GAYLE FORCE

Riding on Chris Gayle’s smashing fifty and Yuzvendra Chahal’s three-wicket haul, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Lions by 21 runs in their IPL encounter in Rajkot on Tuesday night.

The swashbuckling West Indies opener blasted a blistering 38-ball 77-run innings, while skipper Virat Kohli scored 64 off 50 balls to power RCB to a massive 213 for 2 in their stipulated 20 overs.

Opener Brendon McCullum then hit a superb 72 off 44 balls, studded with two fours and seven sixes but he didn’t get the support from the other end as RCB restricted the Lions to 192 for 7 to snap their threegame losing streak.

Young Ishan Kishan did come up with a 15-ball 39-run cameo but it was too late in the end.

Yuzvendra Chahal (3 for 31) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB as he picked up three crucial wickets — Dwayne Smith (1), Suresh Raina (23) and McCullum — in his four overs to derail Gujarat’s runchase.

Earlier, Jamaican big-hitter Chris Gayle signalled his return to form with a 38-ball 77 to help Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) post a mammoth 213 for 2.

Put into bat, the visitors got off to a thunderous start with Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli (64) putting on 122 runs in 13 overs as the Gujarat bowlers failed to find an answer to the onslaught.

Kedar Jadhav (38 not out of 16 balls) and Travis Head (30 not out of 16) then finished off the proceedings in style with a 54-run unbeaten third wicket stand.

Coming into the match, just three runs short of becoming the first batsman to get 10,000 T20 runs, Gayle reached the landmark slicing a good length delivery from pacer Basil Thampi through point down to third man for a single.

There was no looking back from there on as the West Indian turned on the heat, dealing mostly in fours and sixes.

The 37-year-old gave special treatment to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, milking him for 21 runs in his very first over before getting to his first half century of the season off a mammoth 104-metre six from chinaman Shivil Kaushik. —