Thaindian News

Bangalore, April 30 (IANS) Virat Kohli (67) continued his good run with the bat as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Pune Warriors by 26 runs to record their maiden home victory in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League here Friday.

Royal Challengers, put in to bat, posted an imposing 181 for five courtesy an inspiring performance from Kohli and an early blitzkrieg provided by maverick opener Chris Gayle (49 off 26 balls). Kohli (294 runs) also surpassed master blaster Sachin Tendulkar (276) during his innings to become the leading run-getter in the current tournament.

Warriors had their moments in the game but eventually the target proved too big for them as they ended at 155 for five in 20 overs. Warriors captain Yuvraj Singh (41 off 23 balls) and opener Jesse Ryder (51 off 34 balls) put up a fight but did not get the required support from the other batsmen.

This win was the third consecutive win for the Challengers and puts them in the second spot in the table with nine points from eight games. The Warriors, with their fifth defeat in a row, are languishing at ninth place with four points from seven games.

Chasing a stiff target, the Warriors put on a better batting performance than their previous matches but fell short as they failed to keep up with the asking rate.

Needing 74 runs from the last five overs, the Warriors stood a chance with big-hitters Yuvraj and Robin Uthappa (23 off 17) at the crease. But after collecting 19 runs off the 16th over, the skipper miscued a hit on the bowling of Zaheer Khan (1-33) to seal the fate for the visitors.

Earlier, Royal Challengers were off to a flier with the explosive opening pair of Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan (15) taking them to 57 in the first six overs. The Gayle force prove brutal at the top as he smashed four sixes and as many fours in his 26-ball cameo.

The reliable Kohli took the responsibility after the openers departed and shared a vital 66-run stand with AB de Villiers for the next wicket. The Delhi boy continued from where he left in the last match and entertained the crowd with some delightful strokes. His sublime knock saw four towering sixes and the same number of boundaries. This was Kohli’s second successive fifty after the match-winning 56 against the Delhi Daredevils Tuesday.

Kohli eventually got out to Alfonso Thomas in the 19th over but the damage had been done by then as the Challengers amassed 57 runs in the last five overs.