Press Trust of India
Rajkot, April 24: Star batsman Virat Kohli’s maiden T20 hundred went in vain as Gujarat Lions produced a clinical batting display to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets in an IPL match here Sunday.
Batting first, RCB posted a challenging total of 180 for two as captain Kohli (100 n o, 63b, 11×4, 1×6) hit his first IPL as well T20 century but the Lions chased down the target with three balls to spare with a combined effort from their top-order batsmen.
Dinesh Karthik (50 n o, 39b, 3×4) steered the run chase for the Lions with an unbeaten half century while Brendon McCullum (42, 24b, 5×4, 2×6), Dwayne Smith (32, 21b, 3×4, 2×6) and captain Suresh Raina (28, 24b, 3×4) made useful contributions as the home side notched up their third win in four matches.
The Lions, who had suffered a 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last match here, now have eight points from five matches. Gujarat Lions began their run chase at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in a flier as they reached 47 for no loss in the first five overs with Smith and McCullum in an aggressive mood.
Smith was, however, the first one to be dismissed in the sixth over bowled by Kane Richardson as AB de Villiers took a fine catch to reduce the home side to 47 for one. Brendon McCullum then took over as he smashed Richardson with two sixes and as many fours in the same over. The middle overs saw captain Raina and Karthik batting sensibly, scoring mostly in singles and doubles.
The Lions needed just seven runs from the last over but RCB wicketkeeper Rahul took a fine catch to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja (12) but Dwayne Bravo (4 n o) hit the first ball he faced for a four to take the home side to 182 for four in 19.3 overs.
Earlier, Kohli struck his maiden T20 century as he carried his bat through the innings. He got an able support from Lokesh Rahul (51 n o, 35b, 4×4, 3×6) who struck a sparkling half century as the duo stitched 121 runs for the unbroken third wicket stand.
