KKR vs RCB, 24th match at Kolkata, , Apr 22 2011 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Some strong words from the big man Gayle. That will be all from us for this game. The other game, Mumbai v Chennai is just about to begin. So you can catch that game here. This is Abhishek Purohit signing off meanwhile.

Chris Gayle is the obvious Man of the Match. Gayle: "God is good. Good to get a century. Good start. Thanks to all the guys for the support. First time I picked up my bat after the World Cup. Wasn't practising a lot at home. I had to get a lot out of my mind, keep my focus right, keep putting pressure for selection. KKR is my old team and I enjoyed getting a 100 at Eden. When he got that boundary, it was a bit scary, I told him listen you have to block every ball. He came in and took the pressure off me, Dilshan as well. It is an unpredictable wicket, it held on tonight which was good for us. The start is key here which we got. I could have batted faster, but I thought I needed an IPL century, I had got out earlier for 90-odd inside 14 overs earlier. I think the crowd enjoyed the big sixes, I get cussed a lot when I don't get them."

Daniel VettoriM: "Probably a must-win game. Outstanding batting from Gayle and Dilshan. If you have a player like Chris, you got to find a way to get him in the XI. We thought the wicket would get better as the game went on, and were proved right. But would have liked to have bowled better."

Gautam Gambhir: "Always felt this was a good total, but could not have done a lot against Gayle's innings. We did a lot of things right today, all credit to Chris, he never allowed us back in to the game. We can take a lot of positives out of this game."

Hang on for the presentation.

Samit: "Why did the match stop? I want to see more of Gayle's madness?"

Charith: "What did KKR think of achieving with that kind of a bowling attack?"

What an innings. He just stood and walloped the helpless bowlers. Not much violence compared to his standards, but lots of intelligent batting.

Ray Jennings, the Bangalore coach: "We had a team talk today and spoke about what it takes to be a champion. We needed someone to produce that champion-type of performance, and who better than Gayle to pull it off. This is a very close tournament. You need a bit of luck in this format. Nothing to worry about Dan's fitness. He failed the pain a bit more today in his knee, but he is a tough Kiwi and will be fine."

Comprehensive win for Bangalore, they needed it after three consecutive losses and the wash-out. The opening partnership was not working for them. Gayle at the top has teed off perfectly in a big chase today. And all their middle order batsmen looked pleased.

Samuel: "The other day it rained in Bangalore. But a hurricane hit Kolkata today!"

Virat Kohli: "That's the way Gayle plays. Well, I wanted to give Chris the strike, you don't often get a 100 in Twenty20, so I decided to block everything [after that pulled boundary]. I was disappointed to see Iqbal bowl the wide, but it could have slipped out of his hand as well."

That is it, the Gayle face is back to its expression-less best as he shakes hands with the Kolkata players. Then breaks in to a smile as he approaches the Bangalore players. Hugs his team-mates, hugs Zaheer Khan, nice moment.

goes over the wicket now

Gayle is on 97

chetan: "did gambhir forget abt abdullah all this while??i have a suspicion dat he really forgot!!!"

Abdulla comes on, a bit too late