IPL 9: Kohli's record fourth ton takes RCB to 2nd spot, but groundstaff real Man of the match

Bangalore Whoever smiles more after the raincurtailed clash between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab the man of the match simply has to be collectively given to the groundstaff at the Chinnaswamy Stadium hereAlso ReadHere are milestone man Virat Kolhis records in IPLRCB skipper Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle perform the Champion dance after the West Indians 50 PicPTIIf it had rained 4s and 6s the previous game here against the Gujarat Lions the actual rains came down hard last night but less than an hour after the rain Gods had finally relented there was Virat Kohli out in the centre losing yet another tossBut put into bat by Murali Vijay the reduction of the game to 15 oversaside made no difference to Kohli as he notched an incredible fourth ton of the season one which came in the 14th overAlso ReadOnly Kohli can catch Bollywoods Don reckons SehwagThat exhilarating century and the opening partnership of 147 from a mere 11 overs with fellow opener Chris Gayle meant that RCB finished their 15 overs with 2113 and set Kings XI an asking rate of 1413 an over a near impossible task even if the RCB bowlers are known for their own generosityWho needs 20 overs seemed to be the message as Kohli 113 50b 12x4 8x6 SR of 226 and Gayle 73 32b 4x4 8x6 SR 228 went berserk They had been made to wait till as late as 945 pm as were the patient home fans and as if to pay them back for their loyalty they tore into the Kings XI attackThe likes of pacer Kyle Abbot spinners KC Cariappa and Akshar Patel would have been very glad that they could bowl only three overs each as they conceded 48 55 and 46 runs respectively Their only consolation was that AB de Villiers failed to score on the nightIt was akin to leading lambs to the slaughter as Gayle and Kohli sent the ball soaring into every part of the ground Gayle was brutal as ever while Kohli did what Kohli does both when coaxing the ball for a four and when sending it over for a six It was another treat for sureThe hosts then returned to restrict Kings XI for 120 in 14 overs to register their seventh win and reach the second spot in points table with 14 points in 13 matches They are now tied at 14 points with Kolkata Knight Riders Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions Chasing a mammoth 212 to win none of the Kings XI batsmen could stitch a partnership as the pressure to hit big shots saw them make their back way to the hut Wriddhiman Saha 24 was the topscorer for Punjab For Bangalore spinner Yuzvendra Chahal 425 returned with a fourwicket haul while Sreenath Aravind 218 and Shane Watson 27 scalped two wickets each In the end Punjab were 1209 with just one over to go when heavens opened up again and the result of the match was decided by the Duckworth Lewis methodGayle and Kolhi were also involved in a record 147run partnership for the first wicket in 67 balls by hitting all over the ground at will from the first over treating a packed stadium of 25000 frezined fans with mighty sixes and massive foursDesperate efforts by Vijay to break the partnership or get either of them out early failed as Kolhi and Gayle were in full cry and batted with disdainWhile the first 50 came in 44 overs of the sixover power play the first 100 of RCBs innings came in 85 oversThough Vijay used as many as five bowlers to contain the openers there was no respite for Kings till Gayle got caught by David Miller of Arshad Patel ball in 11 over when RCB score was147 on the boardAfter inform AB de Villiers was bowled for a duck in 12th over keeper KL Rahul joined Kohli to take the score to 199 when the skipper was caught by Miller off Sandeep Sharma ball at 113 comprising 8 sixes and 12 fours in just 50 ballsRahul and Kohli were involved in a 45run third wicket partnership in 15 balls Rahul remained till the end at 16 not out Patel Sharma and Abbot shared one wicket each of RCBs batters