RCB vs KKR - M12 Report & Stats: IPL 2013

Match Report:

It was a Jamaican party at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Chris Gayle shattered any hopes Kolkata Knight Riders might have housed with a cracking unbeaten 85 from 50 deliveries to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore win their third match at home, chasing down 155 for a telling eight-wicket verdict. 

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir shake during toss for match 12 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Royal Challengers Bangalore and The Kolkata Knight Riders held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on the 11th April 2013

RCB were rattled early in the chase with Ryan McLaren accounting for Mayank Agarwal (6), caught behind in the 3rd over. Jaques Kallis followed it up with a maiden over. Virat Kohli then smashed two boundaries off McLaren, before Gayle joined in, hammering two sixes to take 22 runs of the final over of the power play. The RCB duo continued their assault taking apart Pradeep Sangwan's first over for 19 runs.

Lakshmipathy Balaji provided the much needed breakthrough dismissing Kohli (35) caught by Eoin Morgan. However Gayle kept up the aggression sending the ball over the fence on a consistent basis including a monstrous 99 metre hit off Balaji. AB de Villiers (22*), who was put down on seven by Manoj Tiwary, provided good support playing a calm and composed innings.  

Gayle made the most of Kallis' 16th over hitting him for two consecutive sixes before following it up with a boundary. Gayle finished the match in style with two sixes off Balaji helping RCB to reach the target with 15 balls remaining. 

Earlier opting to field, RCB they were rewarded immediately as Moises Henriques had Manvinder Bisla (1) caught at point in the very first over. Gautam Gambhir who survived a run out attempt hit two boundaries off RP Singh before smashing Muttiah Muralitharan for two more. Gambhir and Kallis (16) laid the foundation for the innings putting on 51 runs for the second wicket before R Vinay Kumar struck removing the latter.

Yusuf Pathan, promoted up the order, started his account with three successive boundaries off Kumar. In the 12th over, Pathan sent Jaydev Unadkat into the crowd for the first six, but just as he was looking dangerous, he holed out in the deep to give Moises Henriques his second wicket. 

In the pursuit of quick runs, Gambhir (59) fell caught and bowled by Kumar. RP Singh struck twice in the 18th over getting rid of Morgan (2) and Tiwary (23) to bring back RCB into the game. Rajat Bhatia struck consecutive boundaries off Kumar's 19th, but a couple of wickets in the last over meant that KKR finished at 154 for 8. 

Man-of-the-Match: Chris Gayle 

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 154 for 8 (Gautam Gambhir 59; RP Singh 3-27) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 158 for 2 (Chris Gayle 85*; Lakshmipathy Balaji 1-33) by 8 wickets. 

Chris Gayle is the man of the match during match 12 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Royal Challengers Bangalore and The Kolkata Knight Riders held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on the 11th April 2013

Stats Highlights:

1: Jacques Kallis became first overseas player to aggregate 2000 runs in IPL. He is the fifth batsman overall to do so after Suresh Raina (2264), Gautam Gambhir (2187), Sachin Tendulkar (2071) and Rohit Sharma (2068).

12: Number of sixes hit in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s innings – most by a side in IPL2013. Mumbai Indians had hit 10 against Delhi Daredevils two days ago.

17: Number of fifties hit by Gautam Gambhir in the IPL – most by any player. He went ahead of Jacques Kallis, Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle, who each has 16 fifty-plus scores against his name. Later Gayle equalled Gambhir’s record.

50: Chris Gayle’s second six was his 50th in an IPL match at Bengaluru. He extended his tally to 57 by the end.

307: Number of boundaries (164 fours and 143 sixes) hit by Chris Gayle in all IPL matches – most by any batsman. He went ahead of Virender Sehwag, who has hit 304 boundaries (225 fours and 79 sixes).

Chris Gayle wins the Yes Bank maximum sixes award during match 12 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Royal Challengers Bangalore and The Kolkata Knight Riders held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on the 11th April 2013

Presentation:

Gayle is Man of the Match, well of course. Gayle: "You can put the boundary wherever you want, I'll take on the challenge. I'm hungry, I need some food [what his Twitter feed will say tonight]."

Kohli: "Its done, what is done on the field is done [his spat with Gambhir]. Great game for us. When you know Gayle is leaving the ball, the opposition has to be more worried than when he is hitting it."

Gambhir: "It happens in the heat of the moment. We dont need to carry it off the field. It is a tough sport, no love lost. All credit to Chris, he took the game away from us. We were in the same position last year as well. Hopefully we can turn it around. You have to get 160-170 here when you bat first. It is not like Kolkata or other venues where 140 is fine."

RP Singh wins the Star Plus award during match 12 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Royal Challengers Bangalore and The Kolkata Knight Riders held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on the 11th April 2013

source: iplt20.com