MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Chris Gayle hit an unbeaten 102 in 55 balls on his arrival in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to power the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a nine-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.
Elsewhere, Rohit Sharma’s gutsy batting and Harbhajan Singh’s five-wicket haul took Mumbai Indians to the top of the table thanks to an eight-run win over defending champions Chennai Super Kings.
Gayle, a late replacement for injured fast bowler Dirk Nannes, floored his old franchise Kolkata by lashing 10 fours and seven sixes at Eden Gardens.
The 31-year-old, playing his first match for Bangalore after opting out of West Indies’s home series against Pakistan, brought up his century with a boundary off Shakib Al Hasan as he sealed victory with 11 balls to spare.
Chasing a target of 172, Gayle put on 123 for the first wicket with Tillakaratne Dilshan (38) as Bangalore registered a much-needed win after going four matches without a victory.
In the day’s other game, Sharma struck a 48-ball 87 with eight fours and five sixes to guide Mumbai to 164 for four.
Chennai, led by India’s World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, were in the hunt until Harbhajan (5-18) took three wickets in the 18th over.
Subramaniam Badrinath made an unbeaten 71 for Chennai.
