Delhi v Bangalore, IPL 2012, Kotla

Gayle Extra powers Bangalore to 215...!

20 overs Royal Challengers Bangalore 215 for1 (Gayle 128*, Kohli 73*) v Delhi Daredevils

Chris Gayle started slowly. He played out a maiden against Umesh Yadav, was scoreless for eight consecutive balls, and was 1 off nine deliveries. He let Virat Kohli provide the initial propulsion after Tillakaratne Dilshan fell early. Gayle was biding his time. And when that time came, Gayle began to launch an assault that endangered people in the stands, pummelling Delhi Daredevils into submission. By the time the innings ended, with Gayle on 128 off 62 deliveries, he had hit 13 sixes, giving Royal Challengers Bangalore a terrific chance of staying in the competition and boosting their net run-rate.

Royal Challengers needed to win this game to draw level with Chennai Super Kings on points, move ahead of Kings XI Punjab, and pull further away from Rajasthan Royals. Defeat would have been debilitating to their campaign, so Gayle and Kohli chose the perfect situation for a 204-run partnership, the second highest in Twenty20 cricket. The absence of Morne Morkel, who was rested from Daredevils' attack because the hosts had already qualified, was telling. They will now have to chase the season's highest total without the indisposed Virender Sehwag.

Royal Challengers were only 42 for 1 after six overs, when the fielding restrictions were lifted. Gayle had hit no sixes by then. His first was in the eighth over, when he lofted Andre Russell over the long-on boundary. At the end of the ninth over, both Gayle and Kohli were on 27, off 25 and 23 balls respectively. Kohli had been far more fluent with his flicks through midwicket and drives off the back foot.

In the 13th over, Gayle decided it was time, heaving left-arm spinner Pawan Negi over the midwicket boundary before driving to long-off, where Umesh Yadav mis-fielded and allowed the four. Yadav and Daredevils' fielding wasn't as hot as it had been against Kings XI Punjab.

Thereafter, there was no respite. Gayle passed 50 off his 37th delivery and began to score primarily through sixes. He hit three in the 14th over, from Irfan Pathan. The first just cleared long-off, where Negi leaped on the boundary and parried the ball over; the next two went more than 100 metres over the leg side. He hit three more, in a row this time, in the 16th over from Negi. While his favoured region was down the ground and over midwicket, Gayle also sliced Yadav and Varun Aaron over the point boundary. He got to his century, his third in the IPL, off 53 balls.

Kohli was no slouch either, finishing with 73 off 53 balls. He had provided the initial thrust and kept runs flowing throughout. He hit only one six, though, and in the end the show was only about Gayle.