Gayle fires Bangalore to win with century

KOLKATA, Apr 22 (AFP): Chris Gayle hammered an unbeaten 102 off just 55 balls to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to a nine-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Friday. The West Indies batsman cracked seven sixes and 10 fours in a superb display of power-hitting as Bangalore achieved a 172-run target with 11 balls to spare for their second win in six matches of the Twenty20 tournament. Gayle, playing his first IPL match after being dropped for the opening home games against Pakistan, put his team on course for victory with a 123-run stand for the opening wicket with Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan. Dilshan scored 38 off 31 balls with the help of six fours before being bowled by fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji. But there was no stopping Gayle, who completed the victory and his century when he hit left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan through the covers for a four. Virat Kohli was the other notable contributor with an unbeaten 30. Kolkata, who suffered their third defeat in six matches, earlier posted a competitive total, thanks to skipper Gautam Gambhir (48), Yusuf Pathan (46) and South African Jacques Kallis (40). Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 171-5 in 20 overs (G. Gambhir 48, Y. Pathan 46, J. Kallis 40; S. Aravind 2-37) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 175-1 in 18.1 overs (C. Gayle 102 not out, T. Dilshan 38, V. Kohli 30 not out) by nine wickets.