On this day in 2016 - King Kohli’s century hammers Kings XI Punjab

The 2016 season was a tale of two contrasting halves for RCB. While the first half of the tournament saw the team struggling with only two wins on the board, the second half saw a reversal in fortunes with the team winning four of the next five games. With only two more matches left to be played in the league phase and the competition for the top four spots heating up, RCB could not afford to slip up now. On an evening when the Bangalore rain was playing hide and seek, RCB needed to win against Kings XI Punjab to consolidate their position going into the last round of league matches.

When the skies finally cleared up, the game had been reduced to a 15 overs-a-side affair. Kings XI had the luck of the toss going their way as they inserted RCB to bat first. However, that would turn out to be the only thing going their way that night. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli started off cautiously, with the first three overs going for only 17 runs. A change in bowling brought with it a change in approach from the RCB openers. Kyle Abbott bore the brunt as Gayle flexed his muscles with consecutive sixers. The next over by Cariappa endured a six each by Kohli and Gayle. The two overs yielded 18 runs each, and RCB were well on their way to setting a competitive total.

Kohli scored an unprecedented fourth century of the 2016 season with 9 stitches on his left hand

It is no easy feat to outscore Chris Gayle, but Virat Kohli was in the mood on the day. With the kind of form he was in, everything he touched turned to gold. There was no stopping him, as he displayed a beautiful blend of power-hitting and deft touches to toy with the Kings XI bowling. Kohli brought up his fifty in 28 balls, and RCB were motoring along at over 11 runs per over. Gayle was not to be left behind as he too brought up his half-century off only 26 balls. The RCB opening duo was piling up massive overs for fun. By the end of the tenth over, RCB had scored 129 with both the openers still going strong, and the Punjab bowlers looked hapless.

Chris Gayle slapped three more massive sixers off Axar Patel. Patel got rid of the Jamaican off the last ball of his spell, showing incredible bravery to intercept a powerful hit by Gayle and grabbing a return catch. The damage had been done by the time, as the opening stand had put on 147 in 11 overs. The crowd was left disappointed to see AB De Villiers soon follow Gayle to the dugout, but Virat Kohli kept going. There was no stopping the RCB skipper on that day, as battling the odds with nine stitches on his left hand, he brought up an unprecedented fourth century of the season, this one coming off only 47 balls in an insane display of flawless batting. KL Rahul provided the finishing touch to the innings with a 6-ball cameo worth 16 runs, as RCB finished on a massive 211/3 in 15 overs.

The Kings XI looked to have been put in a daze by the RCB batting display. They had no option but to go big from ball one. Despite some initial success, their resistance did not last long. When Wriddhiman Saha, Hashim Amla and David Miller were dismissed within a span of 10 balls and 11 runs, the KXIP pursuit was all but over. The Punjab innings lost all its momentum as they kept on losing wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal made the most of the compulsion of Kings XI batting, and picked up four wickets, as Punjab could only muster 120/9 in their 20 overs, giving RCB a victory by 91 runs in a 15-over game.