Kohli, AB de Villiers maul Gujarat Lions

Bengaluru, may 14

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli orchestrated a mayhem by scoring magnificent centuries as Royal Challengers Bangalore inflicted a crushing 144-run defeat on Gujarat Lions, the biggest ever victory in the history of Indian Premier League.

Batting first, RCB plundered a massive 248/3 courtesy de Villiers’ 129 not out and Kohli’s 108 as records fell like ninepins at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Gujarat Lions capitulated to a meagre 104 all out in 18.4 overs with Chris Jordan picking up 4/11 in 3 overs and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal getting 3/19 in 4 overs.

With 10 points from 11 games and a positive run-rate of +0.627, RCB will fancy their chances of sneaking into the playoffs by winning their remaining three games.

This is the second highest team score in the history of IPL behind RCB’s 263/5 against Pune Warriors. The Kohli-de Villiers combine eclipsed its own partnership record by pummelling the Lions to add a staggering 229 runs in just 16 overs. The previous best was 215 against Mumbai Indians during the last edition. Kohli also became the first player in IPL to score two centuries against the same opponents in one edition of the league.

De Villiers smashed a scintillating unbeaten 129 off 52 balls with 10 fours and 12 maximums, while Kohli, en route his third hundred in a single edition of IPL, hit a brilliant 109 off 55 balls with the help of five fours and eight sixes.

De Villiers, whose 43-ball century was the fifth fastest in IPL, teed off to get the maximum number of sixes in an innings by any individual batsman.

In all, the duo hit an astounding 20 sixes compared to 15 fours as the square boundary looked too small at times. The start was not that great for RCB as Chris Gayle (6) was bowled by Dhawal Kulkarni.

The RCB captain was cautious to begin with and it was de Villiers who was first off the blocks with a flurry of sixes. The first was a six over cover off Shivil Kaushik (3/50 in 3 overs).

In the next over, he slogged Pravin Tambe behind square for another huge blow. Kulkarni’s medium pace was pulled for a six. When de Villiers completed his hundred, Kohli was still in his 50s, but he increased the pace at the rear end of the innings. — PTI

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