Jacques Kallis crushes Kings XI hopes

Bangalore: Jacques Kallis gave a masterclass in batting to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to a convincing eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab at the Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday.

Chasing an imposing 204 for victory, Kallis and Manish Pandey provided Bangalore with their best ever start in the competition. Robin Uthappa took over from Pandey with a brutal assault of 51 off just 21 balls as Bangalore as the hosts were on their way.

Uthappa fell after reaching the second fastest IPL 50 off 19 balls, but Kallis assumed charge with a barrage of sixes that took Bangalore to victory with seven balls to spare. The South African was unbeaten on 89 after facing 55 balls.

Earlier, Manvinder Bisla hammered his first half-century in the IPL and went on to score 75 off just 51 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes, while Bopara stroked his second consecutive 50 as the pair added 129 runs for the first wicket after Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and opted to bat.

The openers saw through a probing opening spell from Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar before picking up pace. Bisla fell in the 15th over but not before putting his side in a commanding position. Despite the failure of Yuvraj Singh (9), Punjab kept their momentum as Bopara and Mahela Jayawardene (26 not out) guided the team to an imposing total. Bopara was out in the final over for 77, having faced 50 balls.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals suffered a huge setback as two of its overseas players Graeme Smith and Dmitri Mascarenhas were ruled out of the IPL with injuries.

Scoreboard

Kings XI Punjab