine innings. He also topped the IPL run charts during the course of his 50-ball 113 that powered Royal Challengers to an 82-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis method. A seventh win delivered in the most emphatic fashion helped them jump from fifth to second on the points table.
Chris Gayle was in his groove too, bashing 73 in a 147-run opening stand that floored Kings XI, who conceded 211 for 3 after opting to bowl in a 15-over shootout. Kohli was the first to reach his half-century off 28 balls when he whipped Axar Patel to long-on. Four legitimate balls later, Gayle swiped the left-arm spinner over midwicket for six and raced to his half-century off 29 balls. The two then got together to unfurl the champion jig.
Match summary: Royal Challengers Bangalore 211 for 3 in 15 overs (Kohli 113, Gayle 73) beat Kings XI Punjab 120 for 9 in 14 overs (Saha 24, Chahal 4-25) by 82 runs(D/L method)