Mohali: Chris Gayle struck a brilliant 87 as Royal Challengers Bangalore comfortably beat Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here Friday.
Gayle and A.B. de Villiers (52) added 131 runs for the fifth wicket as Royal Challengers Bangalore, set a target of 164, made 166 with three balls to spare.
With their second consecutive win, Royal Challengers Bangalore got their campaign back on track after having suffered three losses on the trot.
They move up a place to the seventh spot with six points from six matches while Kings XI slipped a spot to the eighth with four points from six matches.
Asked to bat first, Kings XI Punjab, who were without their captain Adam Gilchrist, again made a poor start but crucial innings from stand-in skipper David Hussey (41) and former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (33 not out) helped them get a competitive score of 163 for six in 20 overs. Gilchrist missed the match nursing a hamstring injury.Kings XI pacer Parvinder Awana (4-34) raised hopes for the hosts. He picked up the crucial wickets of opener Mayank Aggarwal (1), Virat Kohli (4) and Saurabh Tiwary (4) to reduce Royal Challengers to 25 for three inside six overs.
But Gayle played a patient knock and took his time to settle down before an onslaught. He took 28 balls to score 31 runs but once he took on, there was no stopping him. (IANS)
