Bengaluru: A hurricane century by Chris Gayle saw Royal Challengers Bangalore hand out a massive 138-run defeat to a spiritless and spineless Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.
Gayle struck a brilliant 117 off 57 balls, with seven fours and 12 sixes as RCB piled on 226 for three from their 20 overs.
Visiting skipper George Bailey was left ruing his decision to field after winning the toss as the visitors collapsed to 88 all out.
Pacemen Mitchell Starc (4 for 15) and Sreenath Aravind (4 for 24) sliced through the Punjab line-up.
For the Kings XI, looking like ragtag team after finishing second last season, it was their fifth consecutive defeat in 10 matches, leaving them at the bottom of the eight-team league with just four points with little hope of qualifying for the playoffs.
RCB, with a massive total on the board, bowled well as the Kings XI batsmen, barring Axar Patel (40* from 21b), showed little or no determination to even make a fight of it, much less win the game.
The early dismissals of openers Manan Vohra (2), who replaced Virender Sehwag, and Murali Vijay (2), took the wind out of the Punjab sails.
It was a regular procession thereafter before Patel used the long handle, but to little impact as wickets fell in a heap at the other end.
RCB recorded their biggest IPL winning margain, beating their previous best of 130 against Pune Warriors in 2013 when Gayle smashed his highest T20 score of 175.
Earlier, it was all about Gayle and his 14th T20 century as he led a merciless onslaught on the Punjab bowlers who were made to look ordinary.
The home batsmen rained 18 sixes and 14 fours on a balmy night when the rain stayed away.
The visiting attack had no answer to Gayle, who was let off when on 27 with Bailey unable to get to a skier off Sandeep Sharma in the third over.
The lapse proved costly as Gayle showcased his brute power as well as a fine sense of timing to gallop to his century.
Spearhead Mitchell Johnson, bowling at some speed, leaked 43 runs in his four overs, while left-arm spinner Patel went for 51.
Only seamer Anureet Singh, though wicketless, looked the part, conceding just 25 runs in four overs.
Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli (32) laid the platform with a 119-run partnership for the first wicket in just 11.2 overs before the innovative AB de Villiers joined the Jamaican to heap more misery on the Punjab bowlers.
Along with De Villiers, Gayle, who reached 3,000 IPL runs, added 72 runs before offering a tame return catch to Patel.
The South African then took over and though he lost Dinesh Karthik (8), picked up some easy runs in the company of young Sarfaraz Khan (11 not out) to ensure RCB a winning total.
