Chris Gayle sets stadium on fire

Chris Gayle was dropped on four in the second over of Royal Challenger Bangalore's innings. Somerset must have rued the missed chance. The mighty West Indian took advantage of the 'gift' to score a staggering 86 off 46 balls. The grand knock took Royal Challengers' total to a mammoth 206 for six in their must-win encounter which they won by 51 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.

The sizeable Bangalore crowd was treated to a flurry of sixes, eight to be precise, that took RCB's total past the 200-run mark. It was the highest total in the tournament so far.

Gayle hit a full length delivery from Steven Kirby through extra cover. He had not played the shot to perfection. The Bangalore crowd looked on with anxiety when Joss Butler tried to hold on to the ball with both hands. But he let it slip and that set up the cracker of an innings by Gayle. The Royal Challengers badly needed Gayle to do well on Monday and he responded to the team's call.

Like Gayle, the other opener, Tillakaratne Dilshan too had a reprieve when the Sri Lankan played his trademark 'Dilscoop' off Peter Trego. Kirby dived in vain to catch the ball only to let it go to the boundary. Dilshan did not quite make use of the chance. He could make only 23.

Somerset started their chase well, scoring close to 50 in five overs. But they could not sustain the scoring rate and their chase ended at 155 for six. Peter Trego (58) and Craig Kieswetter (26) were the main scorers for the English side.

Chris Gayle, Royal Challenger Bangalore, Somerset, West Indian, Royal Challengers, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lankan, Peter Trego, Craig Kieswetter