Gayle ton powers Bangalore to big win

KOLKATA, India (AP):

West Indian opener Chris Gayle lifted struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore by bludgeoning his way to an unbeaten 102 and ensuring an emphatic nine-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL yesterday.

The 31-year-old left-hander, playing his first match in this edition of the Twenty20 tournament, smashed seven sixes and 10 fours off only 55 deliveries. He added 123 runs for the first wicket with Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan (38) as Bangalore reached 175-1 off 18.1 overs in reply to Kolkata's 171-5.

For Kolkata, captain Gautam Gambhir top-scored with 48, while Yusuf Pathan (46) and South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis (40) were the other main contributors.

Kolkata remain on six points with three wins from six games, while Bangalore are now on five points from six outings with two wins and a no-result.

Starting in style

Gayle started the tournament in style, coming in as a replacement for injured fast bowler Dirk Nannes and striking the winning runs off Bangladesh spinner Shakib al-Hassan to also reach his century.

Gayle, who had played for Kolkata in the first three seasons of the IPL, was not signed at this year's auction. He joined Bangalore in controversial circumstances after opting out of West Indies' home series against Pakistan.

"It is great to get a century in the first match,'' Gayle said. "I had not practised much back home and picked up the bat for the first time after the World Cup.''

For Kolkata, Gambhir produced a solid 48 off 38 balls, adding 95 for the second wicket with Kallis.

Strike bowler Zaheer Khan went for 53 runs in his four overs without taking a wicket as Bangalore struggled to control the flow of runs, especially towards the end of the innings.

Three sixes

Big-hitting batsman Pathan hit three sixes and three fours off only 24 deliveries before he was caught at long off by Virat Kohli off left-arm seamer Srinath Aravind (2-37), who also dismissed Gambhir.

In yesterday's late match, Harbhajan Singh grabbed 5-18 in Mumbai Indians' eight-run win over Chennai Super Kings. Mumbai scored 164-4 and restricted Chennai to 156-9.

Mumbai reached the top of the points table with eight points from five games, while defending champions Chennai have only four from five.

Mumbai Indians, 164-4 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 87, Andrew Symonds 31 not out, Doug Bollinger 2-30), defeated Chennai Super Kings 156-9 in 20 overs (Subramaniam Badrinath 71 not out, Mike Hussey 41, Harbhajan Singh 5-18, Lasith Malinga 2-20).