It was a bottom-of-the table clash but when the dust settled, Royal Challengers Bangalore showed that they were clearly better than the hosts, Gujarat Lions. Put in to bat first, RCB worked their way to 213 for 2 in their 20 overs with Chris Gayle (77) and Virat Kohli (64) feasting on the weak GL bowling.
In reply, GL struggled to keep up with the asking rate despite a brilliant 72 by Brendon McCullum. Yuzvendra Chahal did the star turn for RCB with the ball.
Here’s a look at the key moments of the match:
10000 T20 runs
Chris Gayle cemented his IPL legend by becoming the first batsman to reach 10000 T20 runs. He was dropped in the last game because he did not fit into RCB’s plans but he clearly came out with a point to prove today. He got going early and we saw glimpses of the old Gayle — the one who was the most feared batsman in T20 cricket. 7534 runs of those runs came in sixes and fours. 743 sixes and 769 fours to be exact.
Not quite Test cricket
Ravindra Jadeja is the world’s best Test allrounder but he is quickly discovering that the T20 format is an altogether different game. He got tonked all over the park for 57 runs in his 4 overs — his worst spell in T20 cricket. He could have got Chris Gayle early but for Brendon McCullum’s sun hat. The New Zealander took a brilliant catch on the boundary line but as he rolled on the ground, the brim of his hat touched the boundary line. Gayle went on to score 77 off 38 balls.
Dangerous partnership
Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli put on 122 in just 12.4 overs before Gayle was dismissed. They became the first pair to put together 10 century stands in T20 cricket (60 inngs). The next best: 7 by AB de Villiers-Kohli. The 100-partnership between Gayle and Kohli had come off just 10.3 overs with Gayle contributing 60 and Kohli 39.
The worst bowling unit by a mile
Gujarat are averaging 59 runs per wicket this season! That’s how bad their bowling has been. Just after managing to send Gayle and Kohli back to the hut, the home team somehow managed to make things worse for themselves. In the last three overs of the first innings, Gujarat ended up conceding 57 runs. That blast by Kedar Jadhav (38 off 16) and Travis Head (30 off 16) put the total well beyond Gujarat.
The Baz show
There are few things as exciting as watching Chris Gayle smash the opposition to bits. Luckily, for Gujarat, Brendon McCullum makes that list. On the 10th anniversary of his 158* in the first match of the IPL, the Kiwi star went berserk once more. In fact, on IPL matches played on April 18 before today, he averaged 95.66. It was mostly a one-man show as he went on to make 72 off 44, giving the Lions a fighting chance. But he got little in terms of support and that meant defeat for the home team.
Chahal impact
When Kohli needs a wicket, he has more often than not delivered. Yuzvendra Chahal has become Kohli’s go-to guy and he once again showed why. In a high-scoring match, he ended up with match figures of 4-0-31-3 — an economy rate of just 7.75. But more important were the wickets he took — the big-hitting Dwayne Smith was dismissed for 1, Raina was looking dangerous but Chahal out-foxed him with one down the leg-side when the left-hander was giving him the charge and the final wicket was that of McCullum. What more can a captain ask for?
Two in two
43 runs needed off 11. The match was as good as won but Kohli dropped two catches in two ball. First, he dropped Andrew Tye on the boundary line off Travis Head and then, he gave a life to Ishan Kishan off the first ball of the 19th over. The ball rolled over to the boundary line for 4 runs. Kishan response to that was to score 16 runs off the next 5 balls.
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