IPL 4 Match 63: Kings XI Punjab's Gilchrist, Marsh Break Records against RCB at Dharamsala

Plunder was in store at the Himachal Pradesh cricket association stadium in Dharamsala but for only one team as the Kings XI Punjab received a tremendous gift from their captain, rather from their Australian pair, as the Royal Challengers Bangalore were poor competitors on the day.

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The Kings XI Punjab suffered a hiccup in that they lost Paul Valthaty who made only twenty runs. However, they need not have worried about their relatively sedate first five overs because thereafter, there was simply no looking back.

The Kings XI Punjab captain, Adam Gilchrist, teamed up with his young Australian partner, Shaun Marsh, and the dynamic duo simply set the sky alight with their massive shot making spree in their 222 run record partnership for the second wicket. Gilchrist was vintage in his second IPL hundred, showing his ability of old that made him one of the most dangerous opening batsmen in the world. He showed that life at thirty-nine did not have to become dim, overshadowing even his young partner who is highly regarded, particularly in his fourth stint after his successful debut year for the Kings XI Punjab.

Gilchrist's 106 runs came off only fifty-five balls as the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers were rattled into mistakes they never had a chance to correct. Nine sixes and eight boundaries later, Gilchrist was a satiated man.

However, the Royal Challengers problems were doubled in that Marsh was going strong at the other end, making seventy-nine runs from forty-nine balls, almost equally devastating in his five sixes and seven boundaries as the bowlers kept feeding the batsmen with bread and butter shot making opportunities.

233 was going to be a tough chase unless someone like Chris Gayle decided to do something about it. However, the pressure got to him early as he swung wildly without even opening his account to be dismissed with the RCB score on four.

The RCB's desperation thereafter took on funereal note as wickets fell with alarming regularity, reducing them to four down for forty-three with their captain, Virat Kohli, dismissed by Ryan Harris who picked up his second wicket.

The RCB were not let off the hook as Sulabh Srivastava contributed with two more while Piyush Chawla cashed in on the batsmen's impetuosity, even AB de Villiers after making thirty-four runs, to clear the boundary ropes chasing a run rate that had gone well past their ability on the night. Chawla's four wickets also brought to a dismal end the RCB efforts as they were bowled out for 121 in seventeen overs, losing by a massive margin of 11 runs to keep their hopes alive.