Bangalore - Adam Gilchrist produced a vintage batting display and shared in a match-winning 118-run partnership with Ahzhar Mahmood to propel Kings X1 Punjab to a comprehensive 7-wicket win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Pepsi Indian Premier League at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Gilchrist scored 85 off 54 balls with ten fours and three sixes to power Punjab to 176 for three in reply to the 175 for four managed by Bangalore.
When Rajagopal Sathish struck the winning four, another eleven deliveries was left in the game, an indication of the total batting dominance by Punjab.
Bangalore will be rueing the lack of bowling depth in their team, as even Vinay Kumar, who has taken 22 wickets in the competition, suffered against Gilchrist and Mahmood and conceded 35 runs in four overs.
The result means that the top-three on the points table, the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals, automatically qualify for the play-offs.
Gilchrist and Mahmood got the Kings X1 Punjab off to a flying start after the early demise of Shaun Marsh (bowled by Zaheer Khan for 8).
They completed their fifty-run partnership off 38 balls and belted fifteen runs in an over bowled by Jaydev Unadat.
Gilchrist hardly struck anything in the middle of the bat during his first thirty, but in spite of edges, and top-edges, he still powered the Kings X1 to 79 for one after ten overs in pursuit of 175.
They continued their relentless onslaught on a mediocre attack by smashing another 61 runs from the tenth to the fifteenth over.
Mahmood finally perished when he got a bottom edge to a delivery from Unadkat and was caught on the long-off boundary by AB de Villiers for 61 as Punjab slipped to 142 for two.
Mahmood hit eight fours and a six in his 61 off only 41 balls.
They featured in a 118-run partnership off only 95 balls for the second wicket.
The legendary Muttiah Muralitharan suffered at the hands of Gilchrist and Mahmood and conceded 44 in his four overs
Unadkat finished with 1-34 off four overs, while Khan captured 1-30.
Earlier, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli featured in a 137-run partnership off 86 balls for the second wicket to catapult the hosts to 174 for five.
The pair, with some help from AB de Villiers, slammed 63 runs in the final five overs as the inexperienced attack became unstuck a tad.
Kings X1 Punjab, spearheaded by Mahmood (2 for 25), Sandeep Sharma and Padwinder Awana (3 for 39 off four overs), restricted the subdued Gayle and Kohli to 52 for one at the halfway-mark.
Kohli broke the shackles with a six off the leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.
Gayle regained his rhythm with three straight sixes off Manpreet Gony to set the innings alight.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: CA Pujara, CH Gayle, V Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, MC Henriques, KL Rahul, KB Arun Karthik (wk), R Vinay Kumar, Z Khan, M Muralitharan, JD Unadkat
Kings XI Punjab: AC Gilchrist (captain & wk), Mandeep Singh, SE Marsh, M Vohra, DA Miller, R Sathish, Azhar Mahmood, PP Chawla, MS Gony, P Awana, Sandeep Sharma
Gilchrist scored 85 off 54 balls with ten fours and three sixes to power Punjab to 176 for three in reply to the 175 for four managed by Bangalore.
When Rajagopal Sathish struck the winning four, another eleven deliveries was left in the game, an indication of the total batting dominance by Punjab.
Bangalore will be rueing the lack of bowling depth in their team, as even Vinay Kumar, who has taken 22 wickets in the competition, suffered against Gilchrist and Mahmood and conceded 35 runs in four overs.
The result means that the top-three on the points table, the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals, automatically qualify for the play-offs.
Gilchrist and Mahmood got the Kings X1 Punjab off to a flying start after the early demise of Shaun Marsh (bowled by Zaheer Khan for 8).
They completed their fifty-run partnership off 38 balls and belted fifteen runs in an over bowled by Jaydev Unadat.
Gilchrist hardly struck anything in the middle of the bat during his first thirty, but in spite of edges, and top-edges, he still powered the Kings X1 to 79 for one after ten overs in pursuit of 175.
They continued their relentless onslaught on a mediocre attack by smashing another 61 runs from the tenth to the fifteenth over.
Mahmood finally perished when he got a bottom edge to a delivery from Unadkat and was caught on the long-off boundary by AB de Villiers for 61 as Punjab slipped to 142 for two.
Mahmood hit eight fours and a six in his 61 off only 41 balls.
They featured in a 118-run partnership off only 95 balls for the second wicket.
The legendary Muttiah Muralitharan suffered at the hands of Gilchrist and Mahmood and conceded 44 in his four overs
Unadkat finished with 1-34 off four overs, while Khan captured 1-30.
Earlier, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli featured in a 137-run partnership off 86 balls for the second wicket to catapult the hosts to 174 for five.
The pair, with some help from AB de Villiers, slammed 63 runs in the final five overs as the inexperienced attack became unstuck a tad.
Kings X1 Punjab, spearheaded by Mahmood (2 for 25), Sandeep Sharma and Padwinder Awana (3 for 39 off four overs), restricted the subdued Gayle and Kohli to 52 for one at the halfway-mark.
Kohli broke the shackles with a six off the leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.
Gayle regained his rhythm with three straight sixes off Manpreet Gony to set the innings alight.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: CA Pujara, CH Gayle, V Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, MC Henriques, KL Rahul, KB Arun Karthik (wk), R Vinay Kumar, Z Khan, M Muralitharan, JD Unadkat
Kings XI Punjab: AC Gilchrist (captain & wk), Mandeep Singh, SE Marsh, M Vohra, DA Miller, R Sathish, Azhar Mahmood, PP Chawla, MS Gony, P Awana, Sandeep Sharma