KKR's title defence continues to crumble
The Royal Challengers Bangalore's campaign gathered momentum on Thursday as they recorded an effortless eight-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders, with Chris Gayle leading the charge with a half century.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore's campaign gathered momentum on Thursday as they recorded an effortless eight-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders, with Chris Gayle leading the charge with a half century.
The West Indian opener was in full command as the hosts reached the 155 required with 15 balls to spare, Gayle striking four boundaries and nine sixes in his 50-ball knock of 85.
The Knight Riders, doing a poor job of defending their title thus far this season, had earlier made 154 for eight, thanks in large part to skipper Gautam Gambhir's relatively sedate 59, while RP Singh took three wickets and affected a run out.
The Gambhir knock was the backbone of the Kolkata innings, as they lost wickets regularly and the final three overs saw four wickets tumble. Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary chipped in with knocks of 27 and 23, but the score was never going to be enough.
Bangalore, coming off a big win in their previous game thanks to a 93 from Virat Kohli, were again imperious as their world class top order fired. Kohli added 35 to his tally for the tournament, retaining the orange cap.
There was a moment of drama when Kohli was dismissed, and he got into a near-physical confrontation with India team-mate Gambhir. The cause didn't appear obvious though, and it required intervention from KKR's Rajat Bhatia to get Kohli on his way off the field.
Gayle continued unperturbed, with AB de Villiers at his side. The South African added 22 runs of his own but let his big-hitting colleague do the damage and finished the game ahead of schedule.
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