Gayle, Kohli power RCB to 174 for five against KXIP

Chris Gayle's power-hitting in the back 10 and ably complemented by skipper Virat Kohli enabled Royal Challengers Bangalore to reach a challenging 174 for five against Kings XI Punjab in a Pepsi Indian Premier League match here today.
While Gayle helped himself to a 53-ball-77 with the help of four boundaries and six huge sixes, skipper Kohli's contribution of 57 off 43 balls (6x4, 2x6) was equally significant in their 137-run second wicket stand.
In fact the final six overs of the innings produced a whopping 86 runs with Gayle hitting Manpreet Gony for three successive sixes with 22 runs coming off the 15th over of the innings.

With Kohli hitting Parvinder Awana for a six and a four, 15 runs came off the very next over. RCB got the required momentum which seemed missing during the first 10 overs when Gayle was more intent on pushing for singles and twos as he couldn't consistently get the big hits going in his favour.
RCB completed 50 runs only in the 10th over and with Gayle still at the crease, it was something that even the die-hard home team fans couldn't believe.
For the Kings XI, Awana had the best figures of three for 39 while Azhar Mahmood was certainly the most effective bowler with clever variation and mix that he used to finish with two for 24 in 4 overs.

The start wasn't a great one for the RCB as Cheteshwar Pujara (19, 20 balls, 3x4) failed to get going. Pujara failed to clear the in-field but also couldn't rotate the strike and give more deliveries to Gayle during his time at the crease.
In the end, Pujara slashed one from Awana to give a catch to David Miller at backward point.
The Gayle-Kohli combination which has worked wonders for the RCB again came into forefront as both played confidently. They were watchful for the first few overs but then unleashed a barrage of strokes on the Kings XI batsmen.