IPL 2017: Fifties from Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli, spinners guide Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to 21-run win over Gujarat Lions (GL)

RCB put up 213 runs on the board, courtesy blistering knocks from Gayle (77) and captain Kohli (64). Defending a massive total, RCB spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Pawan Negi bowled well to contain GL well below their total.

The Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday night became witness to a high-scoring game, where hosts Gujarat Lions (GL) went down to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 21 runs in match no. 20 of Indian Premier League (IPL) season 10. Batting first, RCB put up 213 runs on the board, courtesy blistering knocks from Chris Gayle (77) and captain Virat Kohli (64). Defending a massive total, RCB spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Pawan Negi bowled well to contain GL well below their total. The only resistance came from Brendon McCullum’s willow, as he scored 72. With this loss, Gujarat take the last position on the IPL 2017 points table, with just a single win from their five games. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL 2017, Match 20

Chasing a huge total of 214 required a strong start. However, Gujarat lost Dwayne Smith early, when he was caught at deep square leg off Chahal’s bowling for 1. GL needed their skipper to lead from the front and Suresh Raina started off positively. He hit two fours and as many sixes to quickly get to 23 off 7 balls, before a poor shot off Chahal’s bowling brought his downfall. Aaron Finch then joined McCullum in the middle and took the total past 100, but fell eventually to Negi for 19. Dinesh Karthik (1) followed him soon after. FULL IPL 2017 Score, Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL 10, Match 20

Amidst all this, McCullum not just held one end up, but also kept picking up the boundaries. He lacked similar support from the other end though. It took a toll on him as he departed trying to accelerate. McCullum became Chahal’s third victim, scoring 72 off 44 balls (2 x 4s, 7 x 6s). Ishan Kishan (16-ball 39) played a cameo but it was too little and too late, as RCB wrapped up a 21-run win. Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for them, picking 3 for 31. Negi (1 for 21 from 4 overs) also bowled well, as other bowlers went for runs.

Earlier, Gujarat skipper Raina won the toss and opted to field first. Both the teams made a few changes to their squad. For RCB, Samuel Badree and AB de Villiers missed out, with Gayle and Travis Head replacing them. GL made three changes, bringing in Finch — who missed the last game due to a bizarre reason of lost kit bag — Shivil Kaushik and Dhawal Kulkarni in place of Jason Roy, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel.

Barring the win at the toss, nothing clicked for Raina and Co. on the field. Gayle, who was just three runs away from his landmark, started slowly as always. Kohli, on the other hand, started off brilliantly, hitting three back-to-back fours to Kulkarni in the third over.

Once Gayle got to the milestone, there was no stopping him. The slow starter that he is, Gayle launched his assault once he got the monkey off the back, hitting Ravindra Jadeja for 2 sixes and 2 fours in an over. Here on, boundaries started raining as Gayle and Kohli hit at least a four or a six every over. The two batsmen put up 100 runs on the board in no time, thus becoming the first pair to register 10 century stands in T20s.

Gayle and Kohli then fell for 77 (38) and 64 (50) respectively. Kedar Jadhav joined forces with Head as the two carted Gujarat bowlers for 54 runs in last 25 balls, guiding RCB to 213 for 2.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bangalore 213 for 2 in 20 overs (Chris Gayle 77, Virat Kohli 64; Basil Thampi 1 for 31, Dhawal Kulkarni 1 for 37) beat Gujarat Lions 192 for 7 in 20 overs (Brendon McCullum 72, Ishan Kishan 39; Yuzvendra Chahal 3 for 31, Pawan Negi 1 for 21) by 21 runs.

Man of the Match: Chris Gayle

FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL 2017, Match 20