Most memorable moments feat. RCB and Kings XI Punjab

Be it Virat’s fourth century of the 2016 season, batting with 7 stitches on his webbing or the iconic Chris Gayle celebration, RCB vs KXIP has produced some of the most memorable moments in the IPL. As Virat Kohli’s RCB seek redemption against Kings XI Punjab in the reverse leg of Dream11 IPL 2020, we look at 3 moments over the years in the Dream11 IPL which makes the tussle between RCB and KXIP special.

Virat Kohli, Bangalore, 2016

It was the dream season for Virat Kohli and RCB. Nearly a thousand runs in an IPL season could never be dreamt of and Virat nearly made it a reality. He had not scored a single century in the IPL before 2016, and as if the floodgates had been opened, he scored four in 2016 alone. At the receiving end of the fourth were Kings XI Punjab. RCB were on a roll and needed to keep winning every game. The unpredictable rain threatened to play spoilsport in Bangalore. Virat Kohli had a split webbing which needed stitches - could he really miss a game in the midst of a purple patch?

Well, Virat Kohli answered all that in an emphatic fashion. Once the rain clouds moved away making way for the King to arrive, Virat Kohli in an astonishing display of clean hitting, an innings where everything he touched turned to gold, an innings studded with 12 fours and 8 sixes, Virat scored 113 off only 50 balls. In what will go down as one of the most iconic moments ever in RCB history, Virat pointing at his stitches after completing his century is something that made the 18th of May 2016 very special.

Umesh Yadav, Indore, 2018

Kings XI Punjab boasted of a top-heavy batting lineup lead by KL Rahul and Chris Gayle - two players who were playing in RCB colors only 2 seasons prior. On a short outfield and a batting paradise at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, RCB needed to get the Kings XI openers out early to stand any chance of containing the rest of the Punjab batting. Enter Umesh Yadav. The gameplan was simple - bowl quick and bowl short. It was KL Rahul first who mistimed a pull and holed out to deep square-leg. And then the big wicket of Chris Gayle - Umesh again testing the Jamaican with short-pitched bowling at a fiery pace. Punjab never really recovered from the initial assault, as if they were dazed, and the rest of the batting imploded. Punjab were dismissed for a mere 88, a target RCB chased down without a single hiccup and with nearly 12 overs to spare. Umesh Yadav was declared the player of the match for his spell that broke the back of Punjab’s batting.

Chris Gayle, Bangalore 2015

He might be playing for the opposite team tonight, but Christopher Henry Gayle produced one of his most deadly assaults against Kings XI back in 2015. Gayle had to overcome the challenge of Mitchell Johnson up front who was breathing fire at the time. Gayle realized that Johnson’s first over was going to set the tone for the rest of the game. A 20-run takedown of the Aussie paceman deflated the Punjab spirits, and there was no looking back thereafter. Gayle notched up yet another century, yet another storm had hit Punjab. The Chinnaswamy erupted when Gayle whipped out the trademark Cristiano Ronaldo celebration to mark his century. An innings which propelled RCB to 226, before the bowlers completed a clinical job, dismissing Punjab for 88, registering a massive 138-run win.