Chris Gayle struck a brutal unbeaten 102 off 55 balls to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to a crushing nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.
Chasing a challenging target of 172, Gayle took the likes of L Balaji and Shakib-al-Hasan to the cleaners, hitting seven sixes and 10 boundaries, as the former Knight Rider player, playing in his first match of the tournament, won the match singlehandedly with 11 balls to spare.
Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir kept the momentum going for the Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in match 24 of IPL-4.
Earlier, Opener Brad Haddin was dismissed after the Knight Riders got off to a flying start.
Hoping to break their losing streak, the Royal Challengers took on an in-form Knight Riders here at an overcast Eden Gardens on Friday, where the visiting skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss and decided to chase.
RCB would welcome West Indian Chris Gayle who has been the latest inclusion into their squad.
The Challengers have just one win from their five outings, losing three and sharing points in an abandoned tie against Rajasthan Royals.
Gautam Gambhir-led table-toppers Knight Riders have, on the other hand, been hot and cold with three wins and two losses in their five encounters so far.
So while the Bangalore side will look to put their campaign back on track, Kolkata will try to regain the winning momentum after a surprise loss at the hands of Kochi Tuskers in their last match.
Gambhir made two changes to his team bringing in Brad Haddin for Brett Lee and replacing Manvinder Bisla with Jaidev Unadkat.
